SENATE DEMOCRATS APPROVE FOURTH YEAR OF LABOR CONTRACT FOR 45,000 STATE EMPLOYEES

HARTFORD – Senate Democrats today voted to approve the fourth year of the state employees’ SEBAC labor union contract, giving 45,000 state employees a 2.5% wage increase and some others an additional “step” increase – on par with what private-sector employees have been seeing in Connecticut over the past year and similar to what municipal governments have been approving for their labor unions.

The fourth-year wage reopener was negotiated by the Lamont administration in late March and as required by state law, had to be voted on by the General Assembly.

“Years of wage concessions and reduced fringe benefits have taken their toll on the dedicated professionals who make up Connecticut state government. To protect essential services for our residents, we need to retain and reward the tens of thousands of state employees – from social workers and nurses to national guardsmen and correctional officers – who serve the people of our state,” Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney (D-New Haven) said today.

“We’ve lost nearly a quarter of our state workforce over the past decade and a half. Government-sector employment is the only job sector in Connecticut that still hasn’t recovered from the 2008 recession. Meanwhile, private-sector employees in Connecticut saw their wages rise on average almost 4.5 percent last year. Just like we did last year for our state police, we’ve got to grow our state workforce and stay competitive with the private sector,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) said.

Funding for the contract was included in last year’s bipartisan state budget.