The Senate gave final approval Friday to a four-year package of raises for state employees that includes $3,500 in bonuses to help stem a surge in worker retirements. But most House Republicans who spoke in Thursdays debate predicted taxpayers wouldnt be as happy as state employee unions are. Besides, all three of these difficult and only marginally helpful alternatives share one huge liability: The SEBAC unions will fight them tooth and nail, because all three reduce the number of unionized state employees paying dues to the union. Ned Lamont and president of state's network of community colleges square off in showdown over state funding. The nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the contract will cost the state $1.87 billion over three years. The long session, as non-election years are called in Hartford, will be centered around the biennial budget. The legislature's Appropriations Committee endorsed significant raises and $3,500 in bonuses Monday for about 46,000 unionized state employees. (Sorry for the caps, wont let me shift), Hope McKiernan The Lamont administration, labor leaders and other supporters of the increases have said they believe unions could have gotten even larger raises had they rejected the states offer and gone to arbitration. The raises would cost the town about a half . Opinion: Gov. Ned Lamont contracted with the Boston Consulting Group for a report of how to increase state government efficiency. The increases, part of a four-year package negotiated by Gov. Driven by a surge in state employee retirements, Connecticut's spending on pension payments ballooned to a recordhigh $2.5 billion in 2022, state data shows. The package was previously approved by the House. Retired state employees now get annual cost-of-living adjustments: a minimum of 2 percent and a maximum of 7 percent, depending on inflation. Each of the 3.6 million residents in Connecticut rely on the critical public services state workers provide whether you are standing in line at the DMV, attending a technical school, community college or state university, getting treatment at UConn Health, driving on our roads and bridges, enjoying a state park or beach, or any of the other ubiquitous public services you will be uplifted by these fair and honorable contracts, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition wrote in a statement after the Senate vote. Its nothing more than a handout.. Its, Well, thats the way weve always done it. . The. Lamont hopes the extra money will slow a wave of retirements before July 1, when pension benefits drop as part of previous union concessions. State retirees receive minimum 2 percent COLAs per year regardless of the inflation rate and a maximum of 6 percent or 7.5 percent, depending on their retirement tier. One lump sum payment retroactive to 2021 with full-time employees receiving $2,500 and part-time employees receiving a prorated amount $1,000 lump sum payment effective fiscal 2023 and prorated for part-time employees The formula used took 60% of the increase in the Consumer Price Index ( CPI-W) up to 6% and . Efficiency is easier in concept than in actual practice. Our product, Incentmax, is a dedicated sales incentive & performance management technology that links business goals with Sales reps & Customer facing team members' variable payments or Incentives/commissions, helping the increase in 5-10 % sales target achievement. Those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law. State finances also are being supported this fiscal year and next by about $3 billion in emergency federal pandemic relief. With only 41 weeks remaining to replace retiring employees, the Lamont administration is fast approaching a severe manpower crisis. (His mother, Shelley, a lawyer and professor of public health at Yale, is a founding board member of the nonprofit Connecticut News Project Inc., operator of CTMirror.org.). Its a matter of whether we can afford it.. Lamont says the bonuses are crucial to retain state employees, who are retiring in larger-than-normal numbers this spring. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. At Yankee Institute, we know Connecticut is a state with boundless opportunity, and we intend to help make our state more than a place where people are just able to make ends meet! Social Security has announced that they will be granting a cost of living increase of 8.7% for 2023. By the latest estimates of the comptrollers office, 14,764 state employees a quarter of the workforce will be eligible to retire on July 1, 2022, when a concession deal negotiated in 2017 by the administration of Gov. Geballe said the administration has a vision of where to go with technology, primarily by offering consumers and businesses a digital portal to state government. 13 Week Package - $38.87 / 13 Weeks. If inflation were 1% Then the absolute COLA would be low, but the burden on the state budget and taxpayers would be growing, because inflation under 2% leads to a real pension burden increase. 