STUDENT DEBT HELPERS NEEDED!

A&R is organizing student debt clinics to inform members about student debt forgiveness and payment reduction programs.  If you are a people person and are interested in helping others learn how to save money on their student loan debt, we would like to offer you a tremendous opportunity.  We will provide you with training to become a Certified Student Debt Instructor, which will enable you to share this important information with your co-workers, friends, family, and community groups.

A&R will be hosting a 90 minute introductory session to explain the various

-8/10/17

Implementation of Pension Contribution Increase
It is expected that the additional 1.5% pension contributions will be applied to the final 21 paychecks of FY18.  This means that the full year's worth of contributions is expected be deducted starting with the first paycheck in September and will be at approximately 1.86% for the remainder of this fiscal year and then return to 1.5% starting next fiscal year.

Implementation of "Furlough Day Payments"
It is expected that the "furlough" expenses will also be deducted for the final 21 paychecks of FY18.  This means that the 24hrs of furlough time could begin to be deducted with the first paycheck in September and will be worth roughly 1.14 hrs per paycheck for the remainder of FY18 and then return to $0 starting next fiscal year.

12 Point Plan for Systemic Change
The SEBAC agreement and the Union contracts barely passed the Senate (19-18 vote) and narrowly passed the House (78-72).  There were 3 Senators (Hartley, Doyle, Slossberg) who voted in favor of the agreements but under the condition that their 12 Point Plan for Systemic Change be addressed during the budget negotiations.  Several of the 12 points limit collective bargaining for State Employees.  Their 12 Point Plan runs as follow:

1. Define in statute the definition of ''Impairment of Contract."
2. Define in statute the state’s “ability to pay”
3. After expiration of SEBAC in 2027, no COLAs for pensions negotiated in SEBAC but set by statute
4. After expiration of SEBAC in 2027, overtime shall not be included in pension calculations except for mandatory overtime required for public health or safety purposes.
5. After the expiration of SEBAC in 2027, no future SEBAC Agreements shall be longer than four years.
6. Create a mechanism for review and certification of 2017 SEBAC savings
7. Vote on all state union contracts
8. Create a Teachers Retirement System Viability Commission to ensure the sustainability of the TRB
9. Create a Pension Legacy Debt Commission to develop a liability asset management plan.
10. Establish a cap on State of Connecticut bonding
11. Create a Volatility Cap for Capital Gains income tax receipts
12. Create an Expenditure Cap based upon Consensus Revenue

Targeting state employees has become a political sport for many legislators.  Our livelihoods have become their political fodder.  Many have vowed to continue their attacks.  During this budget cycle, we need to show solidarity.  With a show of strength, we can thwart the plans of those individuals and those policies that continue to seek diminishment of employee rights and shaming employees who do the work of the State.  This was not always the way our legislators operated.  Unfortunately, this is the disgraceful path that many are taking.  Our work is honorable.  We are "a Union of Professionals", providing valuable services to the citizens of Connecticut.   It takes a talented, educated, trained workforce to provide such services.  We need to promote our professionalism and hold our heads high.  We need to stand up for ourselves and make it tougher for those in the legislature who want to demonize us.

Welcome DOT Transportation Managers
AFTCT's Eric Borlaug was again able to organize a group of 11 DOT Transportation Managers and assist them in joining A&R.  The State voluntarily recognized 11 employees as eligible to unionize and we welcome them as our newest A&R members.  There remains another group from DOT which is being contested by the State and will face another hearing at the State Labor Board in their efforts to unionize.

New Membership Cards Begin To Circulate
Under the shadow of an impending US Supreme Court case, A&R needs to file and maintain a new A&R membership card from every employee.  This process will begin soon but will take some time.  We will be reaching out to all members over the course of the next year, but if you do see the new card circulating, please grab one and complete it.

HEP Reminder
Reminder to complete your required HEP appointments for 2017.  A&R had 105 non-compliant members in 2016 and this number should be much lower.  Remember, the consequences of non-compliance are increased premiums payments and a deductible of $350 per person covered.

