By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the second part of our 2023 wage series. In this article, we look at recent contract settlements and examine how those trends vary from previous years.
December 15, 2023 By
Wage Series Part 2: Recent Wage Settlement Trends in Washington Public Safety Labor Contracts
December 11, 2023 By
Information IS Power and Premium Website Subscribers Have the Information – AND the Power
By Jim Cline
Public safety contract negotiations and enforcement has been particularly challenging over the past few years. For the tumultuous 2020 to the legislative (over)reaction in 2021, to the recent wild swings in inflations, this period has made it especially clear for the need of labor reps to stay current and fully informed on developments.
December 11, 2023 By
Cline and Associates Released Year-End Contract Settlement and Wage Round Up With 2024 Projections
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
Today’s CPI article is the first in our exhaustive year end contract settlement and wage rankings. Clients and Premium Website Subscribers can get an advance preview of the data off the Premium website.
December 11, 2023 By
PART 1 of Negotiations and Settlement Trends: Will This Week’s CPI Report Show Diminishing Inflation – and What Does It Mean for Pending Negotiations?
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
We have been closely tracking and reporting on inflation trends. The recent “ups and downs” (in inflation has implications for the broader economy but it has some rather direct impacts on our contract negotiations.
August 3, 2023 By
Use of the OFM Population Numbers: Why Size Matters
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In the past two newsletter issues, we reported on and discussed the annual OFM population numbers. As indicated, all the details of those numbers are posted on the Cline and Associates Premium Website. While the Cline and Associates Database tracks a wide range of demographic factors, Population remains the most important factor for the selection of negotiation “comparables.”
August 1, 2023 By
Highlights from OFM Population Number Report
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In our last newsletter, we announced the release of the 2023 OFM Population Report. In this article, we discuss some of the highlights from the OFM data.
August 1, 2023 By
Impact of June CPI Numbers on Contract Negotiations
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In the last newsletter, we reported on the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of the June CPI numbers. As was noted, over the past 4 months the CPI has slid dramatically, although the Seattle numbers remain high by historic standards and substantially outpace the national CPI indices. The June CPI-W numbers are reflected in this graph:
July 28, 2023 By
2023 Population Numbers Released by OFM
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
City and County April 1 annual population estimates are released the beginning of July by the Office of Financial Management Forecasting and Research Division.
July 28, 2023 By
Key June CPI Report: Significant Drop in CPI although Seattle Numbers Still Far Outpace the National Numbers
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the June CPI Numbers on July 12. Both the Seattle and All Cities CPI numbers dropped significantly, although the Seatle numbers continue to notably outpace the national indices. This graph shows the relative numbers over the past 12 months and to date for the “W” index:
April 12, 2023 By
CPI Trends and the Impact on Negotiations Results
By Jim Cline
In our past two newsletters, we’ve discussed the continuation of higher-than-expected inflation. Those articles identified the prediction by economists earlier this year for the mid-year 2023 national inflation to subside to 3.6% and our doubts that those predictions will materialize. We are now expecting the June CPI numbers to be closer to 5% nationally and higher for the Seattle indices.
