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The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors failed to approve a tentative agreement between the county and its biggest union, AFSCME DC-48. The agreement would have saved the county $1.1 million in exchange for no layoffs and no privatization of employees.
Even though that agreement had been tentatively agreed to in September, County Executive Scott Walker disregarded it and built his 2010 budget around greater concessions for all employeesrepresented or notthat hadn’t been part of earlier contract negotiations. Walker’s plan would force employees to make $41 million in cuts, which would save the county $32 million in the next year.
That left the county board holding the bag at this morning’s meeting. Do they approve the tentative agreement, and blow a $32 million hole in Walker’s budget, or do they turn down the tentative agreement crafted by Walker’s labor negotiator and the union?
This morning, they voted down the tentative agreement on an 11-6 vote. The board also approved four furlough days for 2009, and failed to override Walker’s veto of labor agreements with the county’s attorneys and its technicians, engineers and architects.
Here’s Board Chair Lee Holloway’s statement on the votes:
Even though that agreement had been tentatively agreed to in September, County Executive Scott Walker disregarded it and built his 2010 budget around greater concessions for all employeesrepresented or notthat hadn’t been part of earlier contract negotiations. Walker’s plan would force employees to make $41 million in cuts, which would save the county $32 million in the next year.
That left the county board holding the bag at this morning’s meeting. Do they approve the tentative agreement, and blow a $32 million hole in Walker’s budget, or do they turn down the tentative agreement crafted by Walker’s labor negotiator and the union?
This morning, they voted down the tentative agreement on an 11-6 vote. The board also approved four furlough days for 2009, and failed to override Walker’s veto of labor agreements with the county’s attorneys and its technicians, engineers and architects.
Here’s Board Chair Lee Holloway’s statement on the votes:
“Supervisors took a number of difficult votes this morning that will have major impacts on both our employees as well as the services they provide to our constituents. I appreciate the County Executive’s kind words for the Board and am pleased that he understands just how difficult these votes are.
Having said that, high emotions remain on both sides of the issues facing Milwaukee County. I support all of the Supervisors on the Board, regardless of how they voted on the items before us today. It takes a great deal of courage for a Supervisor to take these votes. Going forward, I will work with all members of the County Board, as well as the County Executive, to overcome these challenges. Ideally, we will come out of this process with the most decent budget we possibly can.”
