HOOPER:  During the bargaining term Gov. Dean describes, as President I was, as dictated by our Bylaws, chair of the master bargaining team.  Since I was involved in other things, the team elected a substitute chair to fill in.  However, later in the process our staff negotiator became ill, which forced myself and another staff member to take over the negotiations.

Since we are a collective bargaining state, the chain of events as to who did what is somewhat difficult to chart.  We meet to exchange initial proposals at the bargaining table in the fall of the year prior to the contract ending the next July.  This subject round of discussions began in Sept of 2000.

The initial discussion of wages involved exchanges of proposals, neither of which involved a flat, across the board salary increase.  We started with a large percentage, the state responded with a small percentage.  We moved to the point quickly where the state asked us for a different scheme and when the flat dollar proposal, one that by its nature benefited lower paid employees more on a percentage basis of their salary, was proposed they jumped upon it. 

Needless to say, during negotiations communication between union officials and the Governor were verboten, but I can say that we had talked about doing something that would benefit lower paid employees prior to that round of bargaining.  If the Governor had instructed his "team" to seek out or propose that plan, I cannot say.  However, once it was on the table, there was no question that we would end up with that proposal at the end of the negotiations. 

In a two-year contract period, we settled on a flat fee raise in year one, and a percentage raise in year two.  This combination did benefit those in the lower pay scales proportionately more than those earning higher dollar amounts.  I know that the governor was proud to sign the contract with this result, as he did convey this to me, and has talked about that raise more than once. 

You ask specifically "what it all meant", which is hard to answer from his perspective.  From ours, it meant he recognized that every now and then it is a good thing to recognize that the people on the lower end of the pay range don't do as well when percentages are applied.

It is a good precedent to have established and it will remain as one of his legacies.

By way of background, I would note that Gov. Dean clearly made it an administration priority to keep state employees on top of the inflation curve by always including a salary increase in his budget preparations.  Now I do not mean that he ever "gave away the farm", but we were reasonably assured that compensation would increase during his administration. In hard times we were asked to help absorb the pain, and we did.  In times of plenty, we asked to be recompensated, and usually found the surplus went to other priorities, but we were never left out.  I think he has a good sense of fairness and knows a happy workforce is a productive one.
 

QUESTION:  Are there other observations or anecdotes you can provide that would offer insights into Gov. Dean's leadership style and capabilities?

HOOPER:  I think he is a much smarter/more intelligent/quicker person than he often lets on to be.  He grasps situations quickly and is able to make decisions literally "on the fly" that reflect fundamental understanding of the issue and the consequences of the decision.  I believe he surrounds himself with people who have the capability to give him the most insightful information on a subject, which he gathers and then moves to a decision that he is willing to own and stand behind.  He is not afraid to take a less than popular stand and speak candidly about his reasons for doing so.  He is a doctor of medicine, not of spin.  I have never heard him duck an issue by distraction.  He prefers to take on all comers head on to clarify his position and explain his reasoning.  I think he has a sense that honesty and fairness works well for a person in the public life.

My anecdote on his temperament and style relates to a time when we were involved in a series of sexual harassment and hostile workplace environment complaints in a predominately male agency of state government.  We sat down in the Governor's office to discuss the situation, and one could tell he was disturbed by what he was hearing.  About half way into the discussion, he sat up in his chair and announced rather matter of factly, (not a quote as I am not sure I would remember that accurately) that the situation was one that he would not allow to continue in his administration and if it didn't change immediately someone was going to get fired.  He related that no one should have to come to work on a daily basis feeling that they had to endure more than their job duties.  I know the message went out from the meeting that managers and supervisors were now in the spotlight and things needed to change immediately.  We sent the same message to the workers that "no one" would be accepting excuses anymore.  He doesn't pussyfoot around.  He sees what needs to happen, and makes it so.
 

QUESTION:  Are there any other points about Gov. Dean that you feel should be made clear to the national audience that is just beginning to gain awareness of him?

HOOPER:  We have a good overall relationship with Gov. Dean.  He does not always listen to us; He does not always ignore us.  He has always been open to meeting to listen to suggestions, complaints, or just talk about the issues of the day.  We routinely invite him to our annual membership meetings and he usually comes, often in past years, with two children in tow.  He is willing to stand, alone, in the front of a room armed only with a microphone (which he often does not need) and take any question our membership wanted to deliver.  He would have done so all day if we had offered him the time.

Overall, I would like America to know that we present our Governor to them as an honest man, with faith in his convictions and a broad base of experience to draw from.  He seems a little gruff at times, and sometimes seems to shoot from the hip.  We should not look at this as a deficit, as when this happens you can be assured you are getting the most honest response any politician will offer you.  In fact, I suspect politician is not a word that fits this man; he is a doctor who chooses to work in a political environment. And I think he does a great job.