Flatto May Sign Union Contracts at 11th Hour

First Selectman Ken Flatto indicated Wednesday that he may sign contracts with two unions representing town employees before he resigns April 28 to take a job in Gov. Dannel Malloy's office.

Flatto's comment during Wednesday afternoon's Board of Selectmen's meeting came after Selectman James Walsh asked Flatto if he planned to do anything major in his waning days in office. "I know you have a lot of contracts in negotiation. I'm just asking as a member of the Board of Selectmen," Walsh said.

Flatto replied that he didn't plan to make any "big appointments" before he steps down as first selectman on April 28, but he added that two contracts with unions representing town employees had been finalized in the last few weeks. "A couple of [bargaining] units have continued discussions with the town attorney and Human Resources director. If those go forward, the RTM would get the agreements in May," Flatto said, referring to the Representative Town Meeting. "Beyond a few collective bargaining items, there's really nothing of significance."

Flatto didn't identify the unions he was referring to, but said one represented a "very small" number of employees, while the other was a "mid-sized" bargaining unit.

As of now, all seven unions that represent town employees are working under expired contracts. The Representative Town Meeting is scheduled on Monday to vote on a proposed contract between the town and a union representing 84 Town Hall employees, while a proposed contract between the town and a union representing firefighters, which the RTM rejected last July, is in arbitration.

Walsh said he didn't think Flatto should sign any contracts with unions before he steps down next week. "I personally think it should wait for Sherri because she's going to have to be the one to report to the taxpayers," Walsh said, referring to Selectman Sherri Steeneck, who will take over as first selectman after Flatto resigns. Steeneck and Walsh then have 30 days to agree on an interim first selectman; if they can't agree, the question is put to a vote of 17 elected Democrats in town.

Flatto said the first selectman "gets to make decisions until the last day of office."

"I would say, 'Don't worry.' I think the responsibility lies with the person. That's my power. That's my authority," Flatto said.

Walsh said last-minute, significant actions by elected officials "look horrible" when they come out in the press, but he added, "There's nothing I can do to prevent it."

Flatto said, "The proposals I'm trying to negotiate are hard-core proposals with a lot of givebacks."

Steeneck said she understood what Walsh was saying. "You do leave on the 28th, and whoever comes in next just takes whatever is there."

But Flatto countered, "Why should someone have the right to come in on their first day and say they want to change it? That's the way the process works. I think anything I do from now to then, I would hope the RTM would say, 'Hey, this is a pretty good contract.' "

The RTM could always reject a proposed contract that Flatto signs at the 11th hour, but town officials would have to defend that contract, according to Walsh. Flatto, though, said town officials and the union representing town employees would have a negotiating session if the RTM rejected a contract, leaving the ability to change the contract.

"Both parties have to have a negotiating session, so there really is an opportunity to talk, even in arbitration, until the last best offer," Flatto said.

But Walsh said the first selectman who signs the contracts "at least has to face the voters and be here."

"Sherri will have to be up at a podium defending a contract you signed," Walsh said.

Once terms in a proposed contract are finalized, it's up to the union to take the next step and vote to accept it or reject it, Flatto said. If the union ratifies the proposed contract, the town is obligated to sign it; otherwise, town officials would appear to be negotiating in bad faith, according to Flatto and Town Attorney Richard Saxl.

Flatto added that it would be different if he were just starting a negotiation, and he said he would remain a Fairfield resident after he leaves office. "But the first selectman isn't moving anywhere, and his reputation is out there too," he said.

The selectmen ended Wednesday's meeting on a positive note, with Flatto saying he, Steeneck and Walsh may not always have agreed, but their debate served the public's interest.

At the end of Wednesday's meeting, the selectmen held a moment of silence for the late former Selectman Denise Dougiello, whom Steeneck replaced on the Board of Selectmen, and the late former Selectman Ralph Bowley, whom Walsh replaced on the Board of Selectmen.