3.2K views, 182 likes, 87 loves, 302 comments, 161 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The Victory Channel: The Victory Channel is LIVE with Victory News! In addition, full-time workers would receive a $2,500 bonus in mid-May and another $1,000 bonus in mid-July. Ideal timing for the announcement would be between Christmas and the New Year. CT Gov. Marc can be reached at, Connecticut saw a 1,600 decrease in nonfarm industry positions in December, while November private sector gains (3,300) were revised down [], Eviction cases in Hartford and Bridgeport have remained far below historical averages since the Supreme Court overturned the federal eviction []. Changes to state employee retirement benefits will go into effect in July of 2022 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2015 and 2020 there was only one year 2018 during which the CPI-W for July was above 2 percent. Each of the 3.6 million residents in Connecticut rely on the critical public services state workers provide whether you are standing in line at the DMV, attending a technical school, community college or state university, getting treatment at UConn Health, driving on our roads and bridges, enjoying a state park or beach, or any of the other ubiquitous public services you will be uplifted by these fair and honorable contracts, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition wrote in a statement after the Senate vote. DARRELL HACKETT In a bill drafted . Watch Live at 7:00 PM: The U.S. and the Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns | Screening & Panel Discussion . When the CPI-W rises above 2 percent, those retirees will receive either 2 percent or a percentage of the rate of inflation, depending on how high the rate rises. A wave of state employee retirements is expected in the coming months, resulting in an "unprecedented" loss of knowledge and skills, some officials say. This final increase may pose concerns for small businesses and non-profit organizations operating in the state. Thats because state governments coffers are flush with cash as never before. /. And while some criticized the bonuses, the Hamden lawmaker and others say they would save the state money over the long haul. Connecticut lawmakers this year will consider a bill from a veteran legislator to raise the $28,000 salaries of General Assembly members for the first time in more than 20 years. Ned Lamont, a cable-television entrepreneur who took office on January 9 and hired Geballe two weeks later. Fazio said it reflects the pull unions have on state government, and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. In exchange for lifting the debt ceiling, the bill would cap overall 2024 spending to 2022 levels -- about a $130 billion cut -- and limit growth in spending to 1% annually over the next decade. Lamont, who said that in June 2020 when asked about the pay raise to take effect just days later on July 1. Gov. Gov. So, it is a safe bet that Lamont will sign a juicy new wage contract with SEBAC. font size, Human Resources Business Rules and Regulations. Outside his 15th-floor office in a downtown Hartford complex is a big empty space once occupied by file cabinets. Those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law. Please reload the page and try again. Anniversary Date (AI Date) Change for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2271), Changes Anniversary Date from July 1 to January 1 for employees assigned to the MP, MD, SE, DM, CJ & VR, Labor units 02 & 03 pay plans, DAS General Letter 193 - Anniversary Date (AI Date) for Classes Covered by Collective Bargaining, Procedures for establishing anniversary dates for employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, Salary Increase - Cost of Living (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2090), Authorizes 3% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2014 to employees assigned to the MP, MD, SE, DM, CJ-EX & VR, Labor units 02 & 03 pay plans, Salary Increase - Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) & Annual Increase (AI) for Associate Attorney Generals (E-Item 2002), Authorizes a 3% Cost of Living Increase and a 3% Annual Increment not to exceed the maximum of the salary grade for Associate Attorney Generals, Salary Increase - Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 1935), Authorizes 3% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2013 to employees assigned to the MP, MD, SE, DM, CJ-EX & VR, Labor units 02 & 03 pay plans, Salary Increase - Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 1942), Authorizes 3% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2013 to specific titles assigned to the EX pay plan, Salary Increase - Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2091), Authorizes 3% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2014 for certain employees assigned to the EX pay plan, Salary Increase and Pay Plan Adjustments for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2147), Authorizes a Certain Percentage salary adjustment based upon most recent pay increase for certain employees assigned to the EX pay plan, adjusts the EX pay plan and effective January 1, 2016 pay increases for EX mirrors MP, Salary Increase Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non Represented Employees E Item 2664, Authorizes 3.5% Cost of Living Increase effective July 1, 2019 to employees assigned to the MP, MD, SE, DM, CJ-EX & VR, Labor units 02 & 03 pay plans, Salary Increase Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Certain Non-Represented Employees (E-Item 2665), Authorizes 3.5% Cost of Living Adjustment to certain employees who are assigned to Bargaining Unit 01 effective July 1, 2019, The raises will cost the state $13.3 million and the bonuses $2 million. It was covered recently in goals and ideas tossed around in a brainstorming exercise, then numbered as priorities. Its also done with the best financial interests of the state at heart.. The state usually experiences 2,000 to 2,500 annual state employee retirements, according to the CT Mirror. Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. For some of Connecticuts highest paid pensioners like Jack Blechner, a former UConn Health Center physician who received $342,325.14 in 2020, the COLA amounts to an additional $12,323.70 per year. The $2,000 payment will only be available to employees who were hired or appointed before June 30, 2018. But Gov. Whoops! "The state has to live within its means just like the families and businesses we serve and represent," Lamont said in a statement when the deal was announced. CONNECTICUT State officials announced the tentative state employee union bargaining agreement, which calls for multiple years of raises and bonus payments. The year over year increases drive up the amount paid out by Connecticut's severely underfunded State Employee Retirement System. Those employed on July 15, 2022 would get a $1,000 bonus if the agreement is approved. Geballe said he just renewed his registration on-line. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. Let us be clear. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. And thats why we want to work with you to build a broad-based coalition to encourage sound policy reforms to enable Connecticut residents to forge a better future for themselves and their families. The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. Greenwich resident Red Jahncke is president of The Townsend Group International, a business consultancy in Connecticut, and a freelance columnist published in national and Connecticut newspapers. Some of the features on CT.gov will not function properly with out javascript enabled. The comptrollers office cautions that some those eligible to retire will not yet have earned full retirement benefits, giving some an incentive to stay. The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. The state and unions have the option of continuing the same level of raises for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, or they can negotiate different compensation levels. The new deal will bring Microsoft 365 software to all state agencies. The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. Going forward, these employees will be entitled to receive wage and benefit provisions that their union counterparts will receive, per language the governors office included in the 837-page budget implementer bill passed this legislative session, McCaw said. She noted that West Virginia recently granted state employees a 5% raise, while Arizona bumped pay for its correction officers by 20% and for workers in many other departments by 10%. Ned Lamont administration to attract more people to stay and move into these jobs, and to make their salaries more in line with unionized workers. Paper versus electronic records is just one of so many, Glidden said. 2K views, 27 likes, 7 loves, 18 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Dbstvstlucia: DBS MORNING SHOW & OBITUARIES 25TH APRIL 2023 APRIL 2023 No. In a letter to his co-chair in management, Rinker wrote: I predict that some day some one will want to change state employment and the report you signed off on wil be the basis for that change., Change is coming for Connecticut state employees, 2023 Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC, Police: Pedestrian killed in crash on Route 9 in Middletown, Police: Horses starved, kept in unsanitary conditions on CT farm, Middletown to restart Bird e-bike, scooter microtransit program, Middletown residents cheer decision to fully replace Pameacha dam, Cromwell man sentenced for carjacking date at knifepoint in 2020, Police: Suspect in Cromwell hotel robbery threatened to use a gun, Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim begins campaign for 2nd term, 2 Middletown youths charged in connection with school fight, Middlesex County Historical Society to receive 3 historic objects, East Hampton fire department marks 100 years with Bevin cowbells, Police: Pedestrian struck, killed in Route 9 crash in Middletown, New Britain bar's liquor license suspended after serving alcohol to minors, officials say, Police: Horses starved and kept in unsanitary conditions on Middletown property, Police: Threat made to Middletown schools deemed not credible, CT records first cases of new COVID variant Arcturus, transmission remains low, Police: Mystic woman killed, mother and daughter seriously hurt in Gold Star Highway crash in Groton. