Archives for July 2015

Part 7: Dispatcher and Records Clerk Wages

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

dispatchThis is part of our continued series on Washington public safety employee wages.  In this issue we report on wage rankings for 911 dispatchers and police records clerks.

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Wage Series Part 6: June Inflation Report Shows Rising but Still Low Inflation, Seattle not as Low as All-Cities Index

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

economyIn our last article covering CPI we reported on the dramatic recent fall off in inflation (below 0%) numbers.  We also predicted that, as to the pivotal June CPI report, the number would show an increase but that “we are not anticipating that these numbers will leap up anywhere near the 2% mark.” In fact, the June CPI numbers are out and they do show a turnaround in inflation numbers and numbers well short of the normal 2% mark.

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BLS Reports Wages Rising at a Rate Greater than Inflation

By Jim Cline

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????One additional sign of good economic news this week came in the form of a Bureau of Labor Statistics Second Quarter Wage ReportThe BLS, the data reporting branch of the Department of Labor reports that despite the low rate of inflation, reports wages are rising, 2.7% as to the period one year ago:

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Wage Series Part 5: Firefighter and Corrections Rankings

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

degreeThis is Part 5 of our 11 Part Summer 2013 Wage Series. In our last article, we covered Commissioned Deputy and Police Officer Wages.  In this article, we turn to Firefighter and Corrections Officer Wages.  We’ll cover Dispatcher and Records Clerk Wages in the next article.

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Wage Series Part 4: How Do Your Wages Stack Up: Statewide Commissioned City and County Wage Rankings

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

payIn part 4 of our on-going wage series we now turn to the rankings of County Deputy and City Police Officer rankings throughout the State. This series always produces both expected and unexpected information about the relative standing of jurisdictions.

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Wage Series Part 3: Current economic conditions — Weak National Economy Creates Uncertainty for Local Economies

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

contract negsThis is the third article in our 11 part series reporting on contract settlement trends.  This article highlights some of the recent economic developments most likely to impact your negotiations outlook.

In our recent Blog, we noted the recent improvement in the Seattle economy  as reported in the February “Economic and Revenue Update” from the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (WSERFC).   Washington employment was slightly higher than forecast; housing construction improved; Seattle area home prices continue to rise; and Washington exports reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2014.

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Wage Series Part 2: Recent Wage Settlement Trends in Washington Public Safety Labor Contracts — An Ever So Slightly Rising Trend Line

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

seattle reflectionThis is the second part of our 11 part Summer 2015 wage series.  In this article we take a look at recent contract settlements and examine how those trends vary from recent previous years.  Our view of 2013 and 2014 settlements and what we have so far from 2015 indicates that the Washington State public safety employee wages are a mirror of national wage stagnation.  We see flat wage increases with little substantial real wage growth.  Whether a growing economy eventually will accelerate these is something we’ll discuss later in this series.

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Wage Series Part 1: Latest CPI shows Seattle and All Cities CPI Decline

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

downhillThis is the first of an 11 part series addressing current economic conditions and wage settlement trends.  In this Summer 2015 Wage Series we’ll bring you an update on CPI and economic developments, wage settlements, interest arbitration trends, statewide wage rankings for public safety classifications across the State, and an in-depth analysis of what factors appear to be impacting those rankings and settlements.

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Cline and Casillas Release New Version of Premium Website

By Jim Cline and Donna Steinmetz

C&C LOGOCline and Casillas today released a major overhaul of its Premium Website. Clients and subscribers can visit the new website here.  A video showing how to use the new website can be seen here.

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