Posted 3/9/17

1^st MEDIATION SESSION HELD
Contract negotiations advanced with the union and the state presenting opening postions before a mediator on Wednesday, March 8^th.  A&R continues to maintain that there can be little meaningful progress if the state continues its hard-line stance seeking to gut our contract.  The state has put forward 96 separate proposals which, if all were adopted, would eliminate most of your basic contractual rights.

For example, you may recall that the state proposes the complete elimination of out-of-state travel reimbursements - in their entirety!  Yup.  The state's expectation is that when they assign you out-of-state work that you will pay for the airfare, the hotel, the meals - everything - without any reimbursement.  Obviously we take issue with such nonsensical proposals.  We will continue to bargain in good faith, while insisting that our members be treated with dignity and respect at the bargaining table.  Our next mediation session is scheduled for March 27^th, where we expect to delve into specific language issues.

OUR APPROACH TO NEGOTIATIONS
Wage freezes and pay cuts are not the same thing!  It is our contention that no member should take a pay cut as a result of a contract extension agreement.  At issue is the state's insistence that Top Step Payments are to be forfeited while we are negotiating the successor agreement.  This means that those who received the Top Step Payment the prior year are taking a 2.5% pay cut.  Plain and simple it is a pay cut.  This is unjust and not acceptable.  Whatever path contract negotiations take, recovering retroactive payment of the top step payment is and shall remain among our highest priories.

The amazing part is that the State has not come to an agreement with ANY of the unions.  As of July 1^st, 2016, near all of the unions, including A&R, were operating under an Extension Agreement.  Extension Agreements are guided by state statute which maintains the status quo until a successor agreement is reached.  Thus our position regarding pay cuts.  Whether through mediation, arbitration, or via agreement, we are and will continue to seek retroactive payments of the Top Step back to July 1^st, 2016 and we will continue to seek step increases as well.   This process has been long, but we cannot accept the positions the state has taken.  Further, we will not rush into a settlement which forgoes our short-term and long-term objectives.

There is going to be a State employee rally at the Legislative Office Building on March 24th.  There are over 60 bills aimed at State employees, many of which are expected to be put to a vote on March 24th.  Attached is the list of bills (many of them are duplicative); the bad bills are highlighted in yellow and the very bad bills are highlighted in red.

State employees must make a show of force to thwart these anti-labor bills.

We will have more details about A&R's plan for the rally as we get closer to March 24th.  It is essential that we stand together to preserve our benefits.  A large

The Tax Attorneys at the Department of Revenue Services were non-union State Employees until they signed their union cards just over a week ago.  Their attempt to unionize and join A&R was presented to the CT Labor Board on Monday were the State voluntarily recognized them as union members...meaning they are officially A&R members!  This is the first time that A&R has actively pursued non-unionized State Employees and brought them into our ranks.

On behalf of all of A&R, welcome aboard!

This would not have been possible without the tremendous organizing efforts and knowledge of Eric Borlaug and

Governor Malloy gave his budget address to the General Assembly today.  Not surprisingly, his proposed budget is balanced on the backs of state employees.  His two year proposal reflects $700 million in "savings" from state employees in 2018 and an additional $860 million in "savings" in 2019.  While his speech provided no details of where these "savings" would come from, his reference to revisiting the SEBAC contract makes clear his intentions.  To put this in perspective, according to OPM Secretary Ben Barnes, in the first year, "savings" of $700 million could require a 10 percent reduction in the state workforce, or about 4,200 state employees.

Frustrated?  Contact your legislator and make your voice be heard.

• House Members email addresses
• Senate Members email addresses
• Find YOUR legislator

Meet legislators at the Regional Legislative Meetings sponsored by AFT (link).

• Text of the Governor's speech (link)
• Office of Legislative Management Budget Summary (link)
• PowerPoint of Governor's recommended budget (link) 

posted 2/8/2017

Lobbying isn't restricted to the lobbies of the capitol building.

AFT Connecticut sponsors regional legislative meetings throughout the state.  These meetings provide the opportunity for members to meet with legislators to discuss issues important to them.  Several regional meetings are scheduled in March and April.  We urge you to attend a session.  These are the people in Hartford voting on your future.  Let them here your voice.  Please attend one of these important meetings in your region.

List of 2017 Regional Legislative Meetings

For more information or to sign up contact Teri Merisotis at 860-257-9782 or tmerisotis@aftct.org

Posted 2/8/17

CHRO Attorney Charles Krich is the AFT-CT "spotlighted" employee for his work to protect and uphold civil rights in Connecticut.  Attorney Krich has been serving the State and protecting the rights of Connecticut residents since 1981 and is another A&R member we are proud to have honored.  Read the spotlight and view Charlie's youtube statements about his efforts.