The chief negotiator for the coalition of unions representing Connecticut state employees sharply rejected a call from Republicans to delay raises for union workers even as the state has the second highest percentage of workforce unemployed in the nation.
Daniel Livingston wrote to State Minority Leader Len Fasano (R), as CT Mirror reported Thursday:
We are disappointed to see that even in the midst of a historic national crisis instead of coming together in support of all working families – and especially the frontline workers public and private, profit and non-profit who are keeping us all safe — your caucus resorts to the cynical, manipulative and divisive behavior for which it has become famous. Unlike the tiny comfortable minority of millionaires and billionaires your caucus truly represents, state workers together with the non-profits actually help provide the critical safety net upon which the most vulnerable in our state depend.
“Instead, try thanking all the front-line workers, state and private, who are risking their lives for all of us, and asking your millionaire and billionaire friends to pay their fair share of taxes,” Livingston added.
The union negotiator responded to Fasano’s letter urging Gov. Ned Lamont (D) and unionized state workers to delay their upcoming scheduled raises during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s the same old talking point because they can’t actually articulate any reason why state employees aren’t sacrificing like the rest of us,” Connecticut Republican Chairman J.R. Romano told Breitbart News in an interview. “We’re not even talking about cancelling the raise — we’re talking about delaying it. Much like other states did.”
Fasano recommended in his letter that savings from a delay in the 3.5 percent general wage increase plus an annual step increase of 2 percent scheduled for July 1 could be redirected to nonprofits and social service providers.
“At a time when Connecticut residents, nonprofits and social service providers are struggling significantly, the state should consider delaying these raises and instead directing those funds to support the state’s nonprofit providers who make up our safety net services that help the most vulnerable populations,” Fasano wrote.
full story at https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/28/connecticut-state-employee-unions-refuse-to-delay-raises-as-21-5-unemployed/