An AFSCME local representing correction officers rejected the concession deal in voting tallied today, formalizing what has been apparent for days: the unions' tentative agreement with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for $1.6 billion in savings over two years is dead.
Malloy said he will ask the legislature in a special session Thursday to authorize him to now make the necessary spending cuts to balance the budget, rather than present detailed revisions for lawmakers to approve. He said granting him that authority would be the quickest away to amend the budget.
The governor said that his cuts would include mass layoffs of state employees, but after a meeting with mayors of the state's five largest cities, Malloy pledged to preserve as much state aid to municipalities as possible, a recognition that local budget and tax rates are set.
SEBAC spokesman Matt O'Connor (l) and Larry Dorman talk to reporters after concessions deal was officially defeated
"I'm going to do everything in my power to minimize that impact," Malloy said, particularly in the upcoming fiscal year. The governor added he has made "no hard decisions" yet about any specific reductions in town aid.
House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, said the House will want to see a detailed plan for cuts before a voting on granting Malloy the expanded rescissionary authority.
With votes from the last of nine AFSCME bargaining units complete, the largest state employee union has rejected a deal that the administration says would have saved $1.6 billion over two years, though fiscal analysts have questioned the number, and provided job security for four years.
The final vote by AFSCME, the only union big enough to block ratification by itself, was 6,781 to 5,547 to reject. Another union, the Connecticut Employees Union Independent, had previously rejected the agreement, 1,692 to 1,498.
With results from two unions not expected until Sunday, a majority of SEBAC, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, have ratified the deal that would have frozen wages for two years and made long-term changes to health and retirement benefits.
In fact, a majority of the members of 15 unions and the 34 bargaining units in the coalition voted to ratify, 20,981 to 14,796.
But coalition fell short under its complex rules: 14 of the 15 unions must ratifiy, and the unions in favor must represent 80 percent of all unionized state employees. It fell short of both measures. As the union represents one third of all union members, AFSCME's rejection was sufficient to deny SEBAC the 80-percent threshold.
Based on previous statements by Malloy and his staff, the administration now is expected to issue about 7,500 layoff notices, a staggering 16 percent of the unionized workforce. Tim Bannon, his chief of staff, said the administration will finalize layoff plans over the weekend.
No notices are going out today, he said.
A union spokesman, Larry Dorman, said he hoped that the governor would not act on layoffs until after the union leadership meets Monday to consider their options. "It's important not to go nuclear," Dorman said.
But it was unclear what options, if any, the unions have. Malloy has ruled out re-negotiating, a position that another spokesman, Matt O'Connor, says that the unions believe is firm.
Asked about the possibility of a new vote, Dorman said, "I can't see that happening right now."
On Thursday, Malloy called a special session of the General Assembly for next week to either approve revisions to the biennial budget that takes effect July or to grant him recission authority to make the necessary cuts. He has ruled out further tax increases to close the gaps created by the failed concession deal: a $700 million shortfall in 2011-12 and $901 in 2012-13.
Gov. Dannel Malloy after concession deal failed: 'I'm going to everything in my power to minimize that impact'
Today, he made clear he wants the authority to make the cuts, a move that spares legislators from now voting on programmatic cutbacks. The legislature has long granted the governor limited authority to unilaterally reduce many budget accounts by up to 5 percent, though municipal aid cannot be touched.
Malloy wants to raise the limit on rescissions to 10 percent, and more importantly, to end the exemption for municipal aid. The Democratic legislature refused to grant him that authority during the regular session, but it is likely he will get his wish next week.
Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, was not immediately available to comment on Malloy's suggestion that the politically difficult budget cuts be left to him.
Instead, Williams issued a statement broadly supporting the governor.
"Given the rejection of the labor agreement, it's critical that we act decisively before the beginning of the new fiscal year," Williams said. "We support the governor's call to action and will work with him to ensure that Connecticut has a balanced budget."
But while many segments of the budget technically are subject to the rescission clause, realistically they also cannot be touched. For example, state employee salaries and benefits, which represent nearly 30 percent of next fiscal year's $20.14 billion budget, are set by contract. Medicaid, which is more than 20 percent, is governed by federal entitlement rules that require states to serve all eligible patients, and debt service, about 11 percent, also is a legal obligation.
Past governors generally have cut spending by no more than $150 million through rescissions.
Doubling the limit to 10 percent presumably would allow Malloy to cancel closer to $300 million in spending. But ending the exemption for municipal grants, which total about $2.8 billion, would allow the governor to cut another $280 million without having to seek legislative permission.
The governor said that he understood why lawmakers were reluctant during the past session to expand the Executive Branch's power while there still was hope for a labor deal. But he said Connecticut must be prepared to move quickly to balance its budget to retain its fiscal reputation before the bond rating agencies on Wall Street.
"I think that's the best way to reassure the market place about Connecticut's earnest drive to balance the budget," Malloy said.
His budget chief, Benjamin Barnes, already had issued a memo to department heads, instructing them to prepare for the start of the fiscal year on July 1 on the assumption that ratification had failed.
Malloy said he wasn't aware of any legal options state union leaders might have to call a second vote or proposed a modified package of concessions, adding he wasn't worrying about such questions right now.
"Not my job," he said. "We're going full steam ahead. ... I don't have the liberty of time."
Malloy, who has said a failed concession deal could mean as many as 7,500 employee layoffs over the next two fiscal years, predicted that his administration more likely would issue pink slips close to that total in the first year.
And the governor also noted that, since union rules governing layoff notices would prevent any layoffs taking effect until after the next fiscal year begins on July 1, the longer they are delayed, the less savings would be achieved in 2011-12.
But Malloy quickly added he wasn't making such plans cavalierly. "I'm sure they will be devastating to the state's economy," he said. "That's why I fought so robustly to avoid that."
If 7,500 unemployed were added to the jobless ranks for May, the unemployment rate would have jumped from 9.1 percent to 9.4 percent.
But the current benefits contract between the state and its unions, a deal that runs through 2017, is not sustainable, the governor said, adding that ignoring this problem and not addressing the budget deficit would be even more devastating for Connecticut's economy in the long run.
And though he didn't name former Gov. John G. Rowland by name, Malloy laid at least a portion of the blame for the state's current fiscal woes on Rowland, whose administration signed the 20-year union health care and retirement benefits deal that runs through 2017.
"My hands are tied through 2017," Malloy said, adding that the legal guarantee that unions have protecting their costly health and retirement benefits are what made the prospect of concessions so difficult.
The 11 unions to vote yes:
The unions voting no:
The unions voting today, with results not expected until Sunday:
I don't want any one to get laid off, it is not a pleasant experience.
However, I can share my experiences.
1st: A former union member is going to have trouble finding a job, HR departments don't like to hire form union members. It's an attitude thing.
2nd: Former state workers are going to have a hard time translating their skill sets to the public sector. Companies are hiring but the skill set match needs to be perfect. Exception: DEP workers, Companies have EH&S departments.
3rd: Non-profits which might be seen as a possible
Read MoreLayoff notices are going out today.
This thing is not over.
There will be minor tweaks to the deal.
A Re-Vote will take place.
Many other States have done this.
This deal will then pass.
Start by laying off AFSCME and Connecticut Employees Union Independent workers.
They knew that they were voting for mass layoffs, so give them their wish.
The Village Wine
A triumphal feast was scheduled in a village and, in order to ensure that all might enjoy in the feast without imposing upon any few, the villagers all agreed that each would put one bottle of his best wine into a great cask for the occasion. However, upon reflection, one villager reasoned that, if he filled his bottle with water, the dilution would be so slight, no one would notice. So, the day of the feast arrived, and the great cask was tapped, and, wonder of wonders...nothing but water poured forth!
Every Union Member had reasoned alike
WARNING to Union Leadership
if u comeback with a revote on this Socialist Malloy/Wyman/Luciano "I MUST go to the dentist twice a year or pay $1,200 a year Marxist Healthcare...
it will be D.O.A.
DEAD ON ARRIVAL!
so if you want to come back with that in yout plan, even with u sweeting the pot somewhere else to make up for it, the answer will ne NO!
FREEDOM comes with no price if you are a real American!
Power to The People
MJ
If he wants to lay off, lay off those who are so sure their jobs are untouchable and leave the rest of us alone. Some of us know what the public thinks about this deal, that is was a sweet deal and we were fools to reject it and some of us know that the Gov is mean, will retailate and then will those nay sayers finally be happy?
When the final vote is tabulated the facts will be as follows:
1) The majority of union members will have voted “yes”.
2) The majority of bargaining units will have voted “yes”.
3) The majority of unions will have voted “yes”.
Yet the agreement will have failed.
That is not fair.
That is not very American.
That is not very democratic.
Sooooo. This is what you get when you copy and paste.....over and over again.
Are you a robot?
Helen says...
When the final vote is tabulated the facts will be as follows:
1) The majority of union members will have voted “yes”.
2) The majority of bargaining units will have voted “yes”.
3) The majority of unions will have voted “yes”.
Yet the agreement will have failed.
That is not fair.
That is not very American.
That is not very democratic.
