The power of last year’s bargaining campaign and contract victory has continued to carry us through 2020, keeping wages high and benefits intact. This month we are now seeing our next Cost of Living Adjustment, giving us a full three-percent increase as of October 1st (which will be paid out on November 1st). This is one of the biggest wage adjustments in years, helping to bring up state employees to where they should be for the hard work that we do. 

State employees also saw a new top step as of July 1st, which allows long-time employees to see additional wage gains as well. These are part of what made the 2020 contract one of the biggest victories in a decade, and has been essential to ensuring fair compensation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now it is time to set our sights on bargaining in 2021, which will require all of us to come together and raise our voices! 2020 has shown just how valuable public employees and state services are, and we will continue to fight for fair compensation, safe working conditions, and a voice in our workplaces.

Here’s the relevant contract language:

“ARTICLE 27–SALARY INCREASE Section 1. Cost of Living Adjustments. Effective July 1, 2019, Compensation Plan salary rates shall be increased by two and fifteen hundredths percent (2.15%), to be paid August 1, 2019. Effective October 1, 2020, Compensation Plan salary rates shall be increased by three percent (3%), to be paid November 1, 2020. (See Appendix C & E.) Effective July 1, 2020, an additional step shall be added to all salary ranges. Employees who are at the top step of their salary range on the effective date shall have their former salary eligibility date restored for future increases. However, this does not apply to anyone red-circled above the new top step.”