Gubernatorial candidates support state workers’ bargaining rights

Cy Ryan

Friday, Feb. 24, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

MINDEN - Both Democratic candidates for governor support giving state workers collective bargaining rights.

Prior to a candidate forum Wednesday, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, were questioned by reporters and said they would support giving collective bargaining to the more than 15,000 state employees.

State workers are the employees of a major Nevada government who don't have that right, and the Legislature has killed every bill that would grant the workers the right.

Scott MacKenzie, executive director of the State of Nevada Employees Association, said Thursday that "collective bargaining is at the top of the list" in priorities before the Legislature. But he said the association has never been able to get a bill approved.

MacKenzie said Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn did not back bargaining rights for employees in his first term. But in his second term Guinn agreed to sign a bill if it ever passed the Legislature.

Guinn will be out of office by next year's session of the Legislature.

Every local government has the ability to bargain collectively, but some of the smaller cities and counties do not have formal sessions on wages and benefits. The major counties and cities all have formal bargaining procedures.

Gibson said Henderson has collective bargaining and "it works wonderfully well for us.

"I think there needs to be an opportunity for them (state workers) to advance their concerns and their worries," Gibson said. "If you look at what's happening across state government today, one of the things we have to be careful of is that we continue to leave them behind."

He said a "whole range of issues" should be available for collective bargaining, including wages.

Titus said she has been a longtime supporter of collective bargaining. She said state workers should have the right to bargain primarily for benefits and working conditions, "but the Legislature has the final word (on salary). There are lots of other things besides salary that can be bargained for."

The Legislature approved a 2 percent raise for state employees last July and a 4 percent increase this July.

During the formal presentation to a crowd of about 300 people, Titus leveled the only criticism - but it was against Guinn's administration.

She said there's too much bureaucracy in Homeland Security with too many commissions. And these needed to be cut.

Titus said she supported Guinn's proposal last session to send $100 million extra to the public schools to help them boost their academic achievement. But she said she did not back the governor in setting up a new commission to dole out the money to schools who applied.

She complained this was "more red tape" and the money should have gone "straight to the classroom" in all the schools.

Cy Ryan can be reached at (775) 687-5032 or at cy@lasvegassun.com.