A&R Committees Forming/renewing
The union is run by union members.  Now is the best time to get involved by joining a committee --  committee chairs are in the process of appointing their committee members.  Committees of the Union are where the rubber meets the road.  At the committee level, you have direct input as to how the union provides services to the members and how the union conducts its affairs.  Join a committee and have a direct say.  Below is a list of the union's Standing Committees.  If your are interested in being involved on some level or in some way contact the following committee chairs directly or email mmyles@andr.org.

• Budget - Jan Bureau
• Communications - Mike Myles
• Negotiating - Christine Buck
• COPE - Karen Romero
• Professional Development - Mike Baczewski/Mary Graziosa-Norton
• Social - Rhonda Salvatore/Michelle Abrahamson
• Health & Safety - Mike Petosa

All new A&R contract language is in effect now.  However, it likely will take some time for some of the contract changes to be fully integrated into the workplace.   It is expected that the 1.5% pension contribution and the furlough contributions will begin on/about September 15 and be equally divided across the remaining 21 payperiods of the fiscal year.

This is a complete list of changes to the A&R Contract, listed by article order.

• Durational Employees will become permanent after 6 months (Article 2).
• Arbitrators will have a shorter cancelation period (Article 5 sec. 9)
• Reinstatement from dismissal will allow for buy-back of vacation time (Article 15)
• Late arrival on a delayed opening of/after 11:00 will allow excess time to be made-up or charged to accruals.(Article 16 sec 6)
• Essential employees will get comp time plus their regular pay for hours worked during state closings/delays. (Article 16 new section)
• AWS schedules/offerings will no longer go to a facilitator but to (expedited) arbitration. (Article 16A sec. 1 and 3).
• Required attendance at meetings outside the employee’s AWS schedule and/or the standard workweek will require 10 days notice or employee will be granted comp time. (Article 16A sec. 1)
• Non-AWS schedule accommodations under Individual Options can now be resolved by a Facilitator (Article 16 sec. 4)
• Maximum vacation accrual increases to 560 hrs rather than 480 (separation payout remains 480hrs). (Article 18 sec 2).
• Vacation/PL time will not be charged when the state closes (portion of day or full) unless employee has the full work week schedule off (Article 18 sec 3).
• Immediate family now includes mother/father in-law for purposes of bereavement.  (Article 19 sec 3b)
• Funeral time expanded to include non-funeral memorial services (Article 19 sec 3d)
• Top Step Payment is now part of our annual wages and will be included in the calculations for promotions/demotions/bumping.  Further, the TSP will now be calculated on the day it is applied (remember, we lost an arbitration on this, so now the calculation date is defined). (Article 24 sec 2)
• Wages:
  • July 1, 2018 employees will be eligible for a $2,000 lump sum payment

OR

$1,000 to be paid on/about July 1, 2018 + their Top Step Payment to be paid on their normal anniversary date.

• July 1, 2019:   3.5% GWI + Top Step Payment/Step Increase on normal anniversary date
• July 1, 2020:   3.5% GWI + Top Step Payment/Step Increase on normal anniversary date