The Governor now wants to be the sole decision maker on what budget cuts to make. Connecticut is already ruled by one party; now Mr. Malloy wants his party to cede legislative power to him. Assuming, for argument, that the Legislature has the authority to give full control of the budget to the Chief Executive, does this mean that Connecticut has become a monarchy? When did we, the people, give government the power that the democrats are now exercising? This Governor and his party are seizing control of power that rightfully belongs to the people in order to install a
Read MoreMamiejane i agree WHERE OUR ARE FREEDOMS we would have had the gov. telling us how to run our health is that America NO. FREEDOM WON YOU ARE 100%%%%%%% right!!! We voted down malloy, the unions and their far left liberal agenda.
The Sebac spokesman Matt O'Conner in the just completed press conference in front of the State Capital stated that the "rules" that govern the vote have "not been updated since 1996". The insinuation there was that when Sebac meets on Monday they will "change" those rules......tweak the concession package and then do a re-vote.
Then the deal will pass.
What revote change the wording around same thing and you expect us to pass this are you crazy!!! More people would vote no. WE ARE NOT STUPID. ITS OVER AND DONE WITH ACCEPT IT!
Yeah Helen the facts are as follow BUT YOU STILL LOST!!! WHEN WILL YOU ACCEPT IT YOU LOST!!! GET OVER IT!!!
just watched the news conference and I thought Dorman was very good, o'connell had his radical moments but was more fair than usuall
they key is this, I think those two guys are wise enough to know defeat and they know the healthcare defeated it, it is going to come down to when they meet on Monday, if Luciano has a say, they will continue to press for this radical Susti-Net framework and sweeten the pot elsewhere, or they can do the wise thing and scrap the healthcare and maybe say in lue of those savings give up longivity or
Read MoreHow many "no" voters here have the guts to look a co-worker in the eye who gets laid off and say to them, "I still believe my no vote was the right thing to do"?
You have blood on your hands "no" voters. It has become quite apparent that you do not have the cognitive ability to understand the magnitude of what you have just done to not only destroy the lives of your fellow citizens but also to strike a devastating blow against collective bargaining and pension and health care benefits for years and years to come.
This is not over.
Wait for the Sebac meeting and forthcoming announcement after that meeting and then you will see that there will in fact be a re-vote. The agreement will be ever so slightly tweaked. Then a State-Wide re-vote will take place most likely on Wednesday. The the deal will pass.
Helen evidently you didn't listen to the press conference at noon:
Larry Dorman. A SEBAC spokesman, said, "Members' voices have been heard, and our members' voices will continue to be heard. … Whatever happens going forward, it's going to come from what our members direct us to do."
Asked about the possibility of a revote, he said, "I can't see that happening right now."
There are behind the scenes high level negotiations going on right now between the Malloy administration and the Sebac leadership. To be more precise Mark Ojakian and Dan Livingston are at the table negotiating a deal that will render union members in agreement. The deal will then be re-voted on then passed into law.
All of this will happen very, very rapidly and be completed next week.
Seems Helen is in another world she is not giving up. So you do not like the outcome of the game keep playing it over anad over until the right team wins or the team Helen wants to win wins. She is not giving up.
Union can't revote on same deal it must be revised all they need to do is take the health insurance part out and they should get there 80%.
"1st: A former union member is going to have trouble finding a job, HR departments don't like to hire form union members. It's an attitude thing. "
YOU'RE AN IDIOT FOR WRITING THAT.
In my 13+ years of private sector work, HR departments don't make the hiring decisions anyway.
Second, I've never been asked "were you ever in a union?" during a job interview. Nor will you be. Its not a question that gets asked.
"There are behind the scenes high level negotiations going on right now between the Malloy administration and the Sebac leadership. To be more precise Mark Ojakian and Dan Livingston are at the table negotiating a deal that will render union members in agreement. The deal will then be re-voted on then passed into law. "
Not necessarily.
But there may be something that gets done.
Oh sure change the rules AFTER the game is played because you do not like the outcome if it were the other way around those rules would be just fine. YOU LOST!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Sebac will not...under any circumstances...go down quietly with the prospect of 7500 of their members about to be laid off. They will come to an agreement with the Malloy administration next week and schedule a State-Wide one day re-vote.
It's going to happen.
Then the deal will pass.
Union Members your former Legislative partners and allies are going to run for cover. You are “All In This Together” and all alone now. Do-Over? Get a clue! Live with the consequences.
Why have a legislature if the governor can do the budget himself? Eliminating the legislature will certainly save a lot of time and money, so eleiminate them. Ridiculous. The governor could not strike a deal with the unions going through the back door and now he wants the keys to the front door. I will certainly hold anyone I can vote for accontable if they allow the governor to move forward as an autocrat. I want to be represented.
There is no way humanly possible that Sebac will stand by when 7500 people get laid off. This will in fact be re-negotiated in a very slight way and then presented to the union members again for reconsideration.
In other words a re-vote.
It would be nice in future unions vote all same day so when its already a no vote you get unions that will vote yes and look like they are the good guys. Just like today state police vote well if vote doesn't matter of course vote yes and look good and say hey I voted yes. Gonna be a intersting summer how this all unfolds.
again what is best for everyone is what we need to do, BUT again he need the union leadership to get malloy to deal if he choses and needs to communicate with the rank and file what we are will to give in on...
we know this is a difficult situation, but the union and the stae need to work this out for the taxpayer sake...
with that said, the rank and file said NO, and we as rank and file are open to another deal, and again if they are honest they know the healthcare was the real part
Read MoreUnion officials, however, said there has been no decisions on possible re-voting and whether all 34 bargaining units statewide would need to vote again.
That's code for.....there's going to be a re-vote folks.
You can bank on it.
Helen, why don't you give up your tier 1 retirement so u can save your co workers?
Helen evidently you didn't listen to the press conference at noon:
Larry Dorman. A SEBAC spokesman, said, "Members' voices have been heard, and our members' voices will continue to be heard. … Whatever happens going forward, it's going to come from what our members direct us to do."
Asked about the possibility of a revote, he said, "I can't see that happening right now."
Helen also said this would pass and she was wrong wasn't she she just will not give up. YOU LOST ITS OVER GAME PLAYED YOUR LOST.
Mark Ojakian and Dan Livingston are at the table negotiating a deal that will render union members in agreement right at this very moment.
A re-vote will occur next week.
Hopefully A new deal will be voted on just before sept 1. Hopefully they realize what killed this deal was the health insurance part and tier 1 and maybe parts of tier 2.
Helen,
Dan said there's going to be layoffs.
THAT'S CODE FOR THERE'S GONNA BE LAYOFFS!!!!
The last thing this state needs is to have Malloy calling the shots unilaterally. Good heavens. We'll end up spending $250 million for a footpath that connects Blue Back Square to a park in West Hartford so we can cut down on traffic and encourage more walking.
Helen evidently you didn't listen to the press conference at noon:
Larry Dorman. A SEBAC spokesman, said, "Members' voices have been heard, and our members' voices will continue to be heard. … Whatever happens going forward, it's going to come from what our members direct us to do."
Asked about the possibility of a revote, he said, "I can't see that happening right now."
Helen, what's your employee #?
Mark Ojakian and Dan Livingston will save the day for the 7500 workers about to be laid off. They are at the table at this very moment working out a deal.
A re-vote will occur.
To everyone saying that SEBAC will change its by-laws and pass it anyway:
Read the following SEBAC by-laws;
Article 9: ADMENDMENT: These by-laws may be amended provided all member units have been given written notice of the proposed amendments at least thirty days prior to the meeting at which the proposed amendments are voted on. Amendment of Article 6 or of this provision of this Article hall require unanimous consent of all representatives in good standing; amendment of any other article shall follow the process of Article 7 and shall require a two-thirds majority.
Article 7: VOTING: Any issue
Read MoreFollowing the rejection of the package by a second of the state's 15 public employee unions that killed the proposed deal, Malloy was asked at a press briefing whether he would re-enter talks with union officials.
"If it's for clarifications, yes," he said.
Those rules will be "amended" GRiNCH72.
There will be a re-vote.
Helen evidently you didn't listen to the press conference at noon:
Larry Dorman. A SEBAC spokesman, said, "Members' voices have been heard, and our members' voices will continue to be heard. … Whatever happens going forward, it's going to come from what our members direct us to do."
Asked about the possibility of a revote, he said, "I CAN'T SEE THAT HAPPENING RIGHT NOW."
Would you rather lose 7500 innocent workers or do a little amending to some archaic by-laws?
Helen evidently you didn't listen to the press conference at noon:
Larry Dorman. A SEBAC spokesman, said, "Members' voices have been heard, and our members' voices will continue to be heard. … Whatever happens going forward, it's going to come from what our members direct us to do."
Asked about the possibility of a revote, he said, "I can't see that happening right now."
Stop replying to Helen. It(he/she) is obviously feeding off of everyones responses to its repetitive posts. This is my first and last "Helen" comment. Please stop giving it a reason to post!
Don't I insult me by clarifying anything. Please don't insult the workers.
