Union Deal Goes Down; Malloy Pledges To Cut Close To 7,500 State Workers

[NewJeffCT]

Source: The Hartford Courant

HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Friday that he was moving ahead with plans to lay off 7,500 state employees, even as leaders of the AFSCME union were announcing that their members had officially rejected a savings and concession deal that would have given them protection from layoffs for four years.

The administration has ruled out a renegotiation with the unions because the complicated, multi-faceted, delicate deal took months of intense negotiations and compromises to reach. As such, Malloy said he is moving "full steam ahead'' with the plans to lay off state employees.

"I have a big job to do, and we're going to do it,'' Malloy told reporters Friday.

The plan includes a special session next week with the legislature to close a projected budget deficit of about $700 million in a hole that would have been closed by the concession agreement.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-malloy-must-cut-0625-20110624,0,3775710.story

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I had hoped that these huge layoffs would be avoided... looks like I was wrong. I guess CT will be joining NY, NJ and Wisconsin...

[CTyankee]

1. Malloy is a lot better than other states' governors.

We're a union household but my husband, a retired municipal worker, couldn't understand the union's rejection of this offer. I can't understand what the union hopes to get out of this. I know union workers who are affected and they accept the concessions. They probably won't be laid off because of their situations and they like (and campaigned for) Dan Malloy.

This is so sad. I feel terrible for all those workers and for all of us in the state losing the workers' services.

[NewJeffCT]

2. I'm not sure what is going on, either

Do they think Malloy is bluffing?

[Imajika]

3. The article says 60% voted in favor of the deal...

"Under the complicated and weighted voting system of the unions, a rejection by AFSCME — the state government's largest union, with more than 15,000 of the state's 45,000 union employees — sank the entire deal for all 15 unions in the SEBAC coalition.

Overall, about 60 percent of the members of all the unions had voted in favor of the agreement, though voting was still continuing Friday."

The AFSCME union folks voted against it which killed the deal. Maybe the AFSCME workers figured their jobs were the least likely to be eliminated?

Either way, another state firing a lot of public workers. Definitely not going to help the economy.

[SoapBox]

4. What a mess...

"Under the complicated and weighted voting system of the unions, a rejection by AFSCME — the state government's largest union, with more than 15,000 of the state's 45,000 union employees — SANK the entire deal for ALL 15 unions in the SEBAC coalition."

I absolutely support union membership...BUT...sometimes (and I most certainly do NOT know all the details) ya gott know when to hold'um...and fold'um.

Good luck folks...looks like you are going to need it.

Here's hoping that the majority of the 7500 layoffs, will come from AFSCME.

[Larkspur]

5. In the last poll, Malloy was at 42% approval rating

that's 1 pt shy of Gov. Walker's of WI.

I'm no fan of DLC Dan Malloy, but I don't understand why some union members rejected the deal. I'd like to know the reasons before chastising them.

The public union's were also blamed for the budget woes in the same poll that handed Malloy a 42% approval rating, so the unions didn't help themselves with this vote.