We have just nine tickets left to this event.  Please act fast as these tickets will be gone soon!

• What:     Yankees vs.Astros Baseball game
• Where:   Yankee Stadium
• When:    Tuesday, May 29^th
• How:       By coach bus

For the low price of $49/person you get entry to the game and coach bus transportation to and from the game to Cromwell.

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The most recent legislative session echoed other recent legislative sessions where certain State Reps and State Senators such as Candelora, Fasano, Klarides and others tried to advance two main goals:

1) Remove Pension/Healthcare from negotiations so they can install a straight 401(k) plan

2) End pension COLAs.  This would make your pension a diminishing benefit.  Your pension would remain the exact same dollar value for your life but inflation would make the value of those dollars worth less each year. 

These items again died in the legislative process thanks in large part to lobbying efforts to

Over 400 A&R members work at the Department of Revenue Services.  DRS is one of the largest agencies at which A&R members work.  Their work is both challenging and an important public service.  Based on countless conversations we have had with members, we are aware that the workplace environment at DRS is neither healthy nor conducive to high morale.  This has been especially true in recent years from all levels of the agency.   A&R has been responding to many common themes including rampant favoritism, lack of respect in the workplace, an uncaring/unresponsive senior management team, and, not

Yesterday, at the 11th hour, the state legislature overwhelmingly passed a budget adjustment bill.  Although this budget was bipartisan, it should be noted that Senator Fasano and Representative Themis Klarides were very adamant about attaching amendments to several bills which would have eliminated collective bargaining over pension and healthcare in 2027.  Rep Candelora (North Branford, Northford, Durham) took the time to create a 13 page amendment which completely re-wrote the Collective Bargaining statutes and then attached it as an amendment to a "Minimum Wage" bill.

Credit is due to Representative Joe Aresimowicz and Senator Martin Looney who continued working with their counterparts to agree on a budget plan while also eliminating the politically volatile attachments.  The bipartisan budget now awaits review and approval by the Governor. 

It should not be lost that certain legislators continue advocating for ending collective bargaining for retirement benefits after the 2017 SEBAC contract expires June 30, 2027.  Along with elimination of negotiating retirement  benefits, their proposals include suspending cost-of-living adjustments for retirees post 2027 until the pension obligations reached 80% funding (we are at 40% now).  Representative Themis Klarides held a press conference today (5/10/18) in which she made it clear that ending collective bargaining over retirement benefits is still a high priority and will most certainly rekindle their efforts to end or severely restrict collective bargaining at their next legislative opportunity.  They continue to try and grab the authority for themselves and dictate your working conditions and benefits rather than negotiate over them.

We will remain vigilant and we cannot forget that this is real and that our retirement future is what is at stake.

Read related article at the CT Mirror

 - posted 5/10/18

DAS continues its pursuit of a time tracking system called Kronos.  While the rest of Connecticut fights for minimal financial support, employees are being asked to increase thier contributions to support their benefits, many agencies are seeing their funding dwindle, and the State budget deficit is approach $350 million, DAS continues its quest to squander millions on a time-tracking system that no one wants.  Quite simply, this waste of money should be scrapped.  In these economic times, "wants" are secondary to "needs" and this is a want, not a need.  But since it continues to move forward

The Health Insurance Open Enrollment period will run from May 7th through June 3rd of 2018.  The schedule of on-site open enrollment fairs has been released.  Remember, if you need to drop someone from your insurance, you must do it now.   The most common mistake is failure to remove a recent ex-spouse; they should be removed from coverage unless otherwise ordered by a court.  Children are covered until age 26 on medical and age 19 on dental (unless disabled).

The State Employee Healthcare plan has undergone quite a number of changes over recent years and is becoming a bit difficult to follow.