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, with all Democrats casting ballots for the deal and only one Republican, Thomas Delnicki of South Windsor, supporting it. The Florida House and Senate are working on a budget whose bottom line for state workers is a $224 million pay raise - that's about $44 a week, ($2,300 annually) for the 97,000 employees in the . The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. Some changes already have come, pushed by Nicholas Hermes, a West Point grad who is the statewide human resources director at DAS, hired in 2016. The raises do not apply to employees in the legislative and judicial branches or higher education. Theres no way to take on the legacy of mass incarceration other than to undo it, one step at a time. What will our elected officials be working on to improve policy outcomes for Connecticut residents? The state is also hoping the increases will also attract more people to state-level management positions. About 1,700 management-level state employees will receive pay raises, an effort by Gov. The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. The managers who will receive the raises include division heads at state agencies, as well as commissioners and. The raises provided to state managers mirror what the state provided to union workers over the past four years under the 2017 agreement with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition. They also cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. Union members have engaged in an all-out campaign of organizing and mobilizing to make our pay a priority for state leaders. The announcement Thursday from the governors office of the 7.5% raises comes as union workers ramp up their fight for wage increases in their new contracts, which they are currently negotiating with the state. Amazon and others in the private sector have made it very easy to envision what that future could look like, if you think about online shopping or online bank services, Geballe said. Its also imperative that we do so. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you publish it. Lamont said the state has to live within its means, but state employees did extraordinary work during the worst of the pandemic and inflation has increased costs. That's an incentive to keep people working after that retirement date.". There are nine classifications for custodians, 12 for assistant attorneys general, and a whopping 221 for program directors. The 2022 State Holiday and Check Dates calendar for State Employees. The Democrat-controlled House voted 96-52 to approve the contracts, after a four-hour debate during which Republicans insisted the compensation far outstrips what private-sector workers are receiving, or what taxpayers can afford. Employees would also get a $2,500 bonus if they are employed as of March 31, 2022, and a $1,000 if they are employed July 1, 2022. SEBAC employees who are employed before March 31, 2022 would also get a $2,500 bonus. As a federal EPA employee recently told the Washingtonian in a piece about the Trump administration, I fully intend to outlast these people.. 2023 The Conneticut News Project. "I come out of the private sector. But the Lamont administration is facing a gathering wave of retirements, producing a sense of urgency that Geballe says is shared by labor and management. CONNECTICUT The state Senate gave final approval to the raise and bonus package for state employees. Now shes asking for help herself, One musician remembers what it was like to tour the world with singer and activist Harry Belafonte, Connecticut COVID data: Your town's infection rate, hospitalizations & vaccinations, Tracking health threats, one sewage sample at a time, COVID during pregnancy may alter brain development in boys. Thirty percent intend to leave the state upon retirement. The Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the package will cost the state $1.87 billion over four years. In 2015, Connecticut paid $1.7 billion to 49,111 retirees, according to the Comptroller's Open Pension website. Some reflected frustrations by the public in dealing with state agencies, as well as employees knowing what is happening elsewhere in government. The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. DAgostino said he believes arbitrators would have awarded unions annual cost-of-living raises of 3% or 3.5% given the state governments enhanced ability to pay. Were hemorrhaging workers right now, DAgostino said. We enable organizations to maximize Sales target achievement using our Sales Incentive & Performance Management Technology. People know not to bring paper in here, said Josh Geballe, a former IBM executive and tech entrepreneur. I dont believe, fundamentally, that this agreement is fair at all.. Theres no way to take on the legacy of mass incarceration other than to undo it, one step at a time. Jessica Hill / Associated Press More than 40,000 unionized state employees would receive $3,500 each in special bonuses by mid-July under tentative contract agreements reached this week with. CT Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are This proposed contract is a raw deal for the working people of this state, said Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, who noted state workers, on average, would receive more than $10,000 in total added compensation over four years. We have three years to plan for that, Geballe said. The contract is not a done deal. It could be because it is not supported, or that JavaScript is intentionally disabled. