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Attorneys who practice law in the State of CT are assessed an annual fee of $75 for the Client Security Fund.  As this fee is a requirement to practice law in CT, A&R attorneys can have this cost covered/reimbursed by the State in accordance with Article 24 Section 7 Licensing Fees.  If your agency does not make the payment on your behalf, you should submit your payment receipt for reimbursement.

Additionally, it is now a requirement that attorneys complete Continuing Legal Education courses.  These courses are also available for reimbursement under Article 31 Section 8 (Professional

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A few updates

A few items...

Telework:
We wanted to clarify some things.  The Interim Agreement specifically references 3 forms required to be completed as part of the Telework approval process.  The required forms are: (1) Interim Telework Application; (2) Interim Telework Security Addendum; and (3) Interim Telework Agreement.  Electronic “fillable” versions of these forms can be found on the A&R website under the Resources|Telecommuting tab or on the DAS|Telework site.  These 3 forms must be completed or your application will be denied.

We have become aware of a fourth document making the rounds at some agencies.  The document is being referred to as a Telework Work Plan.  This is not a required document under the terms of the Interim Agreement.  The Agreement specifies that “the manager shall establish methods and standards for measuring the work performance, including productivity and efficiency, of the teleworking employee….”  This language rightfully leaves the method for monitoring work performance to the manager.  The DAS Training Manual says: "A Sample Work Plan is found in Appendix B.  However, work plans will vary depending on the nature of the work involved."  Based on conversations with members, it appears that some agencies are erroneously under the impression that this unofficial fourth document (Telework Work Plan) must be completed.  Your manager may or may not choose to utilize a Work Plan document.  It is their choice – and while acceptable under the Agreement it is not a requirement of the Agreement.  Our advice is that if your manager asks for such a Work Plan document, that you provide one – while at the same time pointing out to the manager that he or she can avoid this fourth bureaucratic hurdle because it is not required under the Agreement. 

We have identified a handful of titles needing corrections to the list of Eligible/Ineligible titles (Appendix A, B, C of the Agreement).  The titles of Supervising Special Investigator, Librarian, Librarian Tech, and Library Tech Assistant were all listed as Ineligible.  With the exceptions of Supervising Special Investigators at OCME, and Librarians, Library Techs and Library Tech Assistants at DOC, these titles should be eligible (the exceptions are made because of the 24/7 nature of work and working environment OCME and DOC).  We expect to have these titles corrected and a new appendix A to be issued in the coming weeks.

The A&R Officers are scheduling member meetings at agencies throughout the state to discuss/explain the Interim Telework Agreement and other issues of importance to members.  The Telework program is a significant new benefit members now have a right to in the workplace.  As it was when AWS first came into existence, it will take time to fully implement teleworking.  We work for a large bureaucracy and such organizations take time to implement significant changes.  In time teleworking will become as commonplace as AWS, but first we need to work out the wrinkles.  We encourage people to complete/submit the 3 required forms and to work with your agencies to make teleworking a reality.  As always, if you encounter problems, notify an A&R steward or contact the A&R office directly.

SEBAC Statement
SEBAC issued a press release Wednesday, 6/5/19 which has prompted some to ask if negotiations are taking place between SEBAC and the Governor.  To be certain, no negotiations have occurred and none are scheduled.  To clarify, the SEBAC statement referred to the pension funding proposal included in the state budget.  Any changes the Governor or Legislature is contemplating will not impact our current or future benefits.  The issue being discussed in the public square is pension funding.  Modifications to pension funding would have no impact on present or future member benefits.  More to the point, we have not negotiated nor agreed to any such changes.

For reference, here is the SEBAC press release:  

 “While we have made clear that we are not open to a penny of further concessions beyond the $24 billion in savings we are already providing through the SEBAC 2017 agreement, we have indicated our willingness to consider ‘win-win’ changes, including the pension funding proposal included in the budget.  We don’t consider it unreasonable for the budget to assume the parties will agree to this change.”
- Dan Livingston, Chief Negotiator for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition

Legislative Session Ends
The 2019 legislative session ended with relatively little fanfare.  The A&R Accretion agreements passed, and once again we welcome those newly minted A&R members.  Beyond the accretion agreements, there is not that much to report out of the legislative session (typically this is good news).  Many legislators were hostile to the accretion agreements, with several taking the opportunity to blame state employees for the state's fiscal problems while at the same time forgetting the $24 billion in savings derived from SEBAC 2017.  Fortunatley, after some legislative grandstanding, the accretion agreements passed.

