Rell Administration And Unions At Odds Over Further Concessions
by Christine Stuart | Mar 23, 2010 1:19pm
(15) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Labor, State Capitol
(Updated) Last week Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration reached out to the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition and asked for close to four pages of additional concessions. The move was not welcomed by the unions, who fired back this strongly worded letter.
After dismissing the cost-saving ideas presented by the union leaders as “not likely to produce any significant savings,” Rell’s Budget Director Robert Genuario asked for further reductions in sick and vacation days, but he also asked for increases in health insurance co-payments and changes to pension benefits, in addition to the elimination of longevity pay. The health insurance and pension benefit portion of the SEBAC agreement doesn’t expire until 2017, but the wage freeze and other salaried portions of the contract are set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2011.
“Today you are pandering to the partisan politics of the gubernatorial campaign in making proposals that show a cynical disrespect not just for Connecticut’s 45,000 public service workers, but for all of Connecticut’s struggling families,” the SEBAC coalition’s 15 union leaders wrote in response to the request for deeper concessions.
“Even the cavalier manner in which you dismiss our suggestions for savings and improvements to state services is but a small part of the problem,” the coalition wrote. “We offered in March of 2009 to directly involve frontline workers in the crucial task of improving state services to more efficiently meet the ever-increasing public demand during hard times. Your negotiating team then caucused for all of 45 seconds before dismissing those suggestions out of hand”
Genuario said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon that he hopes to have a meaningful dialogue with the unions.
“I see no reason why we can’t have a meaningful discussion this year,” Genuario said. While he certainly didn’t expect them to endorse wholeheartedly the concessions he proposed in the letter Thursday, he had hoped it would engage them.
He said he was a little disappointed in the tone of their response. “I don’t see why we all can’t do what’s right for the state,” Genuario said.
Click here to read last year’s story on the estimated $750 million in concessions the unions and the Rell administration agreed upon.
(15) Comments
posted by: DrHunterSThompson | March 23, 2010 2:14pm
well, what can you say?
we have a do nothing governor trying to do who knows what after agreeing to a bad deal last year and the most corrupt entity in the state - the SEABAC group (who has in their pocket the speaker of the house, Donovan).
taxpayers?
screwed, no matter how you slice it.
HST
posted by: unionleo | March 23, 2010 3:13pm
You Go SEBAC!
Glad to see someone is out there fighting for the working families who have been left behind by the Wall Street billionaires and their profit puppets Johnny and Jodi
...and for all the grousing class that would rather complain about wages and benefits sacrificed to comfort the teary eyed investor class rich boys that almost sunk our nation’s economy - get over it… How about joining in the fight to take back the economy for the middle class - start by forming your own union…
It’s pretty obvious unions work better than grousing…
posted by: City Hall Watch | March 23, 2010 3:52pm
SEBAC’s response is juvenile, urban and thuggish. I lost count of the number of times, the authors used the word “disrespect.” Frankly, you want to talk about disrespect, start with the number of union people on the state’s fracking payroll with a benefit package so large we can’t even pay it now or ever. The idea that somehow the unions are going to provide information on how to be more efficient, and to somehow construe that efficiency so that it gets rid of none of the expenses of a headcount of 45K employees is insultingly simplistic. Don’t talk about disrespect until you start showing some respect, or perhaps this group should just avoid using words they seem to understand.
posted by: SouthernWreck | March 23, 2010 6:49pm
Christine, kindly give working people a break - your language is hardly objective - “...Rell’s administration reached out…”
Hardly. Rude, derogatory, and inaccurate. We’ve given back, and what we’ve got was won fairly through years of struggle and bargaining. NOT through corruption and feckless raw nepotism.
posted by: Tom Burns | March 24, 2010 12:47am
SEBAC—that was a great response in every manner—you try to help by offering suggestions of even more cutbacks—yet the people in the ivory tower do not listen——we want to help (NHFT Local 933) and we do——-as do you——-I am very impressed with your response—keep up the good work—Tom
posted by: CT Jim | March 24, 2010 7:36am
City Hall, Once again the administration WILL NOT address the political appointees making $100,000 plus a year but constantly goes after the working class.
You seem to come back again and again attacking the workers that deliver services to people that really need it but never addres the 10’s of thousands of republican appointees who have giving up NOT A DIME!
I am fairly convinced you are one of them.
All charity starts at home so when it comes to give backs the working class gave $750 million last year, its your turn.
I doubt you will its seems its the republican way, if times are good its because of you and when times are tough its the fault of the people who actually lift a finger to help.
