Posts tagged Ned Lamont
Commentary: Connecticut General Assembly Goes Full Authoritarian
May 14, 2024 // It wasn’t until CT Mirror reported on Saturday (May 4) that the bill was actually being used to pay workers choosing to strike and that the language was changed as “an attempt to resolve a standoff by the Connecticut AFL-CIO and Gov. Ned Lamont.” During the late night Senate debate, Sen. Eric Berthel (R-Watertown) asked the bill’s proponent and chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, Sen. Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) about the account’s purpose. However, Sen. Kushner responded by simply reciting the language in the bill, providing no substantive answers.
CONNECTICUT: Senator’s Dual Roles Raise Ethical Questions Amid Legislative Decisions
April 29, 2024 // Citing the need to pay people “a fair wage and a fair pension,” Sen Hochadel argued that the state must provide higher wages — which already exceed the private sector — to address state job vacancies. This stance suggests a dual agenda: to attract job candidates to the state and swell the ranks of her union with more dues paying members. During her remarks, the Senator acknowledged her members, expressing appreciation for their contributions to the state of Connecticut and urged her colleagues “to vote yes.” While this advocacy may not be surprising, she also serves as the president of the Connecticut American Federation of Teachers (AFT) — one of the unions involved in the negotiations. AFT represents a broader group than just teachers. The union also includes dues paying members who are state employees in the executive and judicial branches, as well as staff at state colleges, universities and UConn Health.
Snow day puts Lamont, CT employee unions at odds over telework
February 16, 2024 // Hybrid employees who were scheduled to work remotely during Tuesday’s storm were required to do so, the coalition says. But SEBAC also said hybrid employees who were scheduled to work on-site Tuesday should not have been compelled to work remotely or otherwise expend accrued time off. Those employees, the coalition says, must be treated like all staff who normally work on-site all the time. Those on-site workers effectively received Tuesday as a paid day off.
Top Connecticut state police leaders retiring as investigators probe fake traffic ticket data claims
October 4, 2023 // In August, the state police union voted no confidence in both Rovella and Mellekas, accusing them of not defending troopers against allegations involving the traffic stop data. Rovella was confirmed by state lawmakers in February 2019 to serve as commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which oversees state police. He's been in law enforcement for four decades, including as a homicide detective and the chief for Hartford police. Mellekas joined the state police as a trooper in 1994 and worked his way up to become commanding officer in 2019. He previously worked as a police officer at the U.S. Capitol. An audit released by University of Connecticut data analysts in June found a "high degree of confidence" that troopers submitted false information on citations for at least 25,966 traffic stops, and possibly more than 58,000 stops, that may have never happened from 2014 to 2021.
These long-term care workers in CT didn’t get the wages they wanted. Will their strike continue?
June 16, 2023 // "The union wanted to preserve its right to strike again next year," Simon said. "We felt as though the agency, our clients, the people we serve, the students, the parents, had all gone through enough trauma. And so we did not want to give the right to strike again next year." Simon said the state budget provided enough money to pay the workers $18.45 per hour, but Oak Hill extended an offer of $18.50 and an "enhanced" retirement package, but the union did not accept the offer. While the workers have been on strike, temp workers and members of the Oak Hill administration team have been staffing the facilities, costing the company "probably $150,000 more a day" above normal operating costs, according to Simon. Oak Hill negotiations have proven to be especially sticky, according to Oak Hill CEO Barry Simon. After nearly eight hours of talks, negotiations between Oak Hill and the union stalled. Of the 1,700 workers who were on strike, 700 are from Oak Hill. The others are spread between Mosaic, Whole Life, Network, Caring Community and Alternative Services, Inc.
Connecticut: Union Strike Continues Even After Budget Boost
June 8, 2023 // Union leaders told hundreds gathered on the front lawn of the state Capitol Wednesday that they are still on strike for better wages and benefits. “The strategy is to stay here on the picket line outside of the Capitol. [Gov. Ned] Lamont and the legislators are still in there,” SEIU organizers told its members. “We’re not just throwing the towel that we meant it when we said we want to end poverty for long-term care workers.”
Frank Ricci: CT legislators want unemployment for striking workers
May 25, 2023 // S.B. 938 would upend this balance by forcing businesses to fund striking workers through unemployment. It thereby puts a thumb on the scale in labor’s favor, in a way that no other New England state does — nor do 49 other states, leaving New York as the lone exception. The consequence would be to apply severe financial pressure on employers — both by increasing the duration of strikes and by tapping unemployment, which is a self-contained system paid for by employers and administered by the state. One Stop & Shop worker testified in 2022 that a previous bill with identical requirements was designed to increase employee “leverage” and admitted, “Had we had unemployment benefits to rely on during the 2019 strike, we might’ve been able to stay out longer. The bill places no restriction on union strike funds, however, so striking workers may collect funds from the unions as well. The result? Workers could be paid more to go and stay on strike than they would have made working — this will incentivize labor unrest.
Union to strike at group homes serving 1,500 disabled clients
May 17, 2023 // The jobs involved include direct support and direct care staff, dietary workers, maintenance staff, program aides, job coaches, assistant managers, assistant program coordinators, residential day program workers, assistant teachers, behavior paraprofessionals and some licensed practical nurses. Baril and other union leaders have noted on several occasions that many 1199 members lost their lives, became ill or brought infections home to their families during the early stages of the coronavirus in 2020 and 2021 — all while caring for Connecticut’s elderly and disabled in nursing homes, group homes and through at-home care services.
CT’s ‘captive audience’ law challenged in federal lawsuit
November 2, 2022 // Connecticut’s ban on “captive audience” meetings, which unions say are used to thwart organizing, is unconstitutional and a preemption of federal labor law, a coalition led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claimed in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford. The lawsuit, joined by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and trade groups representing retailers and others, says the ban violates free-speech and equal-protection rights under the Constitution by “chilling and prohibiting employer speech” with their workers. The defendants in the lawsuit are Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo of the state Department of Labor, the department itself, and Attorney General William Tong. Chris DiPentima,