Helen evidently you didn't listen to the press conference at noon:
Larry Dorman. A SEBAC spokesman, said, "Members' voices have been heard, and our members' voices will continue to be heard. … Whatever happens going forward, it's going to come from what our members direct us to do."
Asked about the possibility of a revote, he said, "I can't see that happening right now."
"I CAN'T SEE THAT HAPPENING RIGHT NOW."
"Right now" means right at the moment he said that.
Things change Monday.
Then the re-vote comes into play.
Just by examining the P2 voting one can infer that
employees were OK with wage freezes but did not want structural changes to both pension and healthcare.
The Tier2 and 2a pensions are mere shadows of Tier 1. Tiers 2 and 2a have been thrown under the bus once already and were the majority in voting
due to the fact that there are only about 4,00 Tier 1 employees left in active employment.
The New England Public Policy Center revealed in a study completed in June 2010 that Tiers 2 and 2a are the worst state employee pension in all
Read MoreI think Helen and SteveHC are either one in the same....or separated at birth.
Either way....a scarey thought.
Second thought....Dory from Finding Nemo is another possibility.
NOTE TO LEGISLATORS: DO NOT CEDE YOUR AUTHORITY TO MALLOY. IF YOU DO THAT YOUR POWER HAS GONE FROM SLIM TO NONE. Please do not be that afraid of this man. Look at the union rank and file. They were not afraid of this bully. If you give him that power, then you might as well hang it up, go home and never show your faces again.
And to Helen/Sal - please give it up. You've been wrong on every post. If there is a change to the deal and it gets
Read MoreLook at it this way.
No one....and I mean no one....wants to see 7500 people laid off.
Malloy doesn't what it.
Sebac doesn't want it.
The union members don't want it.
The individual bargaining units don't want it.
The individual unions don't want it.
Thus....it won't be allowed to happen.
There will be a slight change made to the concession package and a re-vote will occur. This will happen very, very quickly.
As I have already stated, Mark Ojakian and Dan Livingston are at the table negotiating a deal at this very moment.
The agreement they sign off
Read MoreYes Helen i can look my coworker in the eye and tell them i voted NO we know who the yes votes were i do not have blood on my hands most would rather get laid off than have this garbage HC forced on us they actually told me that that is how bad this is. Malloy will see what a disaster it is to try and do the same amount of work with 8,000 less people and they will be called back within months. This is a win for everyone in conn. as if this went throught obamcare would
Read MoreThis vote was display of utter arrogance, insatiable greed, and the total disregard for the taxpayers. Not only did the no voters screw their co-workers but they also screwed the 3.5 million residents of this state. There will never be a better example of why public employees have no business being in unions. They are just too irresponsible with the public’s money and are clueless about the world around their soft, huggable cocoon of AFSCME, SEIU, etc. The special session should be to remove collective bargaining rights from these people, at the very least from the no voting unions.
If anybody here thinks that 7500 people are going to be laid off and the Malloy administration and Sebac are just going to throw their hands up in the air and say, "OK, it's all over"......they are dead wrong.
This thing is not over my friends. An agreement will be ratified and those jobs will be saved.
Look at it this way.
No one....and I mean no one....wants to see 7500 people laid off.
The vast majority of hard working CT residents who are getting slammed with a new income tax, sales tax, tuition increases, etc... to pay the salaries of these selfish union members unwilling to "share the sacrifice" would not object.
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, said he thinks union rules should be changed so that deals such as this one can be passed with approval from a lower percentage of union members.
"If the economic state of Connecticut hangs in the balance of a union rule needing 80 percent approval and 14 unions, then that rule should be changed," he said. "Eighty percent of the population in the United States of America never agrees on anything."
PatrioCT ...Why should 47,000 STATE employees "take the hit" for 3,500,000 CT residents. What part of that is shared sacrifice?
Think twice before you post this crap.
I am a taxpayer too! And I still voted YES!
I don't agree with you Andrew Wiggin.
I don't believe that any Connecticut citizen would want to see 7500 people lose their jobs. These are real people. Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Friends. They have children to raise and families to feed. They have elderly parents to take care of. They have special needs children to care for.
For you to be happy about all of those people losing their jobs strikes me as very odd thinking.
You must see this cartoon: http://articles.courant.com/2011-06-23/news/hc-june-24-2011-20110623_1_s...
Okay, we need $700 million for FY2012, right?
- UConn just reduced it's budget by 20M
- There was an 85M surplus (rounded to 80M) we're now at $600M
- Read somewhere where tax collection was on pace to be 145M more than anticipated (rounded to 100M) we're now at $500M
- Malloy has 5% rescission capability which could equal $150M (remember, shared sacrifice) anyway, we're now at $350M
Go ahead, go back to the union, "NOW", and ask us what we can do to close a $350M hole. Leave the SEBAC agreement out of it (don't know why they
Read MoreThe State Senate’s president, Donald Williams stated,
“The failure to ratify by state employees does more harm to them and the cause of labor than anything their enemies could possibly achieve,” Williams wrote. “It’s unbelievable that they don’t understand that.”
two quotes the 'no' voters may find interesting...
State Senator Edith Prague is perhaps the strongest supporter of the state labor unions in the Assembly and she says she's disgusted. "If these old guys think because they've been there for a while that they have seniority and they're protected and they won't be laid off, let them think again," says Prague (D) Labor Committee. "This is the best deal that they could possibly get and they're absolutely ridiculous to vote against it."
--------
The State Senate’s president, Donald Williams, sent a message announcing the special session to his fellow Democratic
Read MoreA very interesting document from the Office of Policy and management.
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/58630881
Overall, about 60 percent of the members of all the unions have voted in favor of the agreement.
That's filibuster proof in the United States Senate.
This is why the voting rules will in fact be "changed" and then a Re-Vote will take place. Then the deal will pass. As it should.
The vast majority of workers voted for this deal. Time to be fair to those people.
I have been informed by some co-workers that many of the very vocal "no" voters are all of a sudden very quiet at work. They are dripping with guilt as they face the reality that their "no" votes put their co-workers out of a job.
What do these people have against clean teeth? Stamping their feet and saying they won't brush is toddler behavior.
I believe the speculation that the Yankee Institute is behind this and will stay vigilant against any attempts to fix it.
Such large layoffs would ripple thru the economy and touch everyone in the State.Admim can figure out who voted no and assess just how essential they are. Layoffs begin with the no voters. It's fair.
Release all the non-violent drug offenders and dispense with a chunk of correction workers.
THANK YOU to my brother & sister union members who voted “No” recently. Despite propaganda from union leaders and Nancy Wyman, etc. you kept the benefits many worked decades to build.
I am sorry for those who may be laid off but I made my decision on what is best for my family. My mortgage lender and other creditors were a factor in my decision. The SEBAC list will offer benefit many of you soon hopefully.
I understood enough of what I voted on. It would be an insult to state employees to even consider a revote. The desperate union
Malloy, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, all Democrats, expressed exasperation with the high standards required to ratify concessions. Under current union bylaws, concessions require approval of 14 of the 15 unions and 80 percent of voting members.
As of today, two unions had officially rejected givebacks, although union spokesmen believe when all the votes are tallied around 60 percent will have approved it.
“A majority is held up by minority rule,” DeStefano, who has clashed with labor in his city, told reporters. “That’s at least something I think union leadership needs to think about.”
Read MoreTime to get informed people:
Listen to Alex Jones
www.prisonplanet.com
my thing which no-one talks about
why? four year no layoffs
why can't we do a quick furlough days, throw out the health care of course this is america not the third reich
do XX amount of furlough days for 2 years, 2 year no layoffs, and we will pick up 2 years from now when we are further in debt due to malloys reckless spending
heres the first $800 million saved
blockthebus.com
the will save the save $800 million right there
no excuses Governor Malloy!!!!!
To All,
If the legislature abdicates its responsibility and allows that baboon Malloy to make whatever cuts he wants, then they are all impeachable and dishonest. The last person in the world I want deciding anything is Malloy. He has already shown what a total screw up he is, and has not yet made one good or intelligent decision.
Thank you unions and leftists for electing the worst governor we ever had, INCLUDING Weicker. I never thought I would say I prefer Weicker to anybody, but the time has arrived.
God help us all!
Note to Admin....Helen is turning this site into a joke.
There is no shared sacrifice here...where are the spending cuts? The tax payers of CT are expected to sacrifice. The state workers are expected to sacrifice. Yet government doesn't need to cut back on spending. How about a pay cut for the Governor, House members and Senate memebers?
Why is Gov Dan waiting until next Thursday to hold a special session when the new budget takes effect at 12:01 am next Friday. This administration (Rs and Ds) are out of control.
@Helen Typical of a progressive, working families parties, socialist ... don't like the out come ... change the
Read MoreHelen is being paid to post on this site. She has been on here 24/7 for days. She claims she's a 31 yr Tier I state employee on vacation this week. I can claim that I am 8 feet tall and bench press 700 lbs on here if I want.
THERE ISN'T GONNA BE ANY LAYOFFS!!!!!!!
