In a surprise move at the Legislature this weekend, several Democrats, both in the House and the Senate, sided with Republicans, voting in favor of a Republican budget proposal (HB 7501).  The controversial bill awaits review by Governor Malloy, who has signaled his intentions to veto the legislation.

The bill contains several agency budget cuts and consolidations, which comes as no surprise as the legislature needs to address a $3.5 billion dollar deficit.  However, in addition to the funding cuts, the bill incorporates language which is hostile to collective bargaining for state employees.  If not vetoed by the Governor, the bill will become law. Changes that negatively impact state employees and our collective bargaining process include:   

• 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.

Most of the changes above also included a provision requiring a 2/3 vote in both chambers to amend or repeal...this clearly can't withstand a legal challenge.

Despite the good will and cooperation we showed and the tremendous savings we granted the legislature through our own monetary sacrifice, there remains no respect and no gratitude from certain corners of the legislature...they have a mission and we are their target.  Although this budget will most likely be vetoed by Governor Malloy, it is likely that some toxic pieces of the above provisions will continue to be advocated from the well of the legislature as the next budget is brought forth.

We need to remain vigilant.  We have a contract and we are going to enforce it through 2027.

There will be more to come as the budget debate stirs up again.

-9/18/17

A&R met with OLR and DRS on Friday 9/8/17 to discuss the impact of the recently released fingerprinting/background check policy.  There will be a follow-up meeting, but this is where we are as of now:

Current employees who refuses to grant authorization and have FTI involvement will first either be transferred to non-FTI units/assignments within DRS if possible, secondary to that, would be treated as a "lack of work layoff" under the Job Security Provisions which can be found on pages 8-11 of the 2017 SEBAC agreement (read relevant Job Security Provisions here).  This would mean that the State

DRS employees have been notified that they will be asked to consent to fingerprinting for the purpose of conducting background checks.  Federal IRS code was amended to require background checks on all DRS employees who access Federal Tax Information ("FTI") systems.  While the State/DRS must follow federal regulations, and the Union cannot amend or even contest federal requirements, the Union has filed an institutional grievance on behalf of DRS employees over the DRS Background Check Policy and Procedures (July 2017) (“DRS Policy”).

In addition, the Union has issued a demand to bargain over

AFT raised their dues at their annual convention, the impact will be an increase of 11 cents per paycheck (roughly $3 per year).   This increase does not go to A&R, it is passed to AFT.   This increase will be reflected in your pay check dated September 29, 2017.  The increase may be offset by a reduction in A&R dues.  Based on the reduction in salaries (due to furlough days) through June 2018, some members may have a decrease in their A&R dues by roughly 20 to 30 cents per pay period.  So although you may see a decrease in the total dues amount deducted, the decrease will actually contain an increase to AFT. 

A&R is AFT Local 4200.  Although we have not raised our dues (in fact, they may be lower this year), we are required by the union's constitution to implement the dues increase approved by the national and state organizations, in this case, 11 cents per paycheck.  -9/1/17

Monday is Labor Day.  It is exactly what it sounds like: it is a day set aside to honor and commemorate all that labor unions have contributed to the work environment.  All of the gains achieved through the labor movement have had such a tremendous, positive, and noteable impact on the wages, hours, and working conditions of this country that this day was created and maintained as a national holiday for over 120 years.  9/1/17

IMPORTANT: DEADLINE OF THURSDAY 9/14

Reduction of Retiree Health Fund Contribution Form (CO-1330 fillable form
Word Version)

Reduction of Retiree Health Fund Contribution Form (CO-1330 pdf version)

Anyone wishing to offset the 1.5% pension contribution increase must complete and submit the attached form NO LATER THAN September 14, 2017 to your Human Resources Department:

If you choose to offset the 1.5% pension contribution, please know and understand how this operates.  While it will provide monetary relief this year, it WILL cost more as the defered contributions MUST be paid back between July