After two months of negotiations, the governor and union have reached an agreement on concessions.
The deal reached between Gov. Dannel Malloy and the state employee union saves $1.6 billion over two years and layoff notices sent to state employees will be rescinded..
The remaining $400 million will come from a mix of additional spending cuts and existing budgeted revenues.
“I am pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with our fellow state employee leaders that will, over the next 20 years, save Connecticut taxpayers a total of $21 billion dollars,” Malloy said. “This is the most significant agreement with state employees in Connecticut history, not just because it solves a short-term problem – but because it produces the kind of long-term, structural reform WE – Connecticut’s residents, elected leaders and our state’s workforce – so desperately need if we are to again grow, produce new jobs, and prosper together.”
Malloy’s office and state employee unions met through the night, working on a deal on budget concessions and Malloy held a news conference at 3 p.m.
Malloy said union leaders asked him to refrain from providing details until they could share details with the 45,000 members, whose approval would be necessary before the changes could take effect.
The deal is for four years, and will mean no layoffs through 2014, sources told the Hartford Courant. The agreement would also freeze wages for all employees and managers, and new employees will no longer receive longevity bonuses, the paper reported.
It includes no furlough days and keeps the workweek at 40 hours.
Malloy was asking for $2 billion in concessions over the next two years, but after two months of discussions, Malloy was getting ready for "Plan B," which would have cut 4,742 jobs in state agencies.
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The agreement still must be ratified by the individual employee bargaining units.
"As a show of good faith, I’ve directed OPM to immediately suspend the issuance of layoff notices, and to rescind the ones that have been issued so far. I urge my fellow state employees to approve this agreement in a timely fashion," Malloy said.
One hundred eighty two layoff notices had been sent.
Malloy has vowed that his budget would be balanced on July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.
“Most of all, it will contain the type of structural reform Connecticut so desperately needs.