If there is, we can only hope it is Helen and she's in a single title position and her agency is as fed up with her as the rest of cyberspace is!
I would like to thank all the no voters-thanks.
What DeStefano and others can’t believe is that a “majority of workers can vote for something and it gets defeated.”
“We also don’t understand the system where a majority of workers vote for an outcome … and a majority is held up by minority rule. I think that’s something union leadership needs to think about,” DeStefano said.
The two spokesmen for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition said Friday that 60 percent of its overall membership approved the deal as of Friday afternoon, even though that wasn‘t enough to pass it under the coalition‘s rules. They were unable to
Read MoreHelen evidently you didn't listen to the press conference at noon:
Larry Dorman. A SEBAC spokesman, said, "Members' voices have been heard, and our members' voices will continue to be heard. … Whatever happens going forward, it's going to come from what our members direct us to do."
Asked about the possibility of a revote, he said, "I can't see that happening right now."
Helen please identify yourself to society.
Helen has about 8 or 9 emails that she re-posts over and over again. She is the master of cut and paste. Her job is to inject the pro-agreement agenda into the discussion.
Union officials will discuss whether all 15 SEBAC unions and 34 bargaining units would need to re-vote - as opposed to only those unions that turned down the agreement. SEBAC leaders plan to meet Monday.
Translation??? A Re-vote will be occurring next week after some minor tweaks are done to the concession package. Then it will pass handily and be enacted into law.
Voting is NOT over yet...keep those NO votes coming in State Police and Judicial Marshalls.
Reject this POS SECRAP deal overwhelmingly and party like it's 1997!!!
SECRAP leaders are meeting as we speak to see if they should do a RE-VOTE of ONLY the Unions that approved the POS agreement to see if they smartened up yet!!!!!!
They can't believe ANYONE would have approved the POS agreement they put together in secrecy in the FIRST PLACE!!!!
Helen just did it again. Cut and Paste. We already got the last two posts from you about 10 times. Come up with some new material please.
“The people who voted ‘No’ have a lot of explaining to do to all the members that voted ‘Yes’,” Rep. Patricia Widlitz, D-Guilford, said Friday.
Widlitz called the agreement’s defeat “incomprehensible” and “unfortunate.” She said she didn’t understand why members would give up job security and “outstanding health and pension benefits.”
Rep. Russ Morin, D-Wethersfield, who worked for the Department of Transportation for more than a decade, said all it takes is one guy to walk into the garage after hours and talk about how the state is trying to “shove Obamacare” down their throats. He said sometimes
Read More@Helen
What do YOU think. Instead of quoting eveyone why do don't you tell us why you voted yes and why you want to punsh those that voted no. Don't all members have the right to vote as they see best for themselves and their family? You chose yes and others chose no. The No won.
I find so many of the people in these forums grotesquely heartless. Why is that you ask? Well.....how would you like to be one of the thousands of people who got laid off? The real live humans beings. Our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, best friends. Imagine you just got married three years ago and you and your wife are having your first child. You have just purchased a starter home and you have been working hard at your job for 4 years now and your life is feeling really good. You and your family are happy. Living the American dream.
Read MoreOK, this is about only the 8th time we've seen this one.
Wow another prediction from Helen! Please stop responding to her, thats what she wants. she wants to feel important, she's not, she's clueless and has no life
What job does Helen do of course she wants this crap to pass if people get layed off she may actually have to WORK she is on this site posting all day long. I want helen's job helen do you work if you get layed off i want a transfer to your position.
I am in agreement with vic8432. Rather than complain about me, when you see that I have posted something simply choose not to read it and also choose not to respond to it.
Many people agree with my sentiments 100%. A handful don't.
Yes vic most of us have a job to do we cannot sit here and post all day long. I agree she is clueless. I think she needs some more work to do talk about a waste of taxpayer money. Helen should go first she seems to do nothing anyway. Seems her job could easily be eliminated. Of course she does not want these massive layoffs she may actually have to work. Helen what is your title what do you do all day long besides post your crap on this site.
Yes i agree with Helen lets ignore her.
according to Malloy, the house and senate can go home, he will make the budget, cut what he wants. why have the courts also? Thyis is ridiculous to anybody who believes in freedom, constitutions, and laws. More bullying
I don't want to see anyone laid off and actually hope that they (union and state officials) take the time to understand why it failed. Maybe they can then talk to the membership asking for permission to negotiate a contract n place. Maybe they should remove the healthcare stuff that will NOT save any money at all which would take away many of the no votes that were cast.
If I were Malloy here is what I would do.
Get rid of the health care portion of the deal. There are too many misinformed, uneducated and gullible people out there who are easily manipulated into believing something that doesn't exist (i.e Sustinet) is real (which it isn't) to pass the deal.
Then do a re-vote on the package (which will be done by the way) and the deal will then pass and be enacted into law.
Then.....in 2012.....when the State must re-negotiate with Anthem and other large insurance companies for a renewal of our health insurance coverage.....I would
Read MoreI'm with you vic and bunny. Some folks are just unable to play on the battlefield of ideas. Then there are the folks that when they do play - they don't want us to keep score.
The tax payers are keeping score and will ultimatly win at the ballot box (union ballot box and electoral ballo box).
Have a great weekend!
I think the next thing to do is tell our unions that we will not stand for them selling us out for their own political agendas. They need to hear the message louder. I am tired of my dues going to support the unions self serving agendas such as Susti-Net. It time to get the paperwork to have the portion of our dues which goes to p...olitical action refunded back to us. I've read that it is about 5%. It's a small amount back into our pockets but sends a message, "I do not support your political causes and will
Read MoreThe problem with that approach "Enough" is that the Republicans want to do away with collective bargaining and unions altogether. So you would have no representation at all. Then they could impose whatever pension and health benefits they want on you. Compare unionized worker's benefits to non-unionized benefits. Unionized workers have vastly superior benefit packages.
Why would you want to jeopardize that?
So Helen calls this anti-American, huh? How about all the presidential candidates that loss due to the electoral system in place? Do you see them crying at the end when they realized they had loss, then go on trying to change the electoral voting process.... NO BECAUSE THAT WOULD IN FACT BE DEEMED ANTI-AMERICAN!! The Americans would revolt, just like us Union members will do If you resort to that level. You have already lost a great deal of confidence of your members throughout this proposal process by going behind the members backs and locking us out of any closed
Read Morethe simplicity of why "no vote' ruled the day. Governor kept spending, administrative spending continued and increased-no shared sacrafice,union left the embership out of the deal, and we dislike and do not want that value based health care> Quite simple we are ready for concessions and real shared sacrafice which includes non union state employees also. We will not accept value based healthcare also. Administrative people do not need nor can we afford their state provided cars and unlimited gas cards. Cut the wasteful new spending, take away the luxury perks, communicate with the membership and maybe we can strike
Read MoreI am looking forward to my 2 1/2 % COLA on July 1st!
Unions Walk Off A Cliff.
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/op-ed_unions_walk_of...
One theory given for the defeat: Even though a devastating 15 percent or more of the workforce faces losing jobs, that leaves a majority that won’t lose jobs—and therefore voted to protect their benefits instead of their colleagues’ jobs. In other words, selfishness.
It is like war. Some have to die Helen.
Sometimes we have to get rid of the weak to make the group stronger.
We will be stronger when all is said and done!
“No” voters can’t possibly believe that the public will support them; rather, their worst prejudices against state employees have been confirmed. This is not Wisconsin. No one is on the unions’ side. National labor leaders have been conspicuously silent. Any state employees believing that elected officials are now going to turn around and negotiate a better-for-them deal are clearly not thinking straight; no one in the legislature or the governor’s office has any reason to stick their necks out for the unions now.
The governor has called a special session for next week, and lawmakers will probably end up approving a budget slightly less destructive than Malloy’s original. Whatever the outcome, budget cuts and higher taxes are coming to your town, courtesy of a small minority of state employees.
The failure of the concession agreement is a turning point in the history of labor relations in Connecticut. This kind of disaster can’t be allowed to happen again. The 80 percent or all-but-two-unions threshold is clearly too high; that the vast majority of state employees are about to be punished for the foolish actions of a few is clearly unfair.
deal is done, will be no revote. it is time to unite and march on hartford, or do you only protest republicans? Your loyalty should be to your union, not the Democrats.
What is equally inconceivable is that state workers who voted against the concession package don't see the bigger picture. This is not exactly a high point for unions. Organized labor is under attack on all fronts, and public employee unions are the last gasp of a movement that once held sway over most of the nation's work force. In statehouses around the country, public employee unions are being blamed for an economic shortfall they played little role in creating.
But not in Connecticut. This governor managed to avoid demonizing state workers, and in the process helped craft a concessions package
Read MoreMisinformation has poisoned the well, if tweaking a provision of the deal is going to make it acceptable to union members, the opportunity should be seized and, as rules allow, put back to members for a revote.
