A&R welcomes agencies to authorize their employees to travel to and to attend conferences as part of agency travel. Such agency travel must always include the full benefits, payments, reimbursements, and travel time provided for in the A&R contract and paid for by the agency. These business-related travel costs include, but are not limited to, registration fees, lodging, flights, taxis, parking, etc. 

Regardless of their intent, agencies are not free to water down any such negotiated rights by reaching any form of understanding between such agencies and unionized employees of such agencies. For

-Updated 9/8/25 

We have just added tickets to see Hamilton at the Bushnell on Sunday November 16 at a discounted price!  Good seats, a great musical, and right in your neighborhood!

To purchase Hamilton tickets online, follow this link.
To view the Hamilton flyer, follow this link.

Don't overlook our November 11 trip to Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular, our DoYourOwnThing in NYC on December 6th, the Halloween trip to Salem on October 18 and save the date for Friday December 5th when we hold our annual, peak event: the A&R Holiday Party at the Aquaturf  (registration will be open soon).

A&R would like to pass along a very happy retirement wish to our 2nd Vice President Tommy Smalls (DRS) who has decided to hang up his gloves and venture into his new role as 'retiree' at the end of July 2025.  Tommy surfaced as a stand-out A&R Steward at DRS over 10 years ago and ascended to be our 2nd VP in 2021.  Tommy has been the key figure in stabilizing the labor/mgmt relations at DRS; an agency which employs 450 A&R employees...but beyond that, Tommy is one of the most loyal and dedicated friends you could ask for, he is the guy you could always count on to stand at your side through

As you most likely know, three of our fellow state employee unions have declared impasse, having grown frustrated by the administration’s lackluster offer which was a wage freeze with steps (for some) and a meager lump sum for 2025/26, followed by three years of 0% wages and no steps in all other years.  The A&R negotiating team is just as frustrated as everyone else who is dealing with this administration.  We believe that employees need a wage increase which mirrors our growing personal expenses and acknowledges the rising consumer price indexes. A state that has completed the last several

The Comptroller's Office is conducting an audit of dependents covered under the employee healthcare plan.  Remember, children can remain on the healthcare/dental plan until the end of the calendar year in which they turn age 26 then must be removed (with exceptions for some disabilities).  No boyfriends/girlfriends, roommates etc are to be covered.  Ex-spouses are not to be covered unless directed by the court; although the employee cost of the "family" plans will  not change, the ex-spouse still needs to be removed upon final dissolution of marriage.   If any of these situations are currently