The state House of Representatives on Monday voted 78-72 to approve state employees’ agreement to protect vital public services and secure union members’ jobs. The state Senate is expected to take it up for debate and a vote as soon as tomorrow — your voice is critical to getting it over the finish line.
Click here to send a message to your district’s Senator urging they support the agreement.
Despite the fact the state employees stepped up and agreed to save taxpayers $24 billion over the next two decades, anti-union forces are working overtime to defeat the package. The same special interests who in 2011 pressured Wisconsin politicians to gut their public employees’ collective bargaining rights are spending big here in Connecticut on ads opposing the agreement.
The upper chamber is equally controlled by Republicans who on Thursday renewed their opposition to the negotiated savings and reiterated threats to instead extract more by breaking union members’ contracts. If even one Democratic senator caves to the pressure from Washington special interestsand joins the Republicans in voting “no,” there will be budgetary chaos.
Worse, it would lead to an increased appetite among lawmakers for stripping all public employees — not just those employed by the state — of their negotiating rights to balance the budget.
Click here to tell your Senator to accept union members’ savings and respect collective bargaining.
More to come, and in solidarity,
Michael Barry
Vice President for Public Employees, AFT Connecticut
Jan Hochadel
President, AFT Connecticut
Bristol Federation of Teachers 