NHS!

Just a personal note: as someone who went to Sandy Hook Elementary School as a child and graduated from Newtown HS, I can't help but comment on the Newtown High School football team which won the Class LL State Championship on 12/14/2019...the 7th anniversary of the school shooting.  Some of those football players attended SHS at the time of the tragedy and for them to win the Championship on the final play of the game on the same date 7 years later was so moving and so perfect.  Congrats NHS!!!

Increments & Top Step Payments

Friday December 20th, all employees who are not on the Top Step of their salary grade will "move up" one step.  Those on the Top Step of their salary grade will receive a Top Step Payment of 2.5%.  For those who don't "math", there is a table near the back of the blue A&R Contract book which calculates the Top Step Payment that you will receive; use the 6/21/2019 table.  Since these are awarded on the first day of the payperiod, they won't be reflected in your paycheck until January 16, 2020. 

A couple of caveats: the Step increase requires a minimum "Good or Better" service rating from September 2019.  The Top Step Payment does not have that requirement, it is now part of the annual salary (based upon a language change we made in the recent contract negotiations).  ACTs/CCTs in a 2 year training class have seperate language, they will move to Salary Grade 15 Step 5 upon completion of 1 year of satisfactory service.

View the current Wage Charts

View the Top Step Payment Table

SEBAC Savings Report Released

When we approved the SEBAC 2017 agreement, many in the legislature did not believe that the projected savings from that agreement were real and publicly ambushed the agreement with claims that collective bargaining was rigged and the associated budget savings were false.  As a result, the legislature tasked the Comptroller's Office withcompiling a report to validate (or invalidate) the expected savings from SEBAC 2017.  The Comptroller's Office released the SEBAC Savings Report on 12/10/19.  The SEBAC Savings Report  verified that not only were the projected savings real and acheived, but they exceeded expectations. The expected savings were $700 million in FY18 and $900 million in FY19 for a total 2-year savings of $1.6 billion; ultimately, the savings amounted to $1.7 billion for the 2-year budget cycle, exceeding expectations by over $100 million.  View the report for a breakdown of the savings.

WINTER WEATHER - KNOW YOUR CONTRACT

With winter weather again upon us we want to remind members how to conduct themselves in accordance with the contract.  Contract provisions regarding delayed openings and shift cancellations are as follows:

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Pension Factors

The Retirement Commission approved changes to the "factors" associated with the pension benefit payment options.  These changes were based on a periodic review and analysis of the actual experience of the retirement fund which led to a revision of the actuarial "factors"; this is the first revision since 2009. These changes will take effect for any SERS retiree on or after 1/1/2020 (this will not impact current retirees).

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Holiday Party Toy Drive

As we do every year at the A&R Holiday Party, we ask that everyone bring an unwrapped gift to donate to the United Labor Agency.  If you are looking to attend the Holiday Party and have yet to register, please do so, the deadline to purchase a ticket is Tuesday November 26!!!  If you have purchased a ticket, please consider bringing an unwrapped gift with you as a donation to the ULA.

For those who have yet to purchase their ticket to the party, we will accept credit card payments at the A&R Office (in person only) and we are no longer assessing the $1 surcharge for credit card payments for this or any of our other social committee trips/events.  Complete and return the registration form.

For those in need of toys for the holidays, please complete and submit this form to one of the ULA offices liseted on the form (do NOT send it to A&R),