You should be ashamed of yourself but we know your not. You would have to find a consience first
posted by: City Hall Watch | March 24, 2010 9:39am
CT Jim:
First, there are not 10s of thousands of Republican appointees making over 100K. The state employs about 50K people TOTAL. But having said that, I don’t give a damn where the cuts come from or from whom they are taken. I’m sick and tired of state government that doesn’t work; that can’t balance its checkbook and can’t make the kinds cuts that I and my neighbors make when times get tough. I understand nobodys wants a cut. I understand nobody wants to lose a job. But in the real world that’s precisely what has been happening for two years. While I appreciate the $750 million - it was insufficient to balance the books. Re-orging state government and deeper cuts were necessary back then, and are necessary now. Don’t forget the brainiacs in the LOB’s so called leadership circle also passed the largest tax increase in state history along with those givebacks and still it’s not enough. Everybody acts like cutting budgets is so difficult. It’s not. Cut services, cut employees, cut middle managers, close facilities. Trim capital projects.
Essentially, you have to do whatever it takes and get on with it. The leadership in this state just can’t get it together and articles like this one featuring dumb comments and boorish letters from union leadership don’t help. The bottom line is this state budget has been out of balance the first day after it was passed. They knew it was out of balance, that it depended on gimmicks, luck and one time revenues. It was irresponsible and reckless and to this day, they have not addressed or fixed it. Last year Dem leadership did this and on the last possible day, borrowed a billion dollars at an annual cost of tens of millions of dollars, just to pay routine bills.
I wonder how that increased debt service has now contributed to the growing state deficit this year?
posted by: BTMOM | March 24, 2010 12:48pm
OMG - she has nerve. But of course she does not care as she is not running again.
How on earth can ANYONE come back to the very poor working class state workers and expect them to give up even more. They gave in good faith - a lot of concessions to do their part - last year only to be told now “we want more and your contract you gave concessions to and agreed to is worthless and meaningless”. Very nice!
How about going to the wealthy in CT now - the people who can REALLY afford it. Let’s face it - this economy is not hurting them one bit! The working class on the other hand is barely making do.
It’s time the rich start doing their part instead of just taking - and this includes our representatives.
And while we are on the subject of representatives, we need to put them on social security and our health plans so that they can understand our hardships. Only then will things get fixed. I don’t retire with full pay, do you?
And a quick fix for social security is to get rid of the cap where people pay in each year. After reaching a certain amount of income for a given year, you then stop paying into SS for that year. Why not make people pay on their entire earnings (even if it is millions). So what they will never collect on all that money - they do NOT need it, but they will be good Americans and help out those that do!!!!
posted by: CT Jim | March 24, 2010 2:11pm
City Hall, if not tens of thousands why dont you tell us the #?
Fact is since 1990 the republican party has used this government to enrich their members and the number continues to grow today.
Another fact is CT is the 4th leanest state in the country and after the $3billion thats been cut already its probably more like 3rd or maybe even 2nd.
Only 2 parts of the electorate have come out of this mess unscathed and that is the rich that created it and the republican appointees.
If we need to cut we should start with them I would much rather see some deputy to the deputy to the deputy commisionor cut that a teacher, para professional or custodian.
Heck those people actually do something.
You may not want to admitt it City because your one of them but CT is top heavy and we need to purge these political appointees before they are eligible for a $100,000 pension.
Once agaign city everybody has giving at the office except you and your buddies.
posted by: NOW What? | March 24, 2010 2:57pm
From someone who would neither benefit from nor be harmed, neither directly nor indirectly, by either the adoption or rejection of the State’s latest “suggestions” to SEBAC and its unions, yet who has been keeping fully abreast of the details of negotiations between the two sides over the past few years (and prior) -
Unfortunately, SEBAC’s response is accurate and otherwise CORRECT. The Rell administration has shown neither interest in nor ability to substantially improve the efficiency or effectiveness of State government and its operations, only maintenance of politics’ status quo. Even the entitlement of the document from the Rell administration to SEBAC to include the word “CONFIDENTIAL” is laughable, as it was sent out knowing full well that it would be released publicly and thus used as cheap political fodder in the next rounds of elections.
In spite of whatever relatively trivial and short-term mistakes might have been made at the time, the ONLY gubernatorial administration that has made ANY serious attempt to improve the efficiencies and effectiveness of State operations while also balancing Connecticut’s budget - and while insulting neither the public nor its employees in the process - over the past 20 years was the Weicker administration. Subsequent administrations have successfully negated most of that administration’s successes through corruption, crass political shenanigans and sheer ineptitude.
