LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Officials from labor unions representing most of Michigan's state employees said Tuesday they plan to bargain together as contract talks escalate.
The move comes as Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's administration seeks $145 million in state employee concessions for the fiscal year that starts in October.
The labor coalition — representing roughly 35,000 of the state's 50,000 workers — includes units of the United Auto Workers, Service Employees International Union, the Michigan Corrections Organization, the Michigan State Employees Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
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Union leaders say they plan to bargain together for economic issues such as wages and benefits. They would bargain separately on non-economic issues affecting individual unions.
The Snyder administration appeared initially receptive to the plan Tuesday, but wants more information about the unions' bargaining plan.
"We're looking forward to learning more and talking with the unions about this approach and how it could work," Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said.
The Snyder administration expects money-saving concessions to be part of the bargaining process, Wurfel said.
Snyder's administration has told state departments and agencies to make contingency plans in case those concessions don't materialize. Those plans would include layoffs, contracting out some work, savings achieved through technology and other measures.
Economic portions of some existing union contracts with the state don't expire until September 2012, but they would have to be addressed more quickly if concessions or other money-saving strategies for the upcoming fiscal year are to be included.
Unions say they will be proposing solutions to save the state money and make service delivery more efficient during contract negotiations. Labor leaders said they will push for reducing the number of managers in favor of front-line, service-providing employees and for savings through state vendor contracts.
"We want to make sure that taxpayers, workers and those receiving services are getting the best value," said Cindy Estrada, a United Auto Workers vice president. "And we know that's only going to happen when we look at how we change the structure in the state."
The overall number of state employees has dropped about 20 percent in the past decade as Michigan has wrestled with ongoing state budget problems.
Unions also are concerned about measures pending in the Republican-led Legislature that are separate from contract talks but could influence bargaining. One major proposal would require public employees to pay at least 20 percent of their health insurance costs or place a cap on how much a public employer can spend on insurance coverage per worker.
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