Hey folks, something has been left out of this discussion. Whyare Walker and Christie called Hitler's for asking for $300Million in concessions while Malloy wants $1.6 Billion and that is fine with the Dems that voted him in. Then when he gets rejected he says he will lay off 7500 rank and file and not worry about it. I though his party was all about the middle class. He sounds like a dictator with no compassion to me. How many workers did Walker and Christie lay off?? None. But they are the
Read MoreI have written this before and will do so again just for clarification.
Capital and infrastructure projects (UConn Health Center and busway for example) are bonded spending. While they incur some immediate costs and costs over the long run, they are not affecting the current budget all that much.
Malloy aint not friend of Labor. Labor is a friend of Malloys.
It's a one-way street now and his actions will NOT soon be forgotten.
Submitted by PatrioCT on Fri, 06/24/2011 - 2:16pm.
This vote was display of utter arrogance, insatiable greed, and the total disregard for the taxpayers. Not only did the no voters screw their co-workers but they also screwed the 3.5 million residents of this state. There will never be a better example of why public employees have no business being in unions. They are just too irresponsible with the public’s money and are clueless about the world around their soft, huggable cocoon of AFSCME, SEIU, etc. The Uspecial session should be to remove collective bargaining rights from these people, at the
This deal is over Sal, give up! It's pathetic how you have to listen to your members thru a website blog, and you say there was adequate communication throughout this process? What a crock... The truth is there are too many worthless state jobs out there, everybody knows it, and you could thank the governor for advertising it a hundred times a day through the media via threats! If he is telling the public we will be fine if we lay off 7,500 state jobs then he is really stating we really don't need these jobs. Furthermore the public
Read MoreHelen is out of control... I recommend a psychiatric consult and medication adjustment...
Just finished watching channel 3 news-unions say their will
be no revote.
I am thinking that the reason that Helen has not identified herself is because she works in the Gov's office.
Helen - In one post you say "how can NO voters look into their co-workers eyes knowing they will be laid off, we have blood on our hands", blah.....blah.....blah. But in your next annoying posts you say "there will be a re-vote and this will pass". Just another contradiction like the rest of them. I just cant believe there are people out there that actually believe all this garbage being fed to us.
Yeah, there's some real nit-wits drinking the SECRAP Kool-Aid.
They were offered a POS agreement and then caved in to a BULLY who concocted this ridiculous change in our Pension/Healthcare benefits (DOWN THE ROAD AND NOT REAL DOLLARS TODAY) with an out of touch Union Leadership and SECRAP Leaders who have their own agenda.
These nit-wits wouldn't know a POS if they stepped in it.
It required the members with courage to STEP UP to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!! We've given back ENOUGH!!!!! You keep up the crazy spending and then have the nerve to ask us to give MORE!
Read More"....it is time to unite and march on hartford, or do you only protest republicans? Your loyalty should be to your union, not the Democrats."
Unity a good thing. If everybody that voted got together than 60% of the crowd will have voted "Yes". So if we truly become one, do the concessions pass?
How come Helen only posts during the day she must have things to do at night. I want her job that is why she does not want layoffs Helen may have to work and not have time spilling her nonsense on the rest of us. HELEN GO AWAY.
Does anyone honestly think if we agreed to this garbage we would not be back in 2 years giving up our raises and more. The contract is good until 2012 sebac until 2017 worry about it then we agreed in good faith we kept our part of the bargain let the other side keep theirs.
ISN'T EVERYONE HAPPY HELEN IS GONE FOR THE NIGHT.
I agree with the poster who said the public will hate us even more now true we will be blamed for everything all the fiscal woes with the state they will say greedy state workers they are the problem. The union & Gov. made us look bad. People think what a great deal and they voted it down. They have no idea. I remember starting out with the state making less than $12 an hr 30 yrs ago people i know were making $40 but we stayed because of the benefits now they want to take that away. We worked
Read MoreI agree with the poster who said the public will hate us even more now true we will be blamed for everything all the fiscal woes with the state they will say greedy state workers they are the problem. The union & Gov. made us look bad. People think what a great deal and they voted it down. They have no idea. I remember starting out with the state making less than $12 an hr 30 yrs ago people i know were making $40 but we stayed because of the benefits now they want to take that away. We worked
Read MoreEveryone knew the rules before we voted 14 out of the 15 and 80% now HELEN who said this will pass overwhelmingly claims the voting is not fair and wants a revote by the way Marshals voted it down 436 to 191
When, exactly, are the union leaders going to start communicating with their membership? Has anyone here heard from their union asking what we think?
If they are honest, the union leadership will admit (if only to themselves) that they are, in fact, the cause of this whole mess because of their arrogance in thinking that they could decide what is best for us and what we will accept without asking us. Like one of the legislators said, they are completely out of touch with their membership.
We have been threatened by the Governor with punitive layoffs if we
Read More*Update* on Union Tentative Agreement Ratification Voting.
As of today, it is clear we do not have sufficient support under the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition’s (SEBAC) strict rules to ratify the 2011 tentative agreement. On the other hand, it is clear that a majority of members and their unions voted in favor of the agreement.
The coalition’s democratic ratification process is a difficult one with a high threshold. The requirements that no more than one union vote to reject any agreement and that those voting “yes” represent at least 80% of all unionized employees in the coalition cannot be
Read MoreHelen is back spewing out more of her nonsense.
OK......I have just been informed that my place of employment will be handing out pink slips to 34 people. The heat is being turned up to epic proportions now.
Once reality sinks in....the likelihood of a re-vote becomes very, very real.
The abstract idea of lay-offs is now looking people right in the face.
A re-vote wins easily with that factor in play.
Helen,
Those of you working in the Gov's office will not be receiving any pink slips.......give it a rest already......
Clear, Concise, Brilliant.
This is the most penetratingly accurate article about State Workers and what just happened to them.
Click here to read the article .
By the way....the man that wrote the article is a professor of economics at the University of Connecticut and director of UConn's Connecticut Center of Economic Analysis.....so....I kind of think he knows what he's talking about.
When asked about SustiNet on Friday, Malloy said that some state employees clearly did not listen to his statements.
"I did 17 town hall meetings,'' Malloy said. "I made it clear ... that there was no way in Hades that I was going to put state employees' insurance into SustiNet. So I've always been clear. I do wish that some folks had understood my position earlier rather than later. That issue may have been chosen by folks who wanted to oppose the deal as a scare tactic, but let me assure you it was a scare tactic that was artificial
Read MoreHelen seems to have a lot of time on her hands....wish I was that lucky. My STATE job requires that I work in excess of 40 hours per week (not compensated for the hours after 40) and by the time I get home, cook dinner, eat, etc. it is time to go to bed. Wish I had Helen's job, no wonder she doesn't want to endanger it.
I do know that some employees at my place emailed the union asking for a re-vote. It all boils down to the newer employees are worried about losing their jobs, they are happy to just have a state job and never had to sacrifice or give back time and time again. Employees that have experienced these "give backs" over and over are just plain sick of it. We are the ones seeing the big picture, the more we give, the more they want. Pretty soon we will have nothing left. I would rather go down with a fight then just
Read MoreSEBAC miscalculated many things.
(Don't blame the rank-and-file for that.)
--perturbed
Helen is losing some of her people gee maybe they may give her like a job to do. Helen has lots of time on her hands.
Yes Helen you listen to the lies malloy is spreading i will not. The entire mess is our fault its the fault of the government that spends money they do not have. You cannot spend more than you take in. Why would they add these concessions when they were not agreed to they look like the fools that they are they just figured we would vote for this crap. Yes the ones that have
Well..............you know what...........
kursed_78,
Did you read what the economics professor said?
Click Here to read.
In the good old days professors were respected and looked up to for advice and wisdom. It seems today's State worker looks to "what the guy down the hall at work said".
Very sad. Pathetic really.
The New York deal that Helen keeps mentioning also comes about 6 to 8 months after NY State gave public service employees a great ERIP. And, in NY, the state pension system extends to many other public service employees beyond the state employees. It is nice to know that another state that was / is in financial straights didn't hang their senior employees out to dry. As for the discussion about Wisconsin, it is a fact that the union situation there may have gone down the tubes regarding collective bargaining, but, the pension fund is 100% funded. The
Read MoreIf sustinet was not a possibility why in the sustinet agreement or contract did it say conn. state employees answer that one Helen maybe you know the reason. Why are members of the union and Nancy Wyman on the sustinet board answer that one Helen put your money where your mouth is. No one is that stupid to believe we would not be funding sustinet.
Helen posted a sebac statement earlier. while that was great, her comments dont help the cause for either side. If you read sebac's latest statement, it really puts into prespective how a no vote does not prove anything. Way to go! Out of a job for sure, and many services to be cut.
Helen, you are no better than anyone on here. And why do you post all day long??? I dont even think she is a state employee. I think she is trying to needle everyone and cause conflict! STOP we
Read More@bunny06: I believe that the reason you can be assured that you would not fund Sustinet is that the bill will never pass. The insurance industry in CT is too strong to allow the original Sustinet to happen.
who the heck cares if it is sustinet. It is better than no health insurance. NOW people will get their raises and 7500 will get laid off. Corrections will not just go away. They will get their raises while the state figures out a way to get rid of them. Just a way to buy their time. Someone, please come up with a plan c so there wont be so much divison between citizens...
and before you ever saw the words state of ct in a sustinet plan did you ever think that we would have decorated benefits within the plan??? Did anyone ever think that??