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Fazio said that it reflects the pull unions have on state government and that taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Now shes asking for help herself, One musician remembers what it was like to tour the world with singer and activist Harry Belafonte, Connecticut COVID data: Your town's infection rate, hospitalizations & vaccinations, Tracking health threats, one sewage sample at a time, COVID during pregnancy may alter brain development in boys. This deal was billed as a retention effort, said Rep. Laura Devlin, R- Fairfield, who is campaigning for lieutenant governor as the running mate of GOP gubernatorial contender Bob Stefanowski of Madison. Virtually everyone in the state knows the situation and feels it is unfair. Get CT Mirror briefings with enterprise reporting, investigations and more in your inbox daily. I think were at a time where change is coming, whether people like it or not. We felt one of the most efficient ways and equitable ways to make a dent in this challenge was to go back and provide those same increases to the managers that had already been given to our union employees.. "I've got to recruit and keep them in order to keep our government going, he said. And Lamont reported this week that the current fiscal years budget is projected to close on June 30 with an unprecedented $3.95 billion surplus, equal to nearly 20% of entire General Fund. This proposed contract is a raw deal for the working people of this state, Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich) said. DAS says the process was cheaper, nearly paperless, and attracted a diverse pool of applicants with a third more women and minorities and a 105-percent increase in veterans. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition represents 35 different bargaining units and more than 40,000 state employees. BCG documented that the sclerotic state bureaucracy takes an average of 33 weeks to hire a new employee. More than 3,400 state employees have either retired or filed their written intentions to do so between January and March 31 alone, and that total is expected to grow considerably between now and July 1. The full General Assembly is expected to vote on it as early as this week. An arbitrator had already awarded some unions a 3% general wage hike for 2021-22 before Lamont and labor negotiators settled on a smaller cost-of-living bump and bonuses. Your email address will not be published. Does not automatically renew. Geballe is no stranger to bureaucracies and the opportunities, challenges and necessities of wrenching change: He spent 11 years at IBM, which employs 350,000 people worldwide and preaches that the world is in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution, a convergence of new technologies powered by cloud computing. The House of Representatives approved a four-year package of raises Thursday that includes $3,500 in bonuses later this spring and summer for about 46,000 unionized state employees. Not this weeks data release showing that the median American household saw its income fall 2.9 percent last year while Connecticut state employees got a 5.5 percent wage increase. As we noted in a report andCT Mirrorop-ed last year, the debate over whether were in a national recession really misses the point for Connecticut residents. The state is so intractable about its longterm bureaucratic practices. More than 3,400 state employees have retired or have filed written intention to retire this year, but that number is expected to increase before July 1. Democratic governors in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia are temporarily suspending raises for state employees or freezing pay until they can better understand the fiscal impact of the pandemic, but, thus far, Connecticut state employees are still scheduled to receive a second pay increase, projected to cost taxpayers $353 million. By the latest estimates of the comptroller's office, 14,764 state employees a quarter of the workforce will be eligible to retire on July 1, 2022, when a concession deal negotiated in . Automation is a word that makes unions nervous, even as they acknowledge the nature of work is changing. But we have a bonus that starts after July 1. Osten said the raises reflect the valuable work state employees provide daily, and particularly throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the high rate of inflation, the July COLAs are calculated based on 60 percent of CPI-W, which translates to a bump of 3.6 percent as of July 2021. CONNECTICUT The state Senate gave final approval to the raise and bonus package for state employees. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. The changes will only affect those who retire after July of 2022, but according to the OLR report, historically such changes have resulted in a larger number of employees retiring before the cut-off date. Ned Lamont previously touted. DAS is now working to centralize and streamline H.R. Marc E. Fitch is the author of several books and novels including Shmexperts: How Power Politics and Ideology are Disguised as Science and Paranormal Nation: Why America Needs Ghosts, UFOs and Bigfoot. See stories by Keith M. Phaneuf / CTMirror.org, Love Wins at WCSU benefit concert for saxophonists daughter lost at Sandy Hook, Week in CT News: Se'Cret Pierce killing, what's in our water, Zero interest loans are back for some home buyers in Connecticut, Erica Lafferty has been fighting since Sandy Hook. The $3 billion in budget reserves and $4 billion in projected surplus pales in comparison with the $95.4 billion in long-term unfunded obligations Connecticut has, ODea said, referring to the combined pension, retirement health care and bonded debt the Lamont administration listed last November in its annual Fiscal Accountability Report.

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