Until Connecticut and its citizens find a meaningful way to increase expectations of, and accountability (and reward) for its elected officials’ job performance, nothing but more of the same garbage will surely be seen.
posted by: look elsewhere | March 24, 2010 4:40pm
$750 million in concessions already from about 45,000 union employees. My math indicates that is over $15,000 in concessions per member. That is substantial enough imo. I think Mr. Livingston’s response was right on !
posted by: TimieForAmericansToJoinAUnion | March 24, 2010 8:26pm
Time for the folks who think State Employees should give more back to wake up and join a union. Less than 14% of the total state budget is spent on employees. The rest goes to infrastructure… buildings, hospitals, offices, state cars, roads, social services, vehicles, education, prisons, etc. Maybe we should look for savings from the 86% of the cost of state gov’t for some savings. And, did you know that million dollar wage earners in the state of Connecticut had thier BEST YEAR EVER in terms of personal income? That’s right, while I, a state employee and taxpayer trying to get my kid through college, pay the mortgage and put food on my family plate, also lost a lot of money in investments and my retirement nest egg, the wealthy in CT made more money than ever, and paid a lower tax rate than you and I. Oh. And since 1960, middle class wage earners increased their earnings by a whopping 40%. But get this… the top 20% of wage earners from corporations (you know, executives, investors, wall street bankers, auto industry execs, those company owners always crying poor?)... they increased their wages by 214% during the same time period! (Google it, I did.) Who’s the bad guy in this scenario? The state policeman, the corrections officer, the nurse practicitioner, the educator, the guy risking his life to plow a road in the winter, the group home administrator, the DCF social worker? Those wicked state employees. Wake up. It’s not the state employees killing the economy, its those 15% of top wage earners raping the American public, and most of us are too stupid to know it. Join a union!
posted by: johnnyb | March 24, 2010 11:33pm
There should be a hiring freeze in place now but Rell wants to slide cronies into jobs before she leave’s. They are going to put Matt Fritz into a big salary Bureau chief job at the DEP. Rell is allowing the Agencies to fill many big salary positions. She and Moody should have their offices locked and be cashiered for ineptitude. She didn’t sign the last budget, what a passive response to a crisis situation.
posted by: My Asisore | March 25, 2010 1:29pm
There is terrible waste in state government that the Gov. and nobody else is really interested in getting rid of. How many of the people that are in appointed positions, those that are making in excess of $ioo,ooo.oo, have been let go? If the Gov., or the legislature for that matter, were really serious about cutting positions to save money, they could start with those positions, the ones not covered by any contract and could be let go immediately. You won’t see that happen because it’s these people that heavily donate and support the politicians that gave them these positions. The taxpayers, of which I am one, should be furious with the Gov. for what she has done, which is little or nothing. Why blame the rank and file worker who has to deal with the public everyday while their supervisors at the management level are so afraid to make a decision without first checking with Ms. Moody, don’t give them any support.
If anybody thinks that I’m just blowing hot air, just take a look at the front page of the Courant where her majesty wants to reward her friends and Moody’s friends with patronage jobs that we can’t afford. State employees have already given back close to one billion dollars they didn’t have to, and they are still looking for more while the administration continues to want to spend money like it grows on trees. Go Figure!!
posted by: public safety | March 25, 2010 1:47pm
I DO NOT SACRAFICE MY HEALTH, WEEKENDS, HOLIDAYS, AND SAFETY PROTECTING THE STATE FROM EVIL SO A UNREASONABLE LEADER CAN CUT OUR PAY WHILE TAXES, GAS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE CONTINUES TO RISE IN PRICE. I’M NOT GIVING UP ANYTHING ELSE UNTIL I SEE OUR WEALTHY OVERPAID STATE LEADERS GIVE BACK!!! THEY MISMANAGED THE STATE WITH ALL THEIR UNDERHANDED DEALS MAKING THE RICH RICHER. 1ST OF ALL ROWLAND SHOULD STILL BE IN JAIL NOT MAKING 100K IN WATERBURY. AND RELL DO YOU THINK WE REALLY THINK BEING LT. GOV UNDER HIM AND NOT KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING FLIES. NO!!! U BELONG IN A CELL RIGHT NEXT TO HIM!!! THE STATE HAS PROBLEMS. THEY START WITH ALL THE TOP HEAVY MANAGERS WHO’S PAY OF OVER 100K IS NOT JUSTIFIED. CSP, DOC, DMV, DMAS. THE PROBLEM IS NOT TROOPERS, CORRECTION OFFICERS, PROTECTIVE SERVICE. ITS THE WASTE @ THE TOP. TOO MANY MANAGERS!!!! HOW MANY CUTS DID RELL MAKE IN HER OFFICE. HOW MUCH DOES THE STATE PAY IN GAS TO CART HER FROM HER HOME TO THE CAPITAL BY A TROOPER EVERYDAY!!!