• Longevity payments for April 2018 will be delayed to the final paycheck of July 2018
• Furlough Days:  11/24, 12/26, 12/27.  The 24hrs of “furlough” will be deducted equally across all paychecks through June 30, 2018.  An agency may change out a scheduled furlough day if necessary and the individual(s) would select another furlough day of their choice prior to July 1, 2018.
• Bilingual Stipend - A quarterly stipend of $250 for assignment to bilingual services, which includes sign-language (Article 24 sec 15).
• Tuition Reimbursement: up to $200,000 for 2016/17.  $200,000 for 2017/18 and 2018/19.  $225,000 2019/20 and 2020/21 (Article 24 sec 9)
• Safety Shoe allowance: increases to $110 July 1, 2019.
• On-call pay: increases to $1.50/$2.50 non-holiday/holiday July 1 2019.  (Article 24 sec 10)
• Home office premium increases to $300 July 1, 2019. (Article 24 sec 11)
• Professional Development: $120,000 2017/18 and 2018/19 then $125,000 thereafter. (Article 31 sec 6).
• Employees increase to an allotment of $600 per contract year and employees may access any unused allotment from the prior year to a maximum of $1,200. (Article 31 sec 7)
• CLE requirement for attorneys can be attained under Professional Development Funds and Professional Development Leave.  On-line CLEs may be conducted on state systems. Bar association dues can be covered under Professional Development as well.  (Article 31 sec 8).
• Safety: Limit of 18hrs work in a day. (Article 33 sec 5)
• Military Leave is now no less than any State or Federal law provides (Article 38 sec 6)
• Telecommuting: A&R will begin negotiations relating to Telecommuting no later than October 2017.
• MOU VIII: eliminates the denial of “ww” credit if an employee does not arrive on time during weather delays.
• MOU X: A&R will have until March 31 to swap funds from Prof Development to Tuition Reimbursement
• MOU XIII: Codifies agreement that employees in training classes do not have to re-start their training period if they laterally displace another trainee.
• The 2002 Travel Policy agreement with DRS has been vacated and out-of-state travel will now include portal-to-portal travel time.
• The grievance arbitration panel will be filled (we currently are down to only 3 arbitrators on our panel of 7).
• Settlement of a dispute regarding the implementation date of wages in the 2011 A&R contract.  As a result, all currently active A&R employees who were employed in A&R titles on 8/23/13 will receive a settlement of $5.  Those employees also eligible for a Top Step Payment either July 2013/January 2014 will receive an additional $10 (for a total of $15).
• Job Security: Employees impacted by programmatic changes/reorganizations will be offered placement in a comparable position.  Refusal of a comparable position will set the A&R contractual bumping process into motion. Subsequently impacted employees will be offered comparable positions or A&R contractual bumping rights. (SEBAC 2017 agreement)
• FMLA for immediate family members may now be drawn from Sick Accruals (previously only vacation accruals could be used).  This is in excess of the 5 days of Family Sick time already in our contract. (SEBAC 2017)
• FMLA for unpaid maternity, paternity or other child rearing leave for up to four months beyond the expiration of any leave otherwise due under FMLA (SEBAC 2017)

This evening the State Senate voted 18/18, along party lines, on the SEBAC Agreement.  Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman cast the deciding vote to break the deadlock, approving the Agreement 19/18.

The Agreement has now been passed by both the House and Senate and is effective immediately and retroactively.

Thank you to all members who helped make this happen!  Together we are stronger.

Posted 7/31

For those who have not seen the debate on the floor of the State House on HR 202 Resolution Proposing Approval of an Agreement Between the State of Connecticut and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC).  Listening to the legislators speak is enlightening and eye-opening. 

As employees, we voted to grant the State multi-billion dollar savings from our wages and benefits, an offering that one would think would be easily and quickly accepted by the House.  It was accepted, but it was not easy.  The resolution passed by a vote of 78-72 along party lines (Rep. Hampton was the only one who flipped on party lines). 

The full debate was over 4 hours long, so below, we have identified the speakers and the time at which they spoke to shorten the process for anyone who wants to hear for themselves which legislators support state employees and which legislators want to gut our entire wage and benefit package.

Link to video of the debate provided through CT-N

Debate starts at the 29:43 minute of the video.

29:43 Rep D'agostino (Hamden) did an amazing job of explaining and supporting HR 202 to the chamber.

39:18 Rep Steinberg (Westport) asks a series of questions leading to his support of the agreement.

