Senate passes negotiated wage increase

Late Sunday night, the Nevada Senate passed the state employee pay bill that includes a 3% wage increase AFSCME Local 4041 members negotiated into their first contract. The bill now goes to Governor Sisolak for his signature.  

“We are so proud to reach this historic moment, where the state legislature has honored our contract and included a wage increase negotiated by state employees for the first time ever. When workers have a voice on the job, we have the power to improve our lives and working conditions. This first contract shows the difference we can make when workers come together as a union,” said Harry Schiffman, an electrician at UNLV and President of AFSCME Local 4041.  

Workers in four bargaining units certified to negotiate as AFSCME Local 4041 are covered under the recently ratified contract, also known as a Collective Bargaining Agreement, or CBA. Workers in these four bargaining units negotiated a 3% wage increase for fiscal year 2023, which starts July 1, 2022. For fiscal year 2022, which starts July 1, 2021, the Local 4041 bargaining team will be reopening the CBA to re-negotiate a wage increase, as the state of Nevada will receive this summer billions of dollars of federal aid to address budget shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

AFSCME Local 4041 members won collective bargaining rights for Nevada state employees in 2019. After reaching majority and certifying 4 bargaining units of workers as AFSCME, contract negotiations started in 2020. The state of Nevada and AFSCME Local 4041 reached a tentative agreement in March 2021, and AFSCME members overwhelmingly voted yes to certify the agreement into a contract.  

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