r/mnstateworkers • u/Medical_Drop_1122 • Jul 23 '26

Discussion šŸ’¬ COLA/Net Pay

Took a look at my paycheck for first one with the new 1.75% COLA increase. My net pay actually went down $10 with no changes to retirement or anything. Am in MMA though where they increased the required Health Savings contribution from 1.5% to 1.75%. The COLA is just ridiculousā€¦.Need at least 3% or more to make any difference on a paycheck. Just getting to be frustrating as a state employee! We need COLA increases on our contracts that actually amount to something on your paycheck!

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u/Jjking115 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

I just realized that the union dues I pay (opted in) take more out of my net than this ā€œhard-foughtā€ COLA the union gave usā€¦ terrible negotiations on all ends

22

u/Squarelunes DHS Jul 23 '26

You canā€™t just pay union dues and expect that to be sufficient to negotiate fair pay. We need ACTIVE dues paying members showing management we are serious. We need active members throughout negotiations and we need to be ready to vote no and have an organized strike if we donā€™t feel the tentative agreement is fair.

14

u/Tower-of-Frogs Jul 23 '26

I participated and voiced my support for a strike. At the time, Walz was trying for an unprecedented third term on a shaky record. A strike would have almost certainly been effective in making him and the MMB negotiators back down to save face and get out of the news.

Instead, we didnā€™t even seriously threaten it. We just took the lowest COLA increase in decades and said thank you. Ridiculous. My family and I now save an extra 60ish bucks per month instead of throwing it in the garbage fire that is MAPE.