State OKs raises for unions, but money will be delayed

A state panel on Tuesday approved cost-of-living raises awarded through arbitration totalling nearly $28 million to two state employee unions, but the raises won’t be paid out until the Legislature approves the funding.

Some 5,000 state workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union stand to receive back-to-back 3 percent annual cost-of-living raises through June 2023. The 700-plus members of Nevada Police Union, representing multiple branches of state law enforcement including state troopers, parole and probation and university police officers, would receive 2 percent raises next year along with longevity and education pay enhancements.

Both unions were constituted under to a 2019 law giving state employees collective bargaining rights. Both won raises in contract arbitration with the state after the end of the 2021 legislative session, when initial funding levels were set.

Money to cover the arbitration awards has to be approved by the Legislature, which will not convene again until early 2023.

The cost of the raises to AFSCME workers is $26 million over two years. The police union raises total $1.7 million in the fiscal year that starts in July 2022.

The state Board of Examiners approved the increases in 2-1 votes, with Gov. Steve Sisolak and Attorney General Aaron Ford voting in favor and Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske voting no.

Cegavske said she had opposed the original AFSCME contract, “therefore I’m not supportive of this unfunded cost of living allowance.” She noted that the police union pay hike was also unfunded, with the Legislature currently out of session, adding that “significant additional information” was provided by the union Tuesday morning “that we have not been able to review as yet.”

Sisolak, who backed collective bargaining rights for state employees when he was campaigning for office, noted “about two inches of material that was provided to me this morning” but said he was “very familiar with the issue” and able to vote on it.

In a statement following the vote, AFSCME Local 4041 president Harry Schiffman called the approval “a huge victory for Nevada state employees” and thanked the board “for respecting our contract and investing in Nevada state employees.”

Workers in the AFSCME group include custodial and maintenance workers at state medical facilities, prisons, and universities; highway and road maintenance workers; health care workers at state facilities including veterans’ homes; and state prison corrections officers.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.