DANE COUNTY

Joe Parisi
County Executive

210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Room 421, City-County Bldg., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
PHONE/608-266-4114 FAX 266-2643 TDD 266-9138
For Immediate Release
DATE: June 23, 2014
Contact: Casey Slaughter Becker, Office of the County Executive 608.267.8823 or cell, 608.843.8858

County Executive Announces New Tentative One-Year
Agreement With Workforce for 2016

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced today he has successfully negotiated a tentative
agreement between the county and its largest employees union for 2016 that continues the countys
tradition of working with its employees through collective bargaining.

Pending ratification and final approval by the Dane County Board this week, the agreement will include
a focus on workplace diversity, a modest wage increase for workers, and will help control the countys
long-term health insurance premium costs.

Dane Countys employees work hard to deliver critical services to our residents every day from
keeping our communities safe to taking care of the most vulnerable among us, said Parisi. We are
proud to partner with them once again and provide an example of how collective bargaining works in
Dane County.

The countys union workforce has worked with the County Executive to find nearly $4 million in savings
in the past three years through voluntary leave, wage reductions, and furlough days to assist with
budget challenges and help protect funding for the vital services county government provides.

The vast majority of Dane County citizens support collective bargaining and quality public services.
This agreement shows the wisdom of working together and honors Dane County values, said Shannon
Maier, president of the joint council of AFSCME locals 705 and 720.

The agreement includes the creation of a joint labor/management committee that will work to increase
minority recruitment and retention in the countys represented workforce a key focus of the County
Executive, County Board, and labor leaders.

Im pleased that we could negotiate an agreement that improves wages and respects workers, said
County Board Chair Sharon Corrigan. Our workforce has helped us through difficult budget times Im
glad we could recognize their contribution to the well-being of the residents of Dane County.

The agreement also provides employees with a modest raise in 2016 of .22 cent/hour, paid for in part
by savings the county will receive from changes in the employees health insurance plans. The parties
maintain flexibility to revisit additional wage adjustments in August of 2015, depending on the countys
budget outlook at that time.

Dane County is one of the few units of government that has maintained a positive collective bargaining
relationship with its employees following the restrictions of Act 10.



The countys workforce is currently operating under an existing contract through 2014. A one year
agreement for 2015 was approved last year following successful negotiations between the County
Executive and the countys union workforce.

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