If the unions need to sign a paper stating that there will be no sustinet in our future in addition to posting it on their website, will that be enough??? I doubt it as many cannot set their anger aside and do right.........
If you do not believe everyone that says this is not Sustinet, you should at least believe an insurance industry lobbyist: http://blog.ctnews.com/politicalcapitol/2011/05/31/insurance-lobbyist-ba...
Okay-kudos to Helen, but then why is she so worried about layoffs. After all, she is independently wealthy - maybe she should share her wealth.
Helen - Funny you dont have a response as to your contradictions but you can comment on shared sacrifice. You say we are too concerned about what the person down the hall has......that is not what I said. There is a huge difference in the welfare and the rich not having to share any of the burden, just us middle class state workers once again. and your article is crap just like your comments on this site!! That article is on pure assumptions not facts. also maybe you should of read those comments, all but 1 were negative, including his
Read Morehelen, you should be ashamed of yourself! You dont want a love thy neighbor attitude. You want people to love you. I am against what malloy is trying to do but you are not helping the case anymore but then again, you are doing reverse psychology on readers. GOOD JOB. Please. Also, IT IS NOT SUSTINET. STOP TRYING TO MAKE THAT CASE. The only reason people believe that is because they have been lied to before but read the SEBAC agreement.
GOD, please help those who help themselves but also
Read MoreI think a simple way to have solved the union voting is to have everyone sign a waiver. Yes, i acknowledge that this is not a sustinet program. Union acknowledges this is a healthcare agreement the same as in he last 7 years and will not become sustinet. It would have been so simple for unions to have on a ballot this small amount of information or have a signed letter from union leaders and government that this would not be a sustinet program outlining the features you have in question. They could have handed it to
Read Morethere Helen goes just talking half truths. first of all not ALL state employees get a job without college degrees, most dont have overtime whenever they want it, at retirement we get 25% of our unused sick time not all of it, not everybody gets to exercise at work, some of us dont even have time for breaks. we dont take holidays whenever we want, longevity for most is a measly hundred or so bucks. lots of private sector gets a christmas bonus, we dont. as for the health ins and pension, thats why people want to work for
Read MoreHelen you are a sick person, seek help...
If you ignore her she will go away
It seems I've struck a nerve.
we made a similar deal with Gov. weicker in 1990.well as soon as Rowland took office he voided the promises of Weicker but kept our concessions. It too was a 4 year deal. We filed for arbitration and won; a slam dunk. Then Rowland rallied the senate ; Prague, Williams and Sullivan to renig on the arbitration. You perople don't get it, what you give up stays gone, what is promised goes too. Ask someone who was around. Governors can not be trusted. Keep the contract. Learn from history or you are doomed to repeat it
To both Helen,and the no voters...
Helen, I hope that you are rightabout the re vote. To me the no voters were cowardly, and they do not in any way represent the way that the majority of state workers think.If we were to take a poll, and if we had any way to do it accurately I would bet that 99% of the no voters are people who are at least kidding themselves into thinking that they will have nothing to worry about when the notices go out. I work for DDS , and thanks
Read MoreThe union members voting against the concessions are big babies.
That is the conclusion of the article that can be read by clicking here.
I read a lot of these posts and have to bow my head in sadness. It seems many people here don't work for the State. Otherwise they would understand that State workers have it absolutely made in every way, shape and form.
All I have is a high-school diploma and I make $33 dollars an hour. My contemporaries in the private sector that do the exact same job as I do make $15 dollars an hour.
I have fantastic health care insurance. The private sector guy doesn't.
I have a fantastic pension plan. The private sector guy doesn't have
Read MoreTo MichaelThoughts,
Who gives a flying s about sustinet?????? I care only as to wehter or not this plan was going to cost me more $, and to a much lesser extent about keeping the same docs.
In 2017, with the direction that things are going in this country the entire country will go over to Universal healthcre, and all they will do is take waht we had and then give us whatever they want anyway.
For me I only want to hear about dollars and sense, so
@skyreacher: My point was to try to respond to others who could not get past the whole Sustinet thing, however futile that attempt may have been. I thought the health care part of the plan was a reasonable response to rising health care costs. It gave people a choice of paying more for a higher cost plan or paying less for a plan that would save money. That made sense to me.
"Helen" if what you say is true, you are obviously long overdue for a layoff notice (you get paid to exercise at work? OT whenever you want it? do nothing at work but post on these sites all day?) Get real ... you should be ashamed of yourself.
To Kursed,
Just what exactly is it that you do not have? Even if this had passed, would you still have better benefits and pay then the average citizen who works in the private sector?
A re vote if it is a possibility could be the best thing that could happen. I really do not think that a lot of people here really know what is going on, because I think that this is really going to come down to a total restructering of state government, and it is not
To Michael,
sorry I might have misunderstood. I think that a lot of people posting here are not state employees, and there are a few who seem to be more interested in talking about things like sustinet, then the sebac agreement.
To Michael,
sorry I might have misunderstood. I think that a lot of people posting here are not state employees, and there are a few who seem to be more interested in talking about things like sustinet, then the sebac agreement.
Better benefits then the private sector? is this yankee institute. I know plenty of people in private sector with much better benefits. And in the private sector, they don't need permission to use the bathroom, or wait an hour while kidney is ready to burst to have a supervisor send a relief to let you go to the bathroom. Private sector doesn't get ordered to work overtime on Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Years, the private sector doesn't get mixtures of feces and urine thrown on them.I bet you complain about marines in Iraq getting free food and clothing.We have a
Read MoreImportant video from today's Sebac news conference.
http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/webstream.asp?odID=6694&odTitle=CNB%20with%20...
I find it ironic that the State Protempore, Senator Williams is having to defend a governor from the very union tactics that he himself supports. Interesting, in deed. District 29 voters, please get this man out of office before he has a hand in furthering the demise of CT!
Helen's earlier reference to Malloy stating that SustiNet would never be possible - are you kidding me??????
Ask yourselves this: if SustiNet was not going to be possible, then why did the legislature pass it at all? Any bill/law can be later amended. Keep that in mind when you are in the voting booth.
These liberal lawmakers have a grip on this state and they can do any dang thing they want - because we let them!
It sounds to me like YOU need to be laid off, Helen. Your cushy Tier 1 deal (along with your posting on blogs all day) is what gives state employees a bad name.
I, too, work for the state. However, unlike you, I was only recently hired. Four years ago, I took a $20K paycut to join the state because I wanted the state pension and benefits for my family. I am a Tier IIa employee.
So let's compare our situations, shall we?
- I have a college degree and a highly marketable skill set
Read MoreIt appears that Governor Malloy will go down in history being remembered as Governor "Malayoff."
The governor needs to stop being stubborn and holding his breath because he did get his own way.
To the citizens reading this, you need to be aware that state employees ARE willing to make hundreds of millions of dollars of concessions, which the state could really use right now. Governor "Malayoff" is basically telling us to stuff it because we refused to open standing agreements which would make him look like a big shot politician who could bend the unions to
Read MoreAnd I love you to.
In my 38 years of private sector work and many years of being a hiring manager I can tell you while HR does not make the hiring decision, they review the resumes and applications and decide who gets moved on to 2nd stage consideration. No they don't make the hiring decisions, but they can cut you before you ever get to consideration.
2nd: No, no one has probably ever asked you if you were a union hack, but a simple read of your job history tells all.
Is this the case all the time
Read MoreThe bar is set high because the changes are to pension and healthcare
benefits.
As SEBAC is a collective of unions it was and is important to make any changes to these two very important benefits have a higher threshold then
would any wage or working condition changes that might be specific to a bargaining unit.
HOSED!!!
Bottom line, the State employees are being HOSED as are the residents and tax payers of CT. State employees are being used as pawns by King Malloy and our bend over union leadership. No one wants your OBAMACARE, stop forcing your progressive agenda on the State employees and residents of CT. How can you justify all of the future spending ( magic bus - the majority of the citizens of this state do not ride busses to begin with, and the expansion of Uconn medical along with the salary for the new school president with longevity). This whole thing
Helen is correct. It will happen. A re-vote will take place with a slightly changed deal.
I have trouble believe what you are saying is true State Punching Bag. The IT guy where I work makes $87,000 a year and spends most of his time hanging around talking to the ladies.
You should either look for a transfer (there are always a boatload of positions posted) or tell the truth and stop embellishing or making things up outright.
I just thought of something.
If a "no" voter gets laid off it will be poetic justice.
I wonder how a "no" voter will feel when he or she gets laid off.
You obviously spend all of your time listening to John Rowland on the radio maximus.
Your posts take quotes from him directly.
You might want to try to come up with an original thought or two on your own.
Governor Malloy addressees the Sustinet issue head on. For all of you misinformed and frankly flat out wrong people as well as the conspiracy theorists who still talk about it. Here is video of him (yes it's really him) talking about it extensively yesterday.
