Negotiations Convention helps members plan next steps on contract

MAPE contract negotiators from around the state met in Shoreview last week to determine the next steps to move our 2025-2027 MAPE Contract process forward. Meet and Confer Chairs also joined the meeting to discuss agency supplemental negotiations.

"We began discussing what negotiations will look like this year, and what themes and ideas we may want to focus on. We also spoke about how we want to communicate together and push those agendas as one team," Negotiations Co-Chair Sean McIntyre, Region 11, said. "We have a really good team of negotiators ready to do this work, but we need member involvement, too: bring your ideas, bring your energy, bring your passion and we can all do this together."

"Our negotiators are ready to work on your behalf: they're energized and excited and ready to work at the bargaining table," Negotiations Co-Chair Carolyn Murphy, Region 5, added.

Negotiators are beginning to plan statewide listening sessions with members in their regions to learn what issues they would like to see included in the 2025-2027 contract.

"We talked a lot about how to plan and hold our listening sessions - so, be on the lookout for information about joining a listening session in your area! We really need members to participate because we want to hear your ideas. In discussions with Meet and Confer Chairs, we also learned about issues that are affecting all regions across the state. We will start building the language after we get your input at the listening sessions," Murphy said.

Some of the issues being discussed in agency Meet and Confers include on-call wages and pay differentials, overtime parity, student loan reimbursement and other matters. "A few agencies want to fix overtime and how it's accrued, some are trying to bring student loans home and equity issues - pay equity, equity in workload with some members working way more than 80 hours per pay period. Getting that work-life balance will be one of the focuses of this contract negotiations," Meet and Confer Speaker Maureen Dunaway, Region 5, said.