Union Concessions Needed to Balance Budget: Malloy, Lawmakers

The governor and top lawmakers in both the House and Senate emerged from their first budget meeting with agreement on one key topic: the state must secure at least $700 million in concessions from organized labor in order to craft a balanced budget.

The meeting started shortly after 3:30 p.m. and ended just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday. 

"It’s absolutely essential for us to hit that $700 million number for us to piece things together," said Sen. Martin Looney, the President Pro Tem of the State Senate.

Republican leaders Sen. Len Fasano and Rep. Themis Klarides agreed, and said they looked forward to the next meeting, which they said has not yet been scheduled.

Governor Dannel Malloy’s administration has been in negotiations with the state’s State Employee Bargaining Coalition (SEBAC) since last summer, trying to negotiate new benefit packages and concessions simultaneously.

The governor has described his demeanor as, "hopeful," that he could reach an agreement to save taxpayers an estimated $700 million.

Following Tuesday’s meeting, the governor said such concessions are a lynchpin for any budget, regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans proposed it.

"We cannot go into final negotiations of a budget without securing $700 million in savings one way or another," Malloy said.

The state faces a more than $5 billion shortfall over the next two fiscal years and will have difficulty ending the 2017 fiscal year in the black. It’s anticipated the governor and lawmakers will dip into the state’s Rainy Day Fund to plug a hole approaching $500 million.

Layoff notices were also distributed two weeks ago, something the governor has said he’s obligated by law to do, saying such a move is a requirement and not a bargaining tool.

The governor reiterated that point following Tuesday’s budget meeting saying, "It’s not a threat. It’s just that we have to comply with the law and we will comply with the law."

House Speaker, Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, who works for AFSCME as his day job, said since everyone is in agreement on the need for union givebacks, he hopes organized labor comes to the negotiating table for the sake of taxpayers.

"One of the things we all agreed on is that the labor savings was built into all of our budgets and we know those negotiations are ongoing as we speak and we look forward to them coming to a close and being voted by the memberships and we all move forward with our budgets," Aresimowicz said. 

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