The leaders of the legislature’s Democratic majority Monday recommended suspending the state’s public-financing of elections for 2016, cutting social services and retreating from two major initiatives on transportation and municipal aid.
Labor
Posted inEducation, Health, Justice, Money, Politics
Malloy pitches $350M in cuts; GOP wants mix of cuts, labor savings
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy presented legislators Thursday with almost $350 million in budget-cutting options that would fall heavily on social services, education and municipal aid, according to documents obtained by The Mirror. Meanwhile, leaders of the legislature’s Republican minority offered an array of spending cuts and new restrictions on state employees’ wages and benefits, all of which presumably would require negotiations with labor unions.
Posted inNews
Malloy administration settles with Yelmini over dismissal
The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy reached a settlement Wednesday evening with Linda Yelmini, the chief labor relations lawyer dismissed a year ago in what the administration termed a layoff and Yelmini called a firing without cause. The agreement is worth $325,000, according to the administration.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Bipartisan budget talks place pressure on GOP to find solutions
The most vocal critics of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s handling of the state finances, Republican legislative leaders, will find things harder this month as they shift from commenting on the deficit-plagued budget to balancing it. Sen. Len Fasano and Rep. Themis Klarides will find it particularly difficult to both oppose tax hikes and shield hospitals and social services from cuts if the leaders try to stabilize finances long-term.
Posted inMoney
Malloy still opposes retirement incentives to bail out budget
As Gov. Dannel P. Malloy solicits new ideas to stabilize state finances, he re-emphasized his steadfast opposition this week to an oft-used idea during past budget crises: paying incentives to encourage senior workers to retire.
Posted inMoney
Unemployment down, but so were jobs in September
It was a contradictory monthly jobs report issued Monday in Connecticut: Unemployment fell to 5.2 percent in September, but the state also recorded a net loss of 7,600 jobs, the first drop in five months.
Posted inEducation
CSCU asks faculty for ‘unprecedented’ givebacks
Leaders of the state’s largest public college system are asking for major concessions from its unionized teaching staff — changes the union says are “unprecedented in our bargaining history.”
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT staring at another $1B deficit after next state election
Since Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration announced state income tax receipts were lagging due to weak stock market earnings, much of the Capitol’s focus has been on the relatively small hole it opened in the current budget. But the projected loss of $100 million in tax receipts this year also exacerbates a much bigger budget problem just down the road.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
GOP calls for bipartisan talks, labor concessions, to reverse hospital cuts
Minority Republicans in the state legislature called Tuesday for bipartisan negotiations to reverse last week’s $190 million cut to hospitals. And House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, also called for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to approach state employee unions for concessions.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Unions in Connecticut — and the need for them — thrive
If there is dignity in all work, why isn’t there dignity for all workers? It’s a question worth considering this Labor Day. Throughout history, when working people have become “sick and tired of being sick and tired,” they have organized unions. This is how they broke the back of sweatshops in this country. And how they forced the end of child labor, so 10-year old kids could attend free public schools instead — another successful labor demand. It’s how they cleaned up dangerous workplaces and the surrounding neighborhoods that suffered from toxic pollution. And it’s how minority and women workers have been able to successfully fight income inequality.
Posted inPolitics
Labor blunter in its criticism of Malloy administration
Connecticut labor leaders began the long Labor Day weekend with sharp criticism of the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat whose close election and re-election benefitted from labor’s support.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut should give ex-cons a better break
Many ex-convicts who get out of prison end up in Hartford on our streets. According to a Pew Center on the States study, almost half of ex-cons soon end up back in jail for committing crime because it is sometimes their only way to pay their bills. I work as a chaplain at a prison in Connecticut and many convicts, including military veterans, approach and complain to me that they have no future outside of those walls since a lot of them went to prison while they were young, didn’t have education, and worst of all, have a criminal record that will follow them around. I believe that a person who committed a non-violent crime and served a punishment for it should be given a second chance.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Interim CSCU president’s appointment is not about education
Many assumed the next president of the Connecticut State College and University System would have an extensive background in education. Some are disappointed with the recent news, but, the appointment of the Gov. Dannel Malloy’s chief of staff as interim president for the Connecticut State College and University System has nothing to do with education. My read of the tea leaves is that the appointment is based upon the primary strength of the appointee which is collective bargaining experience and budget and finance expertise.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut’s ‘defined benefits’ pension system best for retirees
In a recent article “CT still lags most states in saving for public-sector pensions,” the Connecticut Mirror wrote about a report from Pew Charitable Trusts on the strength of pension funds around the country. The Pew report ignores a number of important pieces of context regarding the growing strength of the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds which provides a safe and secure retirement for many Connecticut families.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut lawmakers help, but must do better for working people
Connecticut lawmakers took some critical steps to help low-wage workers and their families in the last legislative session, but they must do more to build an economy that truly works for everyone. People who work hard should be able to support and protect their families. But in our low-wage, race to the bottom economy, that is increasingly becoming a pipe dream. Lawmakers need to do better next year.