Imagine how ecstatic George Bush or Al Gore would be winning an election by a 60-40 margin. Anywhere in the world, in fact, from Israel to Mexico, a 60% to 40% victory would constitute a landslide.

Except in a union vote.

Local 882's president, Tim Allen.

It's still very good. But labor leaders instinctively hone in on the fact that it also means 40 out of 100 of those who voted were against ratifying a contract that involved long and hard negotiations with management.

There are always disagreements, of course, in bargaining decisions. Labor rank and file consists, thankfully, of vocal and opinionated people. Nor, alas, can you read from the votes the absolute feelings of a local's membership since, just as in the general presidential election, you're lucky if half the voter base turns up. And you don't really know if the other half, the stay-at-homes, were apathetic, supportive or exasperated.

Still, striving to understand the vote on a contract is really essential to future union strategy. That requires leaders to delve into the workers' opinions, ask questions and think about what it all means, both in terms of future information to members about the realities of bargaining and future strategy to get the workers more of what they want.

All that has been going on in the wake of the Milwaukee County contract reached in January. Internally as well as in the public press, the AFSCME District Council 48 campaign and contract negotiations were widely regarded as quite successful. The issues were settled reasonably quickly, in a manner that allowed both the county and the workers to plan for the long-term and anticipate income and outflow.

It looks even better a few months later given all the warning signs in the economy and the clear indications that the Bush years will not provide labor with a lot of comfort about friends in high places. But still, a sizeable minority of the membership that voted didn't seem to agree. Were the advantages not sufficiently explained? Was there one overriding issue or a whole series of little ones that produced some negative vibes?

Both, it turns out, according to leaders of the locals, who have been listening hard.

The contract was two contracts, actually, one for 2001, and the second extending three more years. They were swiftly approved by the various joint bargaining committees and submitted for ratification votes to members, all bound to accept or reject the result of the majority vote of all seven locals combined.

In some locals, the vote was overwhelmingly favorable, as high as 65% or 75% in favor. In others the vote was far closer, a 50-50 split in one. In one local, the members actually narrowly voted against.

Local 594 President Lee Henderson.

Why such variance? The talks AFSCME leaders had with members produced one common thread and several intriguing but individualized issues.

The main thread, the main negative, all presidents of the locals agree, was focused on that one-year contract for 2001, because workers take a bit of a hit in order to lock in some exceptionally good long-term rewards. For 2001, a 2% pay raise kicks in midyear. There was also a $175 signing bonus (those checks started showing up for workers in late March). The contract also locks in health premium rates and offers a pre-tax payment option for health deductibles, broken up into 24 payments over the calendar year.

But the worker costs of health premiums did move up - now $80 a month for single coverage, $100 a month for family coverage. Over the life of the contract, that should prove a considerable benefit --- definable health costs as wages grow 13%, putting workers far ahead in the take-home pay game.

But for that first year, even with the signing bonus, the pay gains don't offset the medical increases, and that's where the negative votes honed in.

"Workers can do the math- a 2% raise in June is really only a 1% raise for the year," said Tim Allen, president of Local 882, one of the county's big unions representing county parks, public works, airport grounds and zoo employees. "It's really a good package if they look at all four years and that total wage increase of 13%, but that first year was clearly an issue."

Negotiators, he added, were quite aware it could be and had to weigh the long-term benefits against the inability to get the county to move on other issues. Allen's local, one of the most visible in the county, has 900 base members but because of seasonal employees can grow to 1,200 members, some paid far below $15 an hour.

"We made three attempts to negotiate graduated schedules geared to wage level and looking at length of contract," Allen recalled. "We were very aware that the lower you go on the pay scale, the more that health premium cuts in. When you're on the low end, you don't focus on the gains over the four years but how many hours you have to work that first year just to pay the health costs."

Still, his local voted 59% for the contract.

Local 645 President Wayne Krueger.

Other local presidents agree that the first year wage increase combined with health premiums was the main issue, but there were other factors, said Lee Henderson, president of Local 594 (representing about 550 human services employees, excluding social workers).

"We had some individualized issues such as re-allocation and reclassification concerns," she said. "I also think for the younger workers, the newer workers, there is a tendency to think in the short term and not look at the bigger rewards. Pension, for instance. What took me 20 years to reach they're going to get in just a few years. That's a big deal, but right now it's not a big attention-getter for them."

Indeed, the pension changes mean workers are now vested in the pension after five years of service and the contract provides a 2% pension formula for all employees and a 25% bonus for employees who were under previous formulas. Long-term employees also won improvements in sick leave buyout and benefit options.

Also a dramatic plus for workers thinking long-term were the vacation improvements. Now, after 15 years of service, workers move up to 20 days of vacation. In 2002, the day after Thanksgiving is added as a holiday and workers who have put in 20 years move up to 25 vacation days.

Pensions and vacations along with the total wage improvements helped drive the almost two- to-one favorable ratification vote in Local 1654 (Milwaukee County administrative and clerical employees), said Jackie Bly, the local's president. More than half of her 816 members turned out for the vote. Similarly, the ratification vote was overwhelmingly for the contract - nearly 75% -- and more than half the 615 members turned out for the election at Local 645 (professional social services, human services and related employees), according to the local's president, Wayne Krueger.

The story was different at Local 567 (House of Correction Employees), where the vote actually went narrowly against the county contract. "But our concerns were different," said Alicia Magee, president of the local. "There were a number of issues for us that the other locals didn't have. Things such as separate rates and recognition for some of our specially trained corrections officers in transport or hospital care, issues like higher clothing allowances."

That, all the locals agreed, brings up the Catch-22 of county bargaining. Considerable clout is obtained by jointly negotiating. It is clear that uniformity and levels are enhanced by the joint bargaining in such areas as wages, benefits, vacations and pensions. But dragging overly individualized issues within one local into the discussions could bog bargaining down, make the talks too complex or even become deal-breakers. So what is a hot but narrow issue for one local may be better left for the local itself to work out with the county.

In both the narrow sense and broad sense, the labor leaders believe there are several areas that they still long to address and solve.

For Krueger at Local 645, "We've had a huge turnover of personnel in the child welfare area, and those workers hired after 1994 don't have medical insurance paid upon retirement, something we lost in earlier contracts. Getting that for them should be a major priority in the future."

"We didn't do enough for seasonal employees," said Allen of Local 882, though he is pleased that this contract speeded the pace at which these workers become eligible for benefits.

"And I think we are going to have some terrific problems over privatization," added Allen, pointing out that the county has not added new positions though they are going to open two new major parks, Kohl and Bender. He expects a dual move - to produce revenue from the public for these parks and to seek private operators to run them.

"That is a battle we'll have to be ready to fight," he said.