Agencies brace for action by state workers
10:37 PM 2/05/03
Phil Brinkman State government reporter

State agencies are bracing for a series of job actions this weekend - some expected as early as today - by union employees frustrated at the slow pace in approving contracts.

Strikes by state workers are illegal. But Wisconsin State Employee Union executive director Marty Beil said Wednesday many employees have said they plan to work to the letter of their contracts or start taking "mental health days."

"It's going to crescendo here through this week and possibly the next," said Beil, who stressed the union is not endorsing or condoning any activity that could be construed as a work stoppage.

Gov. Jim Doyle and one of the leaders of the legislative committee considering new contracts for 15 employee bargaining units urged workers to be patient, despite not seeing raises since the summer of 2001.

Sen. Alan Lasee, R-De Pere, said the Joint Committee on Employment Relations will likely vote on the contracts next week. The committee must approve the contracts before they can be considered by the Legislature.

"If the state employees do anything to upset legislators, I don't think it's going to bode well for them," Lasee said.

Karen Timberlake, secretary of the state Department of Employment Relations, said the extent of the job actions is "anybody's guess."

"As the days have gone on, we're starting to hear that there's a little more dissension out there about whether this is such a good idea," she said.

Timberlake has alerted state agencies to the possible job action, noting employers are entitled under existing contracts to demand doctors' notes if large numbers of workers call in sick. Employees who engage in an illegal strike also could be subject to discipline.

Departments that could be affected the most include Corrections and Health and Family Services, because prisons and mental health institutions operate around the clock. Both departments already have contingency plans in place for when administrators must take over the work of other employees, Timberlake said.

Although new contracts were tentatively approved last year, Republicans who run the Legislature say the state is broke and wants to reopen talks.

Many employees feel they've waited long enough, Beil said.

"When you continue pushing a worker into the corner and try to intimidate them and basically take away their dignity, a point comes where a worker makes a decision about withholding .