Governor Malloy issued a press release in response to OPMs most recent revenue projections for FY16.   The press release calls for bipartisan meetings on the state budget   The discussions could lead to a special session on the FY16 budget.  Gov. Dannel Malloy (it is not an election year so I think he now goes by Dannel and not Dan) did not mention labor in his press release but did talk about labor at his press conference:

"I think everything's on the table,"  Malloy said. "Labor has to be at the table".

Malloy made it clear that talk of union givebacks is no longer taboo.

The administration

Longevity Payments for those who qualify will be included in the October 29, 2015 paychecks.

State Statute reads as follows:

Sec. 5-213. Longevity payments. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5-212, each employee in the state service who has completed not less than ten years of state service and who is not included in any collective bargaining unit, except those employees whose compensation is prescribed by statute, shall receive semiannual lump-sum longevity payments based on service completed as of the first day of April and the first day of October of each year, as follows:

… (b)

The Union has become aware that in isolated instances, some members are being denied access to Training and Professional Leave [Article 31, Section Five of our contract] to attend the Union's upcoming training session.

Chief Steward Patrick Lamb has filed an institutional grievance, with a request for expedited arbitration.  Due to the work now/grieve later rule, members who have been denied access to Professional Leave, but who still wish to attend the upcoming training session must use their personal, vacation, or compensatory time. 

If the Union prevails in the grievance process, members

In recent weeks A&R sent 2 letters to the State demanding contract negotiations for a successor agreement.  The State has responded and is seeking dates to meet with A&R.  At that initial meeting "ground rules" for the contract negotiations will be established.  We do not have that initial date set as of yet, but will keep you updated.  Chief Negotiator Christine Buck along with Vice President Mike Myles and President John DiSette are seeking to have that initial meeting with the State either in late October or early November.

The Negotiation Committee has done a great job pulling the Union's

Rowland Update - 10/12/2015...Next Steps, The Payout Process

The recent budget reductions of $105m imposed by the Governor have led to the inevitable concerns by many of our members regarding state employee concessions.  To be certain, there have been no concession discussions between the Unions and the State despite the chatter that is rippling.  It is clear that A&R has no desire to allow further erosion of our Pension or Healthcare benefits.  The current chatter relates to furloughs days (CTMirror Article 10/2/2015) and (Governor Malloy WFSB 10/5/2015) but absolutely nothing has been raised to the Unions.  Despite the larger budget discussions, these issues will not deter A&R from seeking to engage the State in our own contract bargaining.  The current State budget incorporates raises of 2.5% for employees for July 2016 - June 2017.  Further, several "language" issues within our contract need to be addressed, and that can only be done via direct negotiations with the state.  Budget problems are universal, cyclical, and common and shall not derail our goal of negotiating our contract with the State.