State Prosecutors Take 20 Percent Pay Cut in Milwaukee After Contract Negotiations Failed
Assistant prosecutors in Milwaukee County are set to take a 20 percent pay cut starting May 8, following a negotiation breakdown with the state of Wisconsin.
The state’s department of administration ordered the lawyers to take six unpaid furlough days, by the end of June, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. If the deal was not accepted, it called for a 20 percent reduction in full-time equivalency status, and benefits cuts.
John Chisholm, Milwaukee County’s district attorney, told the Journal-Sentinel that his lawyers nixed the agreement because it violated a contract limiting them to 10 furlough days over a two-year period.
Chisholm believes that his attorneys will eventually get their pay back, through arbitration or court action, and has ordered his lawyers to continue working full time.
“As public safety professionals and ministers of justice, our word is our bond, and we are obligated to keep our promises even if others don’t,” Chisholm said in a written statement. “I believe the Assistant District Attorneys are being treated dishonorably, but I also know that they consider it a great privilege, as do I, to serve you.”