See his remarks by clicking right here.
I just read that the Judicial Marshal’s voted it down 436 to 191.
When Sebac meets Monday and changes the rules on the voting threshold for this to pass, we will then re-vote and it will pass under the new, less strict rules.
"It was just incredibly stupid to vote `no,'" said veteran Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury, who has praised state workers for past givebacks that others have criticized as too little. "I'm viscerally angry at the situation ... They've been so helpful in the past in stepping up when we've had significant economic and fiscal problems. I expected them to do the same."
"The failure to ratify by state employees does more harm to them and the cause of labor than anything their enemies could possibly achieve," Williams wrote. "It's unbelievable that they don't understand that."
"Hopefully this will get worked out,
Read MoreWith their misguided and selfish votes, some state employees have both assured that many of their fellow workers will be out of jobs and reinforced the stereotype of the privileged government worker unwilling to compromise.
The “no one gets fired and everyone goes to the prom state employee contract “ which put off raises for two years with minimal inconvenience on benefits and salaries to 50,000 plus workers is now a non-deal. These union people have either big stones or rocks in their heads. Their actions have caused a delightful meltdown at state Capitol. Everyone but the Republicans is white-faced hornet mad.
Malloy is many things, but if you diss him – he will cut your heart out.
With the union members acting like ungrateful teenagers who didn’t get to borrow the car Saturday night,
Read MoreThe union members who voted "no" have finally been revealed for what they are – a very comfortable and entitled class – no better than the capitalists and robber barons of the late 19th century.
Some private sector workers were stunned that the unions rejected the agreement, calling it a sweetheart deal that would have been approved almost immediately by non-union workers who have been battling against layoffs, pay cuts, wage freezes, and benefit reductions since the huge downturn on Wall Street that started with the collapse of the Lehman Brothers investment bank in mid-September 2008. The nation was plunged into a deep recession, and many workers saw their jobs cut and pensions frozen.
Union officials will discuss whether all 15 SEBAC unions and 34 bargaining units would need to re-vote — as opposed to only those unions that turned down the agreement.
"I made it clear ... that there was no way in Hades that I was going to put state employees' insurance into SustiNet,'' Malloy said. "So I've always been clear. I do wish that some folks had understood my position earlier rather than later. That issue may have been chosen by folks who wanted to oppose the deal as a scare tactic, but let me assure you it was a scare tactic that was artificial in nature.''
helen revealed herself as an outside participant, she clearly lied about state employee benefits they receive. a state union employee clearly easily see the fake line items; i love the exercise during working hours one. Part of the sebac /malloy dis information campaign
Helen is a mental health assistant at dmhas. I just found out.
One of the reasons this agreement didn't pass was because it asked Tier II and IIA to take smaller pensions in the future. If they retire before 60 or 62, their pensions were going to be decreased AND they would have to pay higher health premiums.
It doesn't seem like this is shared sacrifice when you take the smallest pensions and make them smaller but you don't touch the bigger ones.
I know a lot of Tier II and IIA members voted NO because of this. A pension worth $1200 a month on 9/1/11 was going to
Read MoreHelen, nobody agrees with you. Just take a look at the posts. Hell,by the looks of it, nobody even likes you. Go away and let the adults conversate
I hate to break the news to all of you who voted against the agreement because you see the State wasting too much money elsewhere, BUT -
You just voted against the ONLY agreement we ever had (make that *would* have had) that *guaranteed* our collective input on wasteful spending going forward.
Now we have not just Malloy but the entire Senate, House, and all of the state's municipalities looking for much of your financial "blood." You may find that satisfying your egos to get one year's worth of a pay raise and a few more years of the current
Read MoreEdith Prague is totally inappropriate and out of line... Didn't I read that 60% of state employees voted yes to this...???
So because 40% and 2 unions voted it down she is going to punish ALL state workers...??? What a joke she is... Vote her out people...!!! What sacrifices did SHE make...???
"state_employee" - A VERY large segment of Prague's constituency (her geographical area's voters) is relatively *conservative*, so I doubt she'll be voted out... maybe she'll resign at some point because of her *age*, But I think that's about it.
And don't forget - for every legislator that gets voted *out*, one gets elected *IN* to replace them. Over the next couple of election cycles, outgoing incumbents are much more likely to be replaced with far more conservative, anti-government employee politicians than not.
Be VERY careful what you wish for!
You right... but it makes me angry... we are such scapegoats for everyone...
Does anyone know results of state troopers?
Steve hc, do you remember a similar concession package we made with Weicker? we gave up concessions, lost them, then Rowland din't honor the rest of the deal. It went to arbitration and we won, but Rowland rallied democrats like sullivan , williams and prague to overturn the win back from the weicker concessions.My point is if you give it back, it is gone and the state has a history of not honoring past concession deals. Council 4 sold us out on that too, which is why d.o.c. was such a strong no vote. we know their word means nothing.Yes
Read MoreTo helenisannoying, I just love that username...!!! She is annoying...!!!
"bluff beater" - I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. And to some extent you're right.
But this is a *VERY* different time for us, both politically and economically. It's a *TOTALLY* different ball game. Given the "no" vote, the deck is now stacked *ENTIRELY* against us; we're essentially "out of the game" now altogether, with no chips. Whereas if the deal had been ratified, at least we'd still be in the game with some chips left for future use.
I'm not saying that SEBAC and our unions went about the whole thing in the right way; in fact I
Read MoreSECRAP leaders are meeting as we speak to see if they should do a RE-VOTE of ONLY the Unions that approved the POS agreement to see if they smartened up yet!!!!!!
They can't believe ANYONE would have approved the POS agreement they put together in secrecy in the FIRST PLACE!!!!
I have a feeling that within a week - 2 weeks MAX - no one will care what "Ben Dover" or the like has to say, and that legislators will become ever-more convinced that the *overwhelming* majority of state employees - with the possible exception of prison guards and State "Marshals" - were in favor of the agreement.
I think many DSS and DCF workers think they're "protected" - little do they realize that *other* states CONTRACT OUT to private non-profits for such services - at MUCH lower wage and benefit levels - and that the State of CT is
Read MoreI just received a survey from my union, question #1 asking if I voted to accept the concessions, multiple choice with written imput, then question #2 asking if I voted to reject, multiple choice with written imput, and question #3 with multiple choice putting priorities in order of personal importantance. Helen is actually a mental health worker? Could she be an 1199 delegate? She said that she personally spoke to Mark Ojakian, the chief negotiator for the state's side. As Jon Pelto reported, without using his name, Jon said that the chief negotiator accepted his $4800 longivity payment, as
Read More"MH" - you just received a "survey" NOW? Aren't they a little LATE??? ;-)
Anyway, Helen wouldn't have to be an 1199 delegate to have gotten to speak with Ojakian or anyone else for that matter. Years ago I had plenty of pleasant conversations with the woman who was the State's negotiator at the time... Saranne Murray, I think her name was, or something like that. Of course, that was back in the days when unions asked their members what they wanted out of negotiations BEFORE they actually negotiated a contract LOL!
All joking aside, 1199's the best damned
Read MoreBunny,
Are you a state employee? Helen probably will not get over this, at least not for a very long time until after the layoffs are done! If you are a state employee you certainly do not sound like this is going to bother you very much.I have over 17 years, so its likely that I will not be the first to get hit, but I will see people around me get it, and it will also bother, so I am not going to get over it, and I will be among those who
Read MoreNow that I'm thinking about it, I can't believe that the old CSEA and Union Independent even still EXIST... they were always the WORST - ESPECIALLY UI. AFT's great too. Some parts of AFSCME are pretty good; others are lousy.
After everything shakes out, employees need to organize a petition to the State to call for re-election of the unions representing them (as in, requesting the opportunity to select NEW unions for their bargaining units), or at least to transfer some of their job classes into different bargaining units than they're currently in... at least a few job classes' bargaining
Read MoreHey mamie,
I`ll go to the dentist 20x a year if it does not cost me a whole lot of $.
"skyreacher" - LOL! Me too LOL!!! I think they were offering the 2xs/year dental exams at NO Co-Pay, just like the physicals! Who GIVES a rat's you-know-what about "SustiNet" or whatever! Man! That whole issue was the single most bizarre FREAK SHOW I've EVER seen in ANY collective bargaining process ANYWHERE!
Once this stuff *really* hits the national news - IF it does (and I wouldn't be surprised if it does) - I can just imagine what OTHER states' employees and unions will think. They'll think the entire State of CT needs to be institutionalized!
I have yet to read an editorial by any well respected newspaper that said the "no" voters did the right thing.
In fact it's been quite the opposite. State workers are being eviscerated in editorial pages in every newspaper in Connecticut.
We never really had much public support to begin with. Now it's official.....we have none left at all.
We are in the process of losing the only public officials who had been strong labor allies for decades.
In the end we will have no where to turn for support. No where.
Basically.....no one likes us. No one.
Read MoreBelow is just a small sample of what editorialists are saying about State Workers after the "no" vote won. Just click the article to read it.
Article 1.
Article 2.
Article 3.
Article 4.
You folks do read things other than these forums posts. Right???
