Stunning June CPI Numbers are a Game Changer for Negotiations

Stunning June CPI Numbers are a Game Changer for Negotiations

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

The “All-Cities” index is published monthly and the “Seattle” and other regional indices are published every other month but of all those reports, it is the “June” numbers that are the most watched for their potential impact on contract negotiations. While some CBAs look towards the inflation report for different months, the vast majority of contracts that specifically apply CPI use the June numbers because they come out in mid-July about the time most negotiations are launching.

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Wage Series Part 14: Spring CPI Data Shows Predicted Inflation Bump, But More

Wage Series Part 14: Spring CPI Data Shows Predicted Inflation Bump, But More

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

Spring Blip. For some time, we had been predicting a bump in the upcoming Spring CPI numbers. As the April and May numbers materialized, that prediction proved accurate. The question now is what lies ahead.

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Wage Series Part 13: Fish and Wildlife Officers Guild

By Jim Cline and Troy Thornton

This is the second of two articles on recent Interest Arbitration decisions as part of our Annual Wage survey. A summary of all recent arbitrations since 2008 is available on the Premium website. This article covers a September 2020 decision by Arbitrator Jeffrey Jacobs involving the Washington State Fish & Wildlife Officers Guild (FWOG).   While there were a few decisions last fall involving State employee bargaining units that are unique to those groups, this decision and the previously discussed Clark County decision are the only arbitration decisions involving public safety employee wage arbitration since the pandemic. (There is a November 2020 decision involving the Snohomish County corrections officers that only concerns their health insurance coverage.)

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