Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

House Republicans want to cancel longevity bonuses for state workers

  • by Keith M. Phaneuf
  • March 12, 2010
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Minority Republicans in the state House of Representatives called Thursday for the cancellation of tens of millions of dollars in bonuses due next month to senior state employees.

House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero, R-Norwalk, said the legislature and Gov. M. Jodi Rell should immediately repeal the law giving longevity bonuses to employees with 10 years or more on the job.

And though state government can’t unilaterally cancel such bonuses for unionized state employees, Cafero added, Rell should try to negotiate a deal with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition to remove them.

“It’s something we cannot afford to do and it needs to be eliminated,” he said, calling the annual bonuses that range from $2,500 to $26,000 a “classic example” of an expense that needs to be cut immediately. “The clock is ticking.”

This fiscal year’s $18.64 billion budget is running $518.4 million in the red, and the nonpartisan legislative Office of Fiscal Analysis is projecting shortfalls of $726 million and $3.88 billion for 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively.

The longevity pay system rewards workers with bonuses ranging from just under 1 percent of annual pay to 3.5 percent for workers with 25 years or more of seniority. The bonuses are paid in equal installments in October and April.

Bonuses last year totaled $43 million. According to the House Republican Caucus, about $14 million of those funds went to roughly 35,000 unionized workers. The remaining $28 million went to nearly 4,000 non-union personnel. Despite their much smaller numbers, the non-union employees receive the bulk of the bonus dollars because many hold upper-level management posts with larger salaries.

Rell proposed legislation last year that would have eliminated the longevity pay system for all new state employees and for all non-union personnel that had not yet reached their 10-year anniversary mark. The Democrat-controlled General Assembly did not act on the Republican governor’s bill.

Cafero said his caucus is not trying to make senior state workers scapegoats for the state’s fiscal crisis. But he noted that the governor’s most recent deficit-mitigation plan includes a $45 million cut to town aid and restoration of the gross revenues tax on hospitals. “Before we do things like that, isn’t this one of the things we should take care first?” he said.

Rell’s press office cited the governor’s 2009 proposal in a written statement but declined to comment on whether she would seek longevity pay concessions from state employee unions.

The governor has said she hopes to reopen talks with unions about wage- and benefit-concessions, similar to those negotiated in 2009. Labor leaders, though, have said they are interested in discussing new proposals to make government more cost-efficient, but not in further reductions in workers’ compensation or benefits.

“This discussion seems to be missing the point,” SEBAC and Connecticut State Employees Association spokesman Matt O’Connor said.

One of the unions’ most frequent proposals, he added, calls for reductions to an excessive number of top level managers in the Executive Branch. “We keep asking the question about the number of managers,” he said. “That’s the real problem that we think needs to be addressed.”

House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, didn’t comment on the prospects of an across-the-board suspension of longevity pay for all staff, but issued a brief statement regarding manager’s pay.

“We asked the Governor to find $22.5 million in management reductions in the biennial budget,” Donovan said. “The longevity payments to management employees would seem to be a good place to find some of those savings.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith M. Phaneuf

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Is the state’s vaccine rollout leaving behind Black and Latino residents?
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, Kasturi Pananjady and Jenna Carlesso

Rolling out the COVID vaccine to older residents first means it's more likely to go to white residents first.

Education is the cornerstone of democracy
by John J. Petillo

The events of January 6 represent an inflection point for our democracy and, in truth, for our concept of civil society. Much has already been written about the political and cultural tides that swept our nation toward these events —and a real understanding of their significance will not be possible for some time, in part because the reactions and responses to these events are still unfolding as I write.

A rebuttal to ‘A call to save arms’
by Tyler David Gavitt

A response to "A call to save arms: is vaccination really the solution?" published January 25: The aforementioned article, written by Genevieve Diamant, stands to do potentially significant damage to the efforts by the citizens and government of the State of Connecticut to bring under control the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Holocaust, history and today’s politics
by Avinoam Patt and Laura Hilton

On January 6 the world watched as domestic terrorists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC.  The pictures seared into our memories of this day are replete with symbols of hatred, racism, and extremism: The Confederate battle flag, the white power hand gesture, and the gallows erected near the Capitol reflecting pool. What many may not have noticed within this sea of white supremacy was the prominence of anti-Semitic images.

Sticker shock
by Eric W. Kuhn

It would award a modest amount to families making less than $203k in the first year of the program, ramping up to as much as $1,800 in year four. On a sliding scale, the money would also go to families making up to $682,000 a year. Really? That's 8.7 times the median household income in America.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Education is the cornerstone of democracy
by John J. Petillo

The events of January 6 represent an inflection point for our democracy and, in truth, for our concept of civil society. Much has already been written about the political and cultural tides that swept our nation toward these events —and a real understanding of their significance will not be possible for some time, in part because the reactions and responses to these events are still unfolding as I write.

Opinion A rebuttal to ‘A call to save arms’
by Tyler David Gavitt

A response to "A call to save arms: is vaccination really the solution?" published January 25: The aforementioned article, written by Genevieve Diamant, stands to do potentially significant damage to the efforts by the citizens and government of the State of Connecticut to bring under control the COVID-19 pandemic.

Opinion The Holocaust, history and today’s politics
by Avinoam Patt and Laura Hilton

On January 6 the world watched as domestic terrorists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC.  The pictures seared into our memories of this day are replete with symbols of hatred, racism, and extremism: The Confederate battle flag, the white power hand gesture, and the gallows erected near the Capitol reflecting pool. What many may not have noticed within this sea of white supremacy was the prominence of anti-Semitic images.

Opinion Sticker shock
by Eric W. Kuhn

It would award a modest amount to families making less than $203k in the first year of the program, ramping up to as much as $1,800 in year four. On a sliding scale, the money would also go to families making up to $682,000 a year. Really? That's 8.7 times the median household income in America.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO