Politics & Government

State Unions Rejection of Deal Leaves Cuts in State Aid Possible

Malloy Says Layoffs and Program and Municipal Aid Cuts Facing the State

Editor's note: This story first appeared on Meriden Patch.

Update Friday:

AP is reporting that the state employee union concession deal has been struck down after a union representing prison workers voted against it Friday. That unit was part of AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which, along with the Connecticut Employees Union Independent, sealed the vote's fate, according to the Connecticut Mirror. The majority of state unions voted for the package, but due to union rules, only two out of the 15 state unions needed to vote no to defeat it.

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Original story:

Just when state lawmakers thought they were out...they got pulled back in.

Find out what's happening in Fairfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Thursday afternoon Gov. Dannel Malloy called Connecticut legislators back from summer break for a special session the following Thursday, June 30, to vote on a revised budget plan, now that it appears a concession deal with state unions is doomed.

“It was always my hope that the SEBAC Agreement would be ratified and we could move forward with the process of getting our state’s fiscal house in order and creating new jobs,” Malloy said in a press statement. "But that looks increasingly unlikely."

The deal, which would freeze wages and lower pensions but guarantee job security for four years for state employees, would have made up for a nearly $1.6 billion deficit in the state's 2-year budget, administration officials say.

Union employees have through Friday to vote on the deal, but early results show that it's unlikely the measure will pass.

Pushing all else aside to focus on formulating a revised budget by early next week, the administration also canceled an anticipated bonding hearing.

House Speaker Chris Donovan (D-Meriden) also to his own U.S. Congressional campaign, which was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, to work at the Capitol.

The administration's revised two-year budget will likely include immediate mass layoffs, and in the second year, cuts in funding for cities and towns, Malloy said at an event at the University of Hartford Thursday, the Connecticut Mirror reports.

"I am loathe to make the decisions facing us at this juncture – including layoffs, programmatic and municipal aid cuts – but I am left with no choice," Malloy said in a press statement. The governor has said he will not raise taxes further to cover the gap. "Working with the legislature, we will have a balanced budget and one that, while making painful cuts and difficult decisions, will be balanced honestly without tricks or gimmicks.”


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