News

On June 19, 2015, OSER sent the comp plan to the Joint Committee on Employment Relations (JCOER).  It includes no general wage adjustment for either year of the biennium.  Combined with the coming increases to the group health insurance plans, this means another two years of pay cuts. 

Read the Cover Letter

Read the Summary

Read LFB Paper on Comp Reserves

An AFL-CIO Budget Summary

The following is a summary both on recent efforts to repeal our Prevailing Wage laws and on the Joint Finance Committee’s activities over the last 10 days. After celebrating Memorial Day weekend, legislators returned to the Capitol last week only to launch further attacks on workers and Wisconsin’s working families through the budget and legislative processes.

Read the rest of the summary. 

Please join us for a Rally at the Capitol while the Legislature takes up the biennial state budget!  Support your co-workers at DNR and advocate for a different budget.   See the Updated Flyer.

June 11, 2015

4:30 pm:  Gather at GEF 2

5:00 pm:  March to the Capitol

There’s a lot to dislike in the Governor’s Budget, but it is especially disturbing that specific positions are being targeted at the DNR.  These proposed cuts

seem to reflect individual legislators’ pet peeves.    Senator Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, has acknowledged that he requested that the Governor cut 17 science positions because their

The Group Insurance Board announced that they had accepted the recommendations of the Segal Consulting Group.  It's clear that the changes will add significantly to the employee's costs.  In addition to newly added deductibles and fixed co-pays instead of co-insurance, it sounds like the dental coverage will be removed and offered as a separate, voluntary program.

Read the Segal Report

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS! 

Joint Finance will be voting on the DNR Science Position Reductions this week.  Many of these positions are federally funded.  The cuts appear to be more about anti-science than saving money.

Position Reduction budget paper from Legislative Reference Bureau

Joint Finance schedule for the week of May 25

Clean Wisconsin's Statement Opposing the Cuts

Science Cuts may Hinder Efforts to stop Walleye Decline

Prominent Scientists Appeal to Preserve DNR Positions

Senator Tom Tiffany Asked for the DNR Cuts

Read the rest of the article here.

We are looking for members, particularly those that work for the DNR, to help with action planned in support of the WPEC and Science Professional employees of the DNR that have been targeted as at-risk.  Approximately 57 staff have received notices. 

There is a planning meeting being held this Thursday, May 7th, at the United Way building, 2059 Atwood Ave., Madison, in the Evjue Boardroom C, from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. 

We hope that staff from DNR, especially those not affected, can attend.  Please come if you can and learn how you can help.

Attached is a flyer for the event.  http://wpec.wi.aft.org

April 30 -- The Argus Bar & Grill, 123 East Main St., Madison.   A meeting to educate employees about the at-risk notices and layoff rights under the Civil Service System, and to plan actions around the cuts (recently announced for DNR).

Flyer