IMPORTANT:
The contract between Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Hartford HealthCare has lapsed.  The parties reached an impasse and have not renewed their contract.  As a result, Hartford HealthCare facilities will be treated as out-of-network by Anthem, significantly increasing the cost for services at the following facilities, among others, if you are insured by Anthem:

• Hartford Hospital
• The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain and Southington
• Midstate Medical Center in Meriden
• Backus Hospital in Norwich
• Windham Hospital in Willimantic
• Hartford HealthCare Medical Group
• Natchaug Hospital
• R

It is possible that the State House of Representatives will hold a vote on Tuesday October 3^rd in an attempt to override the Governor's veto of the budget bill which passed both chambers of the General Assembly a couple of weeks ago.  A two-thirds majority vote is needed to override the veto in the House and it doesn't appear the votes are there, but if they are holding the vote, it is certainly a risk.  If the veto over-ride is successful in the House, then the State Senate would convene and hold a veto override vote within days.  The Governor (thankfully) vetoed the budget which contains an

If you care about future beneifts, call the Governor and urge him to
VETO THE BUDGET!!!

As a reminder, the budget:

• Increases pension contributions for all employees to 7% of salary in 2027
• Lowers the Tier2, 2A, 3 pension calculation in 2027
• Ends retiree pension COLAs in 2027 for ALL retirees
• Ends OT in pension calculations starting in 2027.
• State Labor contract agreements or arbitrated agreements would be rejected if not voted on in the legislature within 30 days.  Any rejected agreement would then have to be arbitrated (or re-arbitrated) and sent back to the legislature for automatic passage.
• Limits what an arbitrator may consider for the State's "ability to pay" during negotiations.
• Allows the State to break contracts under certain circumstances.  This is not just labor contracts this is any and all contracts...it is unclear if they actually tried to deem themselves this much power and authority, but it certainly seems to violate federal contract laws.
• Limits SEBAC and union agreements to 4 years
• Requires the Comptroller to annually review the SEBAC2017 agreement to ensure that the projected savings are achieved and allows the Governor to recover any lapse if insufficient savings.

Yesterday, Governor Malloy vetoed the budget which was passed by the legislature.  That budget made unilateral, statutory changes to State Employee pensions and introduced other anti-collective bargaining rules.  The budget was a mess, it was unbalanced and vindictive, the dollar figures were in fantasyland; it was a budget in name only.  So the Governor rejected the mess and released a message with the veto.

This battle is not over, a budget still needs to be passed.  There will be continued attempts by some (many) in the legislature to target state employee benefits and wages.  They feel it

Recent events in Puerto Rico, Houston, Florida, and other areas remind us of the high value placed on those who volunteer in response to natural disasters.  Those who volunteer at such times are driven by an urge to help others in need.  They are willing to sacrifice the comforts of home and family to head into disaster areas and hazardous circumstances to render assistance.

If you are an individual compelled to answer the call to help others, please know that the the Connecticut General Statutes permits state employees, with the authorization of management, up to 15 days leave per year to

A&R is hosting a Professional Development seminar, Friday November 3^rd.  This is an all day event to be held at the Water's Edge, in Westbrook.  Seminar topics are listed below.  Coffee and lunch will be provided.

Article 31, Section 5 of the A&R contract entitles each member up to 10 days of leave per contract term for professional development.  Join your fellow A&R members in a relaxing, fun atmosphere as we learn techniques to deal with stress in the workplace.

If you are on AWS, you will need to modify your schedule accordingly.

The Office of Labor Relations has approved this program.  In