-12/23/25

First:  The A&R Office will close at noon on Wednesday 12/24 and will not re-open until Monday 12/29.  The office will close again at noon on 12/31 and won't re-open until Monday January 5th.

Second:  Our 43rd Annual A&R Convention will be held on Thursday April 9, 2026.  The Convention will start promptly at 5:00PM and will be held at the A&R Office (805 Brook St Building 4, Rocky Hill, CT).  All active A&R members (and ONLY active A&R members) are welcome to attend at no charge; food will be available.

Third:  It has been quite a long journey yet we are still haggling with the State

John Krawshuk, a good friend, a devoted union steward, and the A&R 2nd Vice President officially retired on December 1, 2025!  We start with the usual congratulations to John K but we find it more appropriate to give a giant "thank you" for all that he has done for his fellow union members.  There are few who have dedicated the time and effort to our union like JK did.  He was on the A&R executive board, our social committee, our professional development committee, he has served as our Convention Cmte Chair several times and was involved in nearly everything we did.  He always brought a laugh

After a full year at the bargaining table without reaching a settlement on our successor contract, A&R has officially declared impasse and filed with the SBMA for interest arbitration. This was not the outcome we had hoped for as arbitration carries risks when the goal is to establish a fair and collaborative labor agreement.

With the next legislative session set to begin and end within the next six months—and the Governor’s Office continuing to propose inadequate wage packages—our Negotiation Committee and Executive Board have both voted to move forward with interest arbitration. This step is

Earlier this week, 3 state employee unions from the Judicial Branch went to arbitration for a 1-year wage contract.  All three unions had only the single issue of wages for July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026 on the table.  Both parties (the State and the Unions) ended up submitted matching Last Best Offers of 2.5% General Wage Increase plus Step.  This means that the arbitrator will come to the inevitable conclusion that these 3 unions will be awarded a 2.5% GWI plus a Step retroactive to July 1, 2025.  The final award will be issued no later than Dec 3, 2025 and will be set before the legislature

A big congratulations to all 3 A&R members who were candidates on their local ballots for the Nov 4 Municipal Elections and all 3 came up winners!!  Jon Hand won a seat on the Coventry Town Council,  Meghan Doyle won a seat on the Milford Board of Education, and Heather Petit won a seat on the Hebron Board of Education!  A&R Endorsed 16 candidates in total this year and 15 of them won their seat!

Reminder that the Radio City Christmas Spectacular is Tuesday 11/11/25 register here

The A&R Holiday Party is Friday December 5 at the Aqua Turf, register here (closes 11/25/25 at noon)

Then Saturday morning Dec 6 we head to NYC, bus drops you off and you explore on your own register here