CO
More than 22,000 Colorado state employees voted in June to be represented by Colorado WINS (Workers for Innovation and New Solutions), a union coalition made up of the AFT, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union.

The ballots were cast by professionals in five occupational groups: Enforcement and Protective Services; Physical Sciences and Engineering; Health Care and Medical Services; Labor, Trades and Crafts; and Administrative Support and Related Services.

An additional 11,000 state employees in the Financial Services and Professional Services occupational groups will cast their ballots for Colorado WINS in August.

CT
As state policymakers volleyed proposals on how to close the state's budget gap for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2008, there was some good news for state employees represented by AFT Connecitcut. Layoffs are not part of Gov. M. Jodi Rell's plan.

Gov. Rell, however, has ordered a hiring freeze and ordered state agencies to cut their budgets by 3 percent to 5 percent. Both actions are likely to be felt by employees.

IL
Nearly 100 members lobbied lawmakers earlier this year for passage of the Public Service Accountability Act, H.B. 4724.

The measure would require contractors to pay their employees the same "wages and benefits that are paid to state employees who are in the job," says Tom Kosowski, vice president of the Illinois Federation of Public Employees and a member of the AFT Public Employees program and policy council. The bill also would prohibit the state from privatizing jobs during the life of an existing collective bargaining agreement.

Kosowski, who describes privatization of public services as "pinstripe patronage," says the November 2007 layoff of 20 security officers at the Illinois Department of Military Affairs "gave us more incentive than anything to get this done." Seventeen of the officers are U.S. military veterans. Their jobs went to private security staff employed by Securitas Inc.

KS
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed the first master agreement with the Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSE) since the state's Public Employee Relations Board strengthened the union representation rights of state employees in May 2007.

KOSE president and bargaining team member Lisa Ochs says members welcomed the provision giving employees the right to choose between money or compensatory time for overtime. "Before, the employer was making the decision on behalf of the employee," says Ochs, who also is a member of the AFT Public Employees program and policy council. "Comp time doesn't pay the bills, and it doesn't pay the babysitter."

The contract also improves the performance evaluation process by requiring the employer to take into account resource problems, frequent interruptions and other matters outside an employee's control. The agreement prohibits a supervisor's supervisor from changing an evaluation.

Wages are mandatory subjects of bargaining under the agreement but dependent on legislative appropriation. The union negotiated, and the Legislature approved, a 2.5 percent pay increase; $16 million for market adjustments for salaries that lag behind the private sec-tor; and a longevity payment of $50 for each year of service, for employees with more than 10 years of service.

KOSE is a merged local of the AFT and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

NJ
An early retirement program enacted to cut the state payroll by 2,100 workers was fast-tracked in the Garden State. The program, announced June 24, gave nearly 4,000 eligible employees until July 15 to make their decision about whether to retire Aug. 1.

Gov. Jon Corzine says the three-year payroll savings of $264 million will offset the $250 million in added pension liability.

"Reducing the workforce means a major change for our state government," Gov. Corzine said. "Departments will have to reprioritize their programs and activities and not only have to do more with less; they will undoubtedly have to do less."

State college and university employees were not eligible to take the retirement offer.

NY
Has your state gone public? Has it enacted laws to increase transparency in government contracts with the private sector?

New York state went public, so to speak, in June when Gov. David Paterson signed an executive order requiring state agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before contracting out state services to private consultants.

The executive order brings the New York State Public Employees Federation's (PEF) "Go Public" campaign full circle. The campaign promoted four accountability bills, each seeking to increase transparency in government contracting practices. Three of the four bills have been enacted since PEF launched the campaign in 2005; Gov. Paterson's order mirrors the fourth piece of legislation.

Gov. Paterson's order sets stringent consultant contracting standards and establishes a task force to review agencies' use of consultants. The order "requires agencies to explain why outside consultants—and not state employees-are needed to perform a specific task," according to the governor's office.

The order is a major step toward cutting waste in state spending, says PEF president Kenneth Brynien, who also is an AFT vice president. "It's an acknowledgement of the efficiency of public employees."

"Go Public" bills previously enacted require lobbyists to disclose more information about their efforts to influence the awarding of state contracts; the Department of Civil Service to annually report the number of contract workers hired to perform services for state agencies; and legislative oversight of state authorities and off-budget "shadow" agencies.

UT
Under the "Working 4 Utah" initiative, an estimated 16,000 state employees will work a 10-hour day, four days a week starting in August.

The initiative, announced in June, will save the state and its workers money. The estimated annual fuel cost savings for commuting workers at six capital city buildings is nearly $313,000. By shuttering those same six buildings every Friday, the state, on the other hand, projects an annual energy savings of more than $123,000.

While administrative offices will be closed on Fridays, services that already run on extended hours and over weekends will remain open.

Administrative Services director Kim Hood told the Salt Lake Tribune that the state expects to trim $3 million from its energy bill.