WHERE WE STAND. As the game clock winds down, The Bargaining Team needs your input on whether to present the current offer to you for ratification. Please complete the MOU Straw Poll to offer guidance to your CASE Bargaining Team.
The MOU Straw Poll will ask you to select one of the following options:
- I would vote to ratify the current deal on the table.
- I would vote to reject the current deal on the table.
(Please see your email for link and voter credentials)
You will also receive an email directly from the Electionrunner survey platform with a direct link to participate in the poll. Make sure to keep that link and these credentials safe as they are unique to you.
The survey closes Monday, August 8 at 8pm, so don’t delay.
Two things must happen to enact a new MOU: the membership must vote to ratify the deal and the Legislature must ratify the MOU via the Legislative process. There are real benefits in the total tentative agreement, and real consequences to rejecting it and staying out of contract beyond January 1, 2023. Rejecting the MOU sends the parties back to the table for further negotiations. The Legislature’s schedule, however, means that after they leave town on August 31, it is all but certain that a new MOU would not be ratified before the start of the new year should we not accept this deal and go back to the table and continue to fight.
WHAT ARE THE TOPLINE ITEMS CURRENTLY ON THE TABLE?
The overview provided below represents the offer the State has provided consistently since June – terms they have repeatedly insisted represent the best they’ll give.
General Salary Increases (GSI)
- 2.5% GSI for all Unit 2 legal professionals effective the pay period after ratification (no retroactivity).
- 2.5% GSI or all Unit 2 legal professionals effective July 1, 2023
- 2.5% GSI for all Unit 2 legal professionals effective July 1, 2024
Special Salary Adjustments
5% increase to the maximum salary range for Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and Senior ALJs effective July 1, 2023.
Paid Family Leave
Beginning January 1, 2024, all Unit 2 legal professionals will have access to NDI-Paid Family Care Leave, which provides partial wage replacement for up to 6 weeks to bond with a newly arrived child or to care for an ailing family member. This benefit marks the first time in state history that a rank-and-file bargaining unit’s members will have any paid family leave benefit with no additional out-of-pocket costs to the employee.
CoBen Increases
Unit 2 legal professionals receive a Consolidated Benefit (CoBen) allowance each month towards the cost of their health, dental, and vision benefits. Article 11.1 of the MOU sets out the CoBen amount and a formula raises it each year as prescribed in the contract. The total tentative agreement provides increases to the CoBen Allowance to coincide with health care premium increases on January 1, 2023
OPEB Decreases and Future Formula
Article 19.1 would provide a formula that limits changes to the amount you contribute to Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) to an increase or decrease of no more than .5% per year. The impact upon ratification would be a .5% decrease in the amount you pay to pre-fund your post-retirement benefits.