1) Each permanent employee is granted 3 Personal Leave (PL) days per calendar year.  Those 3 days expire on December 31 of each year.  If you do not use those 3 days they do NOT carry over into the next calendar year and there is no path to recover that time; so make sure you use your 3 PL days during the calendar year or you will lose them. The good news: on January 1st you will receive 3 new PL days to use in calendar year 2025.

2) More good news, employees who received at least a "satisfactory" service rating will get a Step increase on December 27, 2024.  Steps are not equivalent but

Just a reminder to everyone regarding snow days as we enter the winter season:

Under the A&R Contract (Article 16 sec 6 page 47): if you are reporting to work (not teleworking) and it is snowing you get a 1 hour grace period from the start of your shift to account for the weather conditions (this one hour is coded as regular time, it is not coded to Vac/Sick/PL).  If the severity of the travel conditions warrant more time, then there is an additional 1.5 hours of grace time allocated as well, however, this is additional 1.5 hours is a bit more subjective in determining whether it is granted.

A power outage in Hartford has closed at least the 165 Capitol Ave building and the 505 Hudson St building.  Any A&R employee who is scheduled to be in the office today and who can't work in the office because they get notice that their building is closed cannot be required to telework (this time is not charged to Vac/Sick/PL, it will be charged to LWWTR or LWGOV or some other code as directed by your agency).  The agency CAN ask you to work from home, however, the employee has the option to decline such a request (again, not charged to Vac/Sick/PL).  If an employee wishes to decline such a request, employees should make a clear written record of their choice to their chain of command. If they are ordered to telework regardless, they should comply with that order.  We will grieve.  

If power is restored and employees are ordered to report to the office as originally scheduled they should comply.  If an employee is scheduled to telework then continue to telework.

Final Telework Agreement 

8.3.2.In addition, teleworkers may be requested to telework on non-telework days as operational needs dictate or in the event of an emergency (e.g. power outage, flooding/water damage at official duty station etc.). Acceptance of such request shall be at the option of the employee. 

Registration for the A&R Holiday Party closes on Tuesday November 26!  The party is at the Aquaturf on Friday December 6.  The cost is $25.  There will be music, raffles, contests, a photo booth, a gift for all attendees, $5 drink tickets, and 800 of your favorite people around you!...oh, and your contract gives you a half-day of LPRTY time to attend!  Register Here (registration closes on Tuesday 11/26/24, do not call us on Wednesday, it's closed)

Also, bring an unwrapped toy because we will be hosting a toy drive for the Marine Reserves Toy4Tots program and a "guess the candies" jar for $2

Monday October 21, 2024 marks the beginning of in-person Early Voting for CT residents.  A&R encourages all members to vote this election season, this is your voice and your strength in the State's legislature...it is important.  A&R does not get involved in national level politics, we focus on State Senators and State House Reps.  It is the State Senators and House Reps who vote on our contracts and have influence over our agreements and the conduct of our agencies; therefore, this is our focus.

So when you go into the voting booth this year (either now or on Tuesday Nov 5th), we want you to

There has been a change of stance at the DMV regarding the validity of the 2014 AWS Policy.  After recent discussions with A&R Employee's Union leadership, DMV has acknowledged the validity of this longstanding agreement between the agency and the union, as encapsulated in the 2014 DMV AWS Policy. We are passing this information along to the membership with the intent to quell any confusion. It is our hope and expectation that, in order to avoid further confusion, the agency will issue a communication to DMV staff reiterating that the 2014 AWS Policy remains in effect. 

Members requesting AWS