Contract negotiations start with NH state workers

CONCORD (AP) — Negotiations have started on a new contract with the union representing most of New Hampshire’s 11,000 state workers. State Employees’ Association President Diana Lacey said Wednesday that wages will be among the chief topics under discussion since state workers have not had a general pay increase since January 2009. She said step increases also were frozen in 2011 for a year as part of a deal to save the state $50 million. Lacey said state workers don’t live in a bubble and have the same financial issues stemming from the recession as other working families in the state. “People lost homes, vehicles,” she said. “That’s obviously a major concern with people — the ability to make a living.” Lacey said health care also will be discussed, especially in relation to any potential opportunities from the federal health care reform law. Marc Goldberg, spokesman for Gov. Maggie Hassan, said the governor wants a fair compensation package that recognizes workers’ contributions “while also recognizing the fiscal constraints the state continues to face as we recover from the recession.” Lacey said she hopes attention will be paid to the growing number of workers approaching retirement age who will take years of institutional knowledge with them if no transition is developed to train new people.