Front-line public service workers employed by the State of Connecticut are reacting to reports that managers and top agency officials may be receiving millions in bonuses over the next month. At issue are news accounts that seem to confirm approximately $7 million in longevity payments scheduled for October for the state’s approximately 5,000 non-union employees. Handing out the full bonuses would violate the spirit of an agreement to save $1.6 billion ratified by union members in mid-August. Governor Dannel P. Malloy in remarks to the press earlier today conceded this point when he acknowledged the inequity the payments would create.
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“‘Shared sacrifice’ should mean that state managers are treated the same as the unionized workforce,” said Bob Rinker, Executive Director of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001, which represents a diverse range of state employees. “The members of our unions just agreed to concessions believing that that the budget would not be balanced on their backs alone. The issue is one of fundamental fairness, and the managers’ longevity bonuses should reflect the same sacrifice as the front-line workers’ reduced payments,” Rinker said.
Rinker’s comments refer to a landmark agreement reached between the statutory committee that comprises all the unions representing Connecticut state employees and the Malloy Administration. Early in the discussions, the governor’s chief negotiator proposed permanently freezing all longevity bonuses, including those for front-line workers in the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition’s (SEBAC) unions. The proposal was rejected, but the administration and the legislature in June forced the change on managers, political appointees, and state employees without union representation.
“I was happy to hear that the governor reinstated longevity payments for our managers,” said Joe Sorcinelli, a transportation engineer who coordinates bridge and roadway construction projects in lower Fairfield County and the New Haven area. “But it appears at odds with the ‘shared sacrifice’ mantra he spoke of prior to his election and throughout our recent negotiations. I would ask that the governor recognize our hard-working, front-line union members with the same compensation,” said Sorcinelli, a 23-year veteran employee of the State Department of Transportation and a member of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001.
Under the SEBAC 2011 agreement, union members are scheduled for a one-time giveback and then a short-term, two-year freeze of longevity earnings. So-called “comparability language” in the agreement and then included in legislation passed by the General Assembly in June called for equivalent concessions from all non-union employees. Bob Rinker will later today issue a formal request that the governor treat the October 2011 longevity payments for managers and appointed officials in a manner consistent with the unionized workforce.
CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 represents nearly 25,000 active and retired public sector workers across Connecticut. The union’s membership includes approximately 4,000 professional, education, public safety, courthouse, and criminal justice employees who provide a wide variety of vital public services. Visit www.seiu2001.org online for more information about its members’ efforts to rebuild and strengthen Connecticut’s middle class
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