In his appearance on Mike Gousha's program ""On The Issues,"" Gov. Jim Doyle discussed how he plans to move forward with the labor contracts and why he cannot halt proceedings as Governor-elect Scott Walker has requested.
""It's illegal for a state to say we're simply going to cut off negotiations with you,"" Doyle said.
Doyle pointed out that state workers have not had a contract for 18 months, mainly because the state has not given them an offer for one.
He said the new deal involves no pay raises as well as furlough days, and it had all been provided for in the previous budget.
Doyle noted that even though Walker faces a ""very legitimate challenge"" in balancing the next biennial budget, the negotiations taking place are over a contract that will end June 30 of next year.
However, incoming Joint Finance Committee Chairs Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, and Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, sent a letter to Doyle and Administrative Secretary Dan Schooff to state they are ""adamantly opposed to consideration of these contracts,"" asking for them to be delayed until the newly elected legislature convenes.
Vos and Darling also said, ""If a lame duck session is to occur, we should provide maximum transparency to the taxpayers.""
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees revealed in a statement that the contract they are currently working with includes no pay raises, a 6.9 percent increase in health care premiums and a .2-.8 percent increase in employee pension contribution.
Vos and Darling also cited the need for more time to review the documents, pointing out that the current contract is over 300 pages long, and comparing it to the new contract will take time for the public.