SteveHC,
I would love to hear your thoughts on whether you think the Sebac leaders will come together and as a group vote to change the way the voting threshold for ratification of an agreement such as this is done. For example get rid of the 80% rule and make it a simple majority (for example).
A re-vote will in fact take place when all is said and done.
I'm interested in your thoughts on this.
By the way....thank you for the kind words about 1199. That's the union I have been in for 31 years. I go
Read MoreMarge Tremel, a Fairfield resident who works at St. Vincent's Medical Center, said union members that voted down the deal have been selfish.
"In these days and ages, everyone needs to give a little," she said. "Some of the unions are a little bit too greedy."
As a hospital worker, Tremel said she and her colleagues recently had to choose between a three-year salary freeze and a handful of layoffs. For Tremel, the choice was easy.
"All of us in the hospital voted, and we voted for the freeze to keep those people's jobs," she said. "Even if it had
Read MoreAs far as I know, SEBAC's members can change their own rules as long as they abide by their own by-laws' rules for doing so. But I *don't* know if any of its *member unions'* by-laws, constitutions or whatever *refer* to SEBAC membership issues... if any of them *do*, it could complicate such things.
But even if SEBAC *could* change its internal voting rules that doesn't necessarily mean that they *would*, at least at this point in time. It's funny, a lot of the "no" voters originally COMPLAINED about the 80% rule... that is, until they realized that it was
Read More"By the way....thank you for the kind words about 1199. That's the union I have been in for 31 years. I go back to the Jerry Brown days."
- ME TOO! I used to call him "Cowboy" at our negotiating sessions with the State - one of us gave him a cowboy hat to wear LOL!!! The guy was GREAT. So was Larry Fox.
Thank you for the insightful words SteveHC. I appreciate it. You're a beacon of truth in this forum and I have tremendous respect for what you say.
"Submitted by Helen on Fri, 06/24/2011 - 4:26pm.
I am in agreement with vic8432. Rather than complain about me, when you see that I have posted something simply choose not to read it and also choose not to respond to it.
Many people agree with my sentiments 100%. A handful don't.
Login or register to post comments"
Gosh Helen you're amazing (-ly blind!)[I've vowed to myself not to use harsh derogatory terms here] You agree with this????:
"Submitted by vic8432 on Fri, 06/24/2011 - 4:22pm.
Wow another prediction from Helen! Please stop responding to her, thats
Read MoreHe could have had a chance if he was reasonable in his demands. Look at what Cuomo was able to do by being fair & reasonable. He got $166mil from his largest union (56000+ members) over 2 years. Now he can expect the same from the other 100k+ state employees that over 5 years will save almost $4bil.
Granted, NY is dealing on a much larger scale overall. But look at the proportionality of the deal. Not demanding that his state workforce match dollar for dollar what the whole rest of the state is paying, but a reasonable share. Same
Read MoreHelen & Steve,
please get a room!
; )
@MichaelThoughts: This -- the health care connection -- is a crucial point. Please consider this. I respect your opinions, and would welcome your thoughts.
MichaelThoughts wrote: "My point was to try to respond to others who could not get past the whole Sustinet thing, however futile that attempt may have been. I thought the health care part of the plan was a reasonable response to rising health care costs. It gave people a choice of paying more for a higher cost plan or paying less for a plan that would save money. That made sense to me."
I agree with
Read MoreLooking at past democrat political scandals we can see where this is going: Weiner, Edwards, Clinton< Rowland, perez, the wide stance guy. Their first defense is to blame the enemies like Weiner being hacked and the yankee institute thing. The next step is for journalists to expose the truth and present the truth to the politicians. The politicians then need a few days to develop a new response, act for forgiveness and save face at same time. Malloy will negotiate again. The union will be far less demanding. This will happen and layoffs will be avoided. it happens every time
Read MoreOne thing about that theory bluff beater. If the union is "far less demanding"......are you saying far less demanding of it's members....or far less demanding of the Malloy administration.
Keep in mind.......if your theory is correct......whatever package is put together......it will still have to get enough "yes" votes for ratification.
Also....Malloy emphatically stated "there will be no new negotiations".
Layoff notices will be received this week. I have it on good authority that 34 pink slips will be handed out in my agency alone. That will send shock waves throughout the agency.
The atmosphere at work is very, very
Read MoreThe notion that "senior State workers were not and are not now afraid of layoffs so they voted "no" is a complete and utter falsehood.
I have 31 years seniority and many of my contemporaries at work have 25 years of service or higher. We have been around the block a few times. We have seen a lot over the years. I guess you could say some wisdom built up over those years.
The senior workers where I work voted yes in droves. Sure it's anecdotal evidence, but it did happen that way at my agency.
Many of
Read MoreMost State Bargaining units are already at the negotiating table with the State or will be in the fall. Do any of you "no" voters expect to get a better deal at the table, or more likely from an arbitrator? Do you expect the legislature to carry the ball to protect State Workers from a mean arbitration award? I'd expect 4 years of zero wage increases like the arbitrators in New York are handing out right now.
I wonder if the bright folks in Corrections think an arbitrator might not take their 5 on 3 off
Read MoreLayoffs are going to cause horrific pain for an incredible amount of people very, very soon. Call this the "acute" pain stage of the process. That is the short term "kick in the stomach" kind of pain that will be felt all across Connecticut by a minimum of 7500 State workers.
Another kind of pain is the nagging, never ending, throbbing agony as the slow but sure dismantling of our health care benefits and pension's get stripped away. Call it the "chronic" pain stage of the process.
These selfish, misinformed crybabies who voted "no" are going to be
Read MoreSome of you folks should go back and read SteveHCs previous postings. I don't know who he is but he has been right-on with the posts he's been making- I retired in '09 (tier 1 and to those who still believe that tier 1 folks didn't pay into the retirement fund, wrong! I paid 5% for 40+ years) and was heavily involved in the union process for 25 years before I jumped over to the management side. It doesn't much matter if somehow some modification of SEBAC is put through quickly near term thus avoiding layoffs, I guarantee you
Read MoreWhat was the final tally?
Does anyone know where to find the final vote count? Voting ended on Friday, and it's now Sunday afternoon. Are they still counting?
Thanks,
--perturbed
I hope that everyone who voted "no" continues to "talk it up" at work. I'm sure that within a couple of weeks they'll be treated as the pariahs that they deserve to be... their lives at work will become so miserable that they'll wish they could afford to quit. *ESPECIALLY* once everyone reads and hears about what just happened in New Jersey.
Let's hope the legislators, unions, SEBAC and the rest of us rest of us can figure out a way to at least minimize the extent of the permanent damage.
SEBAC Miscalculated Many Things.
.
.
.
--perturbed
Everyone was given a vote "yes" or "no" they had the right to vote for what ever they felt was best for themselfs or who ever there is no reason to say bad things or rank on anyone for their vote. If the outcome was differant Helen would be saying how right she was and still be ranking on the no voters. Its over now get off the forums go outside enjoy the day if you think you might get layed off update you resume and start a job search this is not the end of the world stay positive
Read MoreOh it's FAR from over, believe me
Three people this morning, after church, said to me that they were amazed this was voted down. Two of those were former state unionized workers. The public thinks this was insane, the reality of getting any kind of support back is going to take a long time. There were things I was not happy about in the agreement. But I can tell you my union reps explained everything, over and over, stayed long after hours to make sure all questions were answered. If yours did not, then that is a problem with your union. My
Read Morefear, scare tactics and more fear coming from sebac. stand up for yourselves. Stop being cowards. After church some mean people teased me. i want to go home and turn belly up. wah , wah , wah. Please governor, Those mean selfish prison guards don't speak for me, what ever you want, just tsake it. stand up for yourselves or you will always be a victim. Wah , wah, wah,
I see the perks other state employees have thanks to helen. in my opinion if you are getting everything she listed you need serious cuts. No state employees i know get the things she listed. If those people who are paid to exercise at work, i believe you need to be fired, not just laid off. That is ridiculous. let them go. rest of us seldom get a luch break
helen, are their gonna be layoffs or is their gonna be a revote, you keep changing your mind. you want people to think you're linked in, but you're clueless. get a life
Bluff Beater: now we know why Helen was so desperate for these concessions to pass. She wanted to save her insanely cushy job and her Tier I benefits (which would have been untouched had this agreement passed.)
Helen needs to be laid off so that a newer, more efficient employee can step up and do her job without taking paid exercise and posting on blogs all day.
Dan malloy is a poor excuse for any kind of advocate of peoples best intrest let alone govenor.Dan malloy wanted to be govenor of ct. for Dan malloys best intrest only.Dan malloy wanted to use up and bleed the citizens of ct. for everything he could get because he wanted to get to washington DC with a record as a strong leader who can make a difference even when making a difference is unpopular with the little nobodys for ct. citizens. Dan malloy when asking the people of ct. to vote him as govenor saying no more burdening the middle
Read More"If the state does not change its demographic trajectory, it faces a bleak future."
A Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis report, "Recovery Stirring, But Will Connecticut be Too Old to Compete?"
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