1:01:50 Rep Boyd (Pomfret, Eastford, Union Woodstock) spoke in favor of the agreement

1:11:09 Rep Wilms (Norwalk, New Canaan) eliminate collective bargaining and cut employee wages

1:30:00 Rep Davis (Ellington, East Windsor) Criticizes union contracts and unionization in general.  Seeks to ensure that he can't break the contracts if passed.  Advocates elimination of collective bargaining and for legislative control of wages, pension, healthcare

2:00:21 Rep Lavielle (Westport, Norwalk, Wilton)  how the republican budget would be a better option (legislative changes to wages, pension, healthcare)

2:10:40 Rep Rovero (Killingly, Putnam, Thompson) spoke in favor of the agreement

2:22:30 Rep Srinivasan (Glastonbury) State employee benefits are too high and the agreement doesn't go far enough.

2:57:30 Rep Ziobron (East Haddam Colchester, East Hampton)  Just angry, seething, and miserable.  Would gut state employment entirely.

3:14 Rep Yaccarino (North Haven)  The agreement is not fair and does not go far enough

3:21 Mitch Bolinsky (Newtown) complains about the budget, the process, the size of the raises and the cost of state employees.

3:22:40 Rep Devlin (Fairfield, Trumbull)  the agreement doesn't go far enough and state employees should pay far more for benefits. Should push for far more concessions.

3:35:05 Rep delaCruz (Groton, New London) Praises the the process and the gravity of the agreement and the improvement of short and long-term budgets.

3:35:40 Rep O'neill (Southbury, Bridgewater, Roxbury, Washington) Argues about ability to break agreements and reasoning that rejectiong the agreement will allow legislative control fo wages and pension

4:03:19 Rep Stafstrom (Bridgeport) responds to the legal folly of those who plan to eliminate collective bargaining and simply impose legislative changes

4:08:05 Rep Winkler (Vernon)...simply: well stated, Mike!!

4:11 Rep Paolillo (New Haven) the agreement is true progress for the State and taxpayers

4:12:50 Rep DiMassa (West Haven) the agreement has tremednous savings and unionization is setting the example.

4:14:19 Rep Klarides (Derby, Orange, Woodbridge) House minority leader, heads up the campaign to have the legislature set our wages, pension, and healthcare unilaterally.  Plans to severely cut wages and dramatically increase pension and medical contributions.

4:28:30 Rep Ritter (Hartford) a blazing endorsement for unionization and the necessity of this agreement.

NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR AND URGE THEM TO SUPPORT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Find Your Senator

List of Connecticut Senator emails

Connecticut House of Representatives passes SEBAC package by a vote of 78/72.

The close vote in the House was largely along party lines, with Republicans wanting to reject the deal and seeking more substantial concessions from organized labor.

The Senate, which is tied at 18/18,  is expected to act on the SEBAC package Monday, July 31st.  The Senate will determine the fate of SEBAC 2017.  The vote is expected to be close.

AFT CT has organized a letter writing campaign.  Use this link to contact your senator and urge them to support the Agreement.

SEBAC released the following statement regarding passage by the House:

We commend the House on making an important vote to protect critical public services and move our state forward by approving the SEBAC 2017 agreement. This agreement saves $24 billion over the next twenty years, eliminates 30% of our budget deficit and is the largest savings agreement in our state’s history. Through collective bargaining, we achieved every penny of savings originally sought by the Governor. We urge the Senate to vote quickly to preserve the full value of the agreement.

Updated 7/25

The SEBAC Tentative Agreement, which was overwhelmingly ratified by members, is being considered by the Legislature.  The Tentative Agreement will not take effect unless it is accepted by the Legislature.  The House may act as soon as today, and the Senate is expected to act on the Agreement on Monday, July 31.

The outcome of these votes will determine our fate.  If the Agreement is rejected by the Legislature, we are bound for binding arbitration, layoffs, and will continue to operate under threat of losing collective bargaining altogether.

It is vital that you contact your legislator and  urge them to support the SEBAC Tentative Agreement.

AFT CT has organized a letter writing campaign.  Use this link to contact your legislator and urge them to support the Agreement.

- posted 7/24