-April 7, 2016
The SEBAC unions met with OPM Secretary Ben Barnes and Undersecretary of OPM Lisa Grasso Egan late Wednesday afternoon April 6th The meeting ran for nearly 3 hours. The State did indicate that SEBAC concessions would be helpful for them to achieve a balanced budget in the upcoming years, however, the administration did not ask for any specific concessions nor were any concessions offered by the unions. The State was also clear that there is no option to avoid 1,000 layoffs planned for this year. The parties had a lengthy conversation regarding savings that can be achieved without re-opening our current SEBAC agreement.
Jan Hochadel, President of AFT-CT, released the following statement which very succinctly summarizes the meeting:
Leaders of our state employees union coalition yesterday met with officials from the administration of Governor Dannel P. Malloy and plan to meet again in the near future. We intend to continue discussing ways in which savings can be realized and providing suggestions to help protect our state’s quality of life.
That was the extent of our discussions.
Page #1 of our 2011 agreement already provides the framework for significant cost-savings that could prevent deep cuts to public services or layoffs of the workforce that delivers them.
While yesterday’s meeting was not a negotiation, the administration’s representatives did not back away from previous public demands for state employee concessions to help close current and future budget gaps. They also did nothing to give the impression that they have re-assessed their previous threats to eliminate the jobs of state employees.
At roughly the same time yesterday, the legislature’s budget writing committee approved another round of cuts -- nearly $600 million worth -- to vital public services. The package would still leave a sizable hole in the state budget for the next fiscal year, adding even greater urgency to our efforts to advocate better choices.
Now more than ever, it’s vital to make our voices heard.
More to come, and in solidarity,
Jan Hochadel
President, AFT Connecticut
-4/7/16