Upcoming Activities

We have 2 upcoming events which still have space available for A&R members and their families:


July 3          A&R Family Picnic at Lake Compounce
                    
(you can use your contractual summer picnic half day for this event)


August 9    Red Sox v Angels at Fenway Park

To attend any of these events, complete the Registration Form and send/bring it to the A&R Office along with payment.  Remember, we do take credit cards at the Office.

Also, we have added our Maneeley's Picnic on 8/30/2019.  This is for A&R members only.  Remember, our contract allows for a half-day for a summer picnic (either a union outing or an agency outing), so attendance at Maneeleys or Lake Compounce does not require the use of PL or Vacation time to attend...and that is a "half-day", which does not necessarily mean 4 hrs, it could be more, it could be less depending on your schedule.  Also, if the event falls on your day off, youz allowed to re-structure your work week to enable the use of your contract time.


Congratulations to all of the employees that have now successfully unionized and joined A&R!  The final legislative vote took place on Friday and our contract agreements incorporating these new titles passed both legislative chambers and the process is complete.  We would like to welcome the addition of the following job titles into A&R:

  • Airport Operations Manager
  • Fiscal Administrative Manager 1
  • Fiscal Administrative Manager 2
  • Healthcare Advocate Program Manager
  • DMV Hub Branch Manager
  • Military Administrative & Program Manager
  • Tax Attorneys (1, 2, & 3)
  • Transportation Bridge Safety Principal Engineer
  • Transportation Assistant District Engineer
  • Transportation Principal Property Agent

UPDATE:  Titles of Included and Excluded Classes
-5/28/1

Appendix A (Eligible To Telecommute)
Appendix B (Ineligible To Telecommute for the interim plan)
Appendix C (Ineligible To Telecommute for the interim plan while under dispute)


After two years of contentious negotiations, we finally have an interim agreement with the state to make telecommuting a right and a reality. In case you haven’t been following the history of this, our 2017 SEBAC agreement included a provision that made telecommuting a grievable right. Since then we have been in negotiations with the State to make this idea a reality

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Email Your Legislators - Urge Support of Negotiated Labor Management Agreements

We are asking members to contact their state legislators to urge passage of House Resolution 32 and Senate Resolution 33 (HR32 & SR33).  We anticipate the legislature will act on these resolutions on Tuesday, May 28th.  As you may recall, these legislative Resolutions are specific to A&R.  The substance behind HR32 & SR33 is a negotiated agreement between A&R and the state which applies to previously non-unionized employees who successfully petitioned the Labor Board to join A&R.  We expect vigorous debate and a close vote on the resolutions.  We worked hard negotiating this agreement with our counterparts at OLR.

As a union, the next step in the process is to ensure our voice is heard at the legislature and that our elected officials vote in support of the negotiated agreement between A&R and OLR.

What we ask of union members is easy to do: email (or telephone) your state Representative and your state Senator.  The message can be as simple as "Please vote yes on HR32 & SR33".

Negotiated agreements between labor and management need the support of the legislature - we are asking you to help with this final push.

Below are three links.  The first link provides a list of state senators, their district numbers, and their email addresses.  The second link provides a list of state representatives, their district numbers, and their email addresses.  The third link allows you to find your legislators by inputting your address.

State Senators email link
State Representatives email link
Find your Legislator link

Email them and ask them to vote yes on HR32 & SR33

As a reminder:

The following titles are included in HR32 & SR33:

  • Airport Operations Manager
  • Fiscal Administrative Manager 1
  • Fiscal Administrative Manager 2
  • Healthcare Advocate Program Manager
  • DMV Hub Branch Manager
  • Military Administrative & Program Manager
  • Transportation Bridge Safety Principal Engineer
  • Transportation Assistant District Engineer
  • Transportation Principal Property Agent

The negotiated agreement being voted on in HR32 & SR33 calls for:

  • Maintaining current wage ranges (e.g.- the current MP-66 becomes AR-66)
  • GWIs of 3.5% for 2019 and 2020
  • Steps of 2% for those who qualify
  • 2.5% TSP for 2018, 2019, and 2020 for those who qualify
  • Longevity at line AR32 for those at AR-67 or higher and line 30 for those at AR-66 or lower for those who qualify
  • One furlough day during FY20 if they did not take it in FY18.
  • $1000/$2000 payment that they were denied in 2018.
  • Anyone over 560hrs of vacation accumulation may maintain their current vacation bank with that amount becoming their personal maximum .  All others will default to the A&R maximum of 560hrs.