12-20-13 state employee union pay raise approved

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A special committee of Wisconsin legislative leaders has approved a 1 percent pay raise for five state employee unions representing about 2,400 workers. The Joint Committee on Employment Relations approved the contracts today. Non-union state workers, the vast majority of the 69,000 state employees, received a 1 percent raise under the budget that took effect in July. Raises negotiated by these five smaller units have not taken effect because lawmakers haven't yet voted to approve the contracts.