Ned Lamont appointed 5 state legislators to positions within his administration which created 5 special elections to be held on February 26, 2019.  A&R is only making one endorsement in these races and that is for Saud Anwar in the 3^rd Senate District (East Hartford, South Windsor, part of Ellington and part of East Windsor).  It is important to make sure you vote in the Special Elections;  these elections have consequences so please do your part.

There will also be 4 other Special Elections held on February 26th:

5th Senatorial District (West Hartford, Farmington)
6th Senatorial District (New Britain)
39th State Representative District (New London)
99th State Representative District (East Haven)

If any A&R member is considering a run for local office this November (town/city government) then we can support you in this effort.  Whether it is for your town committee or the planning/zoning committee, or Board of Ed, as members of the AFL-CIO, there is a training class on how to run for public office.  Further, please notify A&R (office@andr.org or 860 953-1316) and we may also be of assistance in helping your campaign.

There was a "budget" press conference held on Monday 2/11/19 and the reporting from that conference seemed to infer that Gov. Lamont has held informal talks with the unions regarding concessions...this is absolutely not true. A&R is one of the 15 members of SEBAC so we can clearly assure everyone that there has been absolutely no such talks.  Gov. Lamont has asked for savings ideas from labor (we have been more than happy to recommend the sacrificing of Kronos and that the State improve our tax collection resources through improved staffing levels and priorities), but there has been nothing

At our February RA meeting:

Lew Button (Staff Attorney 3 at SOTS) was nominated and accepted as our new Chief Negotiator.
and
Nicole Godburn (Principal Cost Analyst at DSS) was nominated and accepted as our new A&R Secretary.

Congratulations to both.

Also...the next Telecommuting meeting with the State is scheduled for Feb. 22.  There is an arbitration date set for March 27 if an agreement is not reached by that time.

A&R was hopeful that impact bargaining with the State could be completed earlier this week as it relates to the newly unionized managers.  Most of the items under discussion were

We would like to congratulate A&R Secretary Kristin Campanelli who has been appointed to serve as Associate General Counsel to the Governor's Office!  Kristin was always an amazing person with a great strategic and legal mind, so we are not surprised by this appointment.    Due to her appointment, Kristin Campanelli had to resign as A&R Secretary and as an A&R Steward since she is no longer an active member of A&R.  We are sad to lose her but glad her strengths were recognized and that she will now be working on behalf of the Governor for all residents of this state.  We will, of course

Every year, AFT-CT hosts a legislative conference at the LOB.  It is a private event held at the LOB for A&R/AFT-CT members to meet and listen to State Senators and Representatives about the current legislative agenda.  This year, labor unions did a fantastic job of getting-out-the-vote during the elections, now we can hear and interact with them directly to see what they intend to accomplish in this legislative session.  The event is free and runs from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday, February 2, 2019 (this Saturday).  Breakfast and coffee are served and this is a relaxed event to just chit

Article 16 Section 6 of the A&R contract incorporates lateness due to inclement weather.  When there is inclement weather, hazardous driving conditions or a mass transportation failure, then tardiness for up to 1 hour is not to be charged to an employee.  There is then discretion given for an additional 1-1/2 hours (for a total of 2-1/2 hours) based on the severity of the conditions.  New language to our contract states that If the additional 1-1/2 hours are not granted or you exceed the 2-1/2 grace period then you may opt to either make up the excess time during the payperiod or charge it to