With 29 bargaining units still to vote, state union leaders are five-for-five in winning ratification of the tentative concessions-and-labor savings agreement they negotiated with the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
“It’s early in the process,” said Larry Dorman, a spokesman for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition. “It’s a positive sign so far.”
The voting continues through June 24, with some of the larger bargaining units not scheduled to begin casting ballots until next week. The stakes are high for labor, the Malloy Administration, and the General Assembly.
Failure to ratify means mass layoffs and a return to Hartford for legislators in special session consider a revised budget.
To ratify the tentative deal, 14 of the 15 unions in SEBAC must vote yes. The 15 unions have 34 bargaining units, who are voting separately.
SEBAC is not announcing incomplete results, but it is known through labor sources or announcements by individual unions that five bargaining units have ratified the deal:
- The Connecticut Federation of School Administrators.
- The UConn Professional Employees Union.
- The Vocational Technical Federation
- State Police Commission Officers
- Higher education administrators
The UConn Professional Employees announced their vote was 1,079 to 178.
“We hope that our colleagues in other unions statewide will also ratify the concession agreement that extends the SEBAC contract,” said Kathleen Sanner, the president of the union. “This agreement provides healthcare and pension benefits and unprecedented job security for the next four years. You can’t ask for more than that in the current economic climate.”
The State Police ranking officers say their vote was 23 to 12.