WINS Compensation Negotiating Team Sheds Light on Un-Competitive Pay      

The WINS Compensation Team signed its first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on November 6, 2009 with the Department of Personnel and Administration.  After many months of constructive discussion, WINS and DPA reached an historical agreement through the interest-based bargaining process that fundamentally changes the salary survey process to create a more fair and equitable system to attract and retain great employees to provide quality services.

 Specifically, for the first time ever, WINS members will help develop criteria for salary survey selection for the August 2010 letter.  This criteria will include an agreed upon definition of "prevailing wages," a benchmarking system to accurately compare state salaries, and a way of weighting in-state data differently than out-of-state data.

In addition, WINS members will work with DPA to redesign the pay progression process to ensure a reasonable degree of progression in the respective ranges--with the goal of providing a clearer, more fair way for state employees to move through their pay ranges.

Finally, through the partnership process, the WINS negotiating team reached formal agreement with DPA that "the State contributions for insurance and retirement are considerably less than the corresponding market contributions for these components of total compensation."  Therefore, beginning in 2010, DPA's August 1 letter will include comparative data for employer share of retirement/pension costs, which will provide the Governor, Legislature, and general public with a more accurate portrayal of state employee compensation.