Daniels rescinds collective bargaining for state employees

INDIANAPOLIS -- Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels rescinded collective bargaining powers for state employees Tuesday and canceled settlement agreements for about 25,000 state workers, saying the arrangements hindered his ability to quickly reshape state government.\nDaniels also created a separate, cabinet-level agency to oversee the state's child protection services. He said the current collective bargaining contracts, which were due to expire in June 2007, would have prevented him from doing that in the manner and speed he did.\nSeveral Democratic lawmakers and two unions that bargain for about two--thirds of the state's 35,000 executive branch employees blasted the move.\n"We were the only representation they had," said Francis "Fuzz" LeMay, president of The Unity Team Local 9212, which represents about 14,000 state employees. "Now that's gone."\nThe collective bargaining powers, established by Democratic Gov. Evan Bayh in 1989 and extended by Democratic governors who followed him, allowed state workers to negotiate pay, benefits and work rules. The resulting agreements also included provisions on transfers, layoffs and other matters, some of which also were covered under state and federal laws.\nDaniels is Indiana's first Republican governor in 16 years, and The Unity Team and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 9,000 state workers, both endorsed former Gov. Joe Kernan in the governor's race. Kernan was expected to extend the collective bargaining rights had he won a full term in the November election.\nDaniels never committed to that, and said his decision against it was "complicated and difficult."\nBut he said lawmakers had never written such bargaining powers for state employees into state law, and he did not extend them through executive order in part because they would delay his efforts to reform state government.\nFor example, he said the state would be required to notify and meet with unions 30 days in advance of any department reorganizations. And he could not have moved staff and resources to quickly create new offices to support faith-based and community initiatives and oversee information technology.\nDaniels said state workers would still have access to a complaint and hearing procedure for contested disciplinary actions during which unions could represent them.\nPayroll deductions for union dues would continue to be honored, he said, and state personnel officials plan to meet quarterly with unions and other organizations with significant employee membership to hear their concerns.\nBut Daniels acknowledged that his decision would make it easier to fire some employees.\n"Let me just say that I think it will be a lot harder, for instance, for an employee who has found to have failed multiple drug tests to get back on a snow plow," he said.\nSeveral Democrats blasted the move, saying it removed key rights from thousands of state workers.\nHouse Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said Democrats could try to get the bargaining powers included in state law. But Democrats are outnumbered in both chambers now, and even when they pushed such bills when they controlled the House, their efforts were blocked in the Republican-controlled Senate.\nPassing it this session, he said, "would be a very long shot."\nSeveral state employees declined requests by The Associated Press to comment on Daniels' decision, but union leaders said many were angry.\n"We cannot all go to the governor's office to talk business, but we should have representation in order to do that," said Cordelia Lewis-Burks, policy and legislative director for AFSCME's Indiana chapter.