Below is communication from the Department of Administration’s Office regarding implementation of Wisconsin Act 10. Please note the underlined/bolded sentences regarding deductions to paychecks and that health insurance premium deductions and WRS deductions will not be collected retroactively.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
DOA Media Line: 608-266-7362
Secretary Huebsch Statement on Implementation of 2011 Wisconsin Act 10
MADISON –Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch today released the following statement regarding the implementation of the budget repair bill:
“The Department is moving forward with plans to implement Act 10. In the coming days, I will be working with my staff to set a timeline and develop a plan for increasing state employee pension and health insurance premium contributions. Based on initial discussions, the soonest that the change could appear on state employee paychecks is late August.”
“With regard to local government employees, I will also be setting a timeline for pension contributions. However, the timing of changes to the health insurance premium contributions of local government employees will depend on when existing contracts expire and the status of any current contract negotiations.”
“We will not be applying the provisions of Act 10 retroactively.”
http://thewheelerreport.com/releases/June11/0615/0615doa.pdf
Below is an e-mail message received from Alan Crist, Associate Vice President for Human Resources at UW System Administration, regarding the recent events surrounding Wisconsin Act 10.
As you have probably heard, the Wisconsin Supreme Court yesterday issued a decision that overturned the injunction that had been placed on the implementation of Wisconsin Act 10. The law will become effective following publication by the Secretary of State, which may be by the end of this month. We are awaiting clarification on implementation dates regarding increased contributions to the pension plan and health insurance premiums, as well as elimination of union dues deductions, and will pass that along as soon as we find out. We have contacted OSER and advised them that our HRS leadership will need to be given as much advance time as possible to make the transition as smooth as it can be.
Act 10 will also significantly affect or eliminate collective bargaining rights for university employees. The Faculty and Academic Staff Labor Relations Act (FASLRA) that gave rights to collectively bargain to faculty and academic staff was repealed in its entirety. The unions that were formed under the law will of course still have the right to be ‘associations’ of individuals; however, those groups will no longer have the statutory right to collectively bargain with the UW System. Shared governance is not impacted by the repeal of FASLRA and all practices and procedures that were in place before FASLRA are in effect.
The classified employees and graduate assistants who are represented by unions that were formed under the State Employment Labor Relations Act (SELRA) have had collective bargaining agreements in place for a number of years. Extensions of those agreements have ceased, but we will still abide by the letter of those agreements in a ‘status quo’ period until a compensation plan for represented employees is developed by OSER. We do not have a clear sense from OSER how long it will be before the represented employee compensation plan is ready. We will be able to provide input to OSER in development of the plan and will let you know when it may be issued. SELRA unions will continue to represent employees provided those unions go through an annual certification election in which 51% of the bargaining unit elect to continue that respective union as its exclusive representative. The unions that successfully go through a certification election will then have the right to bargain wages alone, and no other terms or conditions of employment. Once it is developed, the represented employee compensation plan, mentioned above, along with existing, applicable statute and administrative code, will cover all other terms and conditions of employment.
Please contact Human Resources at ext. 2390 or hr@uwgb.edu if you have any questions.