State social services field staff can telework about 70% of the time through December under a new ruling.
AFSCME Council 4
Posted inMoney
Lamont continues to keep OT costs in check despite pandemic
The coronavirus didn’t hinder Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration from keeping a lid on hefty overtime costs.
Posted inHealth
Legislators looking to expand PTSD benefits to more emergency responders
The move to expand PTSD benefits comes just one year after lawmakers reached a landmark compromise to cover police and firefighters.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont to labor: ‘We’re going to be fighting for you’
NEW BRITAIN — Gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and the rest of the statewide Democratic ticket vowed loyalty to organized labor at a rally Friday, promising to fight in Hartford and Washington to protect collective bargaining and the right to organize at a pivotal time for public-sector unions in the U.S.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Labor says ‘tax fairness,’ vibrant cities are keys to CT’s recovery
Labor leaders called Friday for a more progressive state tax system and greater investments in Connecticut’s cities to revitalize the economy and stabilize the budget.
Posted inPolitics
Subtle GOP protest expected as House elects Aresimowicz speaker
Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, can expect to be elected speaker of the House on the first day of the 2017 legislative session Wednesday without either opposition or support from the growing Republican minority – a calculated, if subtle, protest of Aresimowicz’s continued employment by a major public-sector union, AFSCME Council 4.
Posted inPolitics
Ethics opinion: Aresimowicz can be House speaker, union staffer
The Office of State Ethics has advised Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, that nothing in the state ethics code bars him from continuing his job with AFSCME, an influential public-employee union, as he becomes speaker of the House of Representatives next week. Labor costs are certain to be a major issue in 2017.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Only half of planned state layoffs ordered as key deadline nears
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s efforts to reduce the state’s workforce are progressing more slowly than originally planned — an issue that could worsen a likely deficit this fiscal year and pose a bigger threat to finances after July 1.
Posted inPolitics
Aresimowicz’ challenging path as House leader and union man
Sal Luciano of AFSCME Council 4 does not hide his displeasure with House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz over his role in passing a budget that cuts services and eliminates state jobs rather than following labor’s prescription of raising taxes on the rich. And Luciano is more than just another union bigwig. He is Aresimowicz’s boss.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Labor savings: The big unknown in Malloy’s new budget
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new plan to cut agency budgets almost 6 percent relies heavily on cutting labor costs. His critics say it can’t be done by downsizing staffing alone, but also requires concessions. And labor union leaders decry both approaches.
Posted inMoney, Politics
GOP plan includes end to bargaining for state retirement benefits
Republican legislators offered a blueprint Monday to curb future state spending by, among other things, no longer guaranteeing worker retirement benefits by contract. The plan also would require several new concessions by state employees, restrict borrowing and overtime, and accelerate closure of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School.
Posted inMoney
Connecticut paying today for pension sins of the past
As legislators and others look closely at the cost of state employee salaries and benefits, one crucial factor often gets little or no attention: The overwhelming bulk of costs Connecticut faces today to support pension programs for state employees and public school teachers is from cleaning up problems caused years – and in many cases decades – ago.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Funding woes threatened CT labor department jobs a year ago
Though Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said last month that a projected shortfall in federal funds was forcing his administration to lay off almost 100 Labor Department workers, a deficit topping $14 million for labor personnel was identified nearly one year ago.
Posted inMoney, Politics
State gives pink slips to 95 labor department workers
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration announced early Wednesday it has given layoff notices to 95 Department of Labor employees whose positions no longer are supported by federal funding.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Support Walmart employees in their Black Friday strike
Many employees of Walmart and other retail outlets across Connecticut will have to leave their families early to open stores at midnight for the notorious “Black Friday” holiday sales. Others will join a nationwide protest seeking better wages and benefits.