Members of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration and union officials met Thursday and delayed a $100 million payment to the state employees pension fund. As the state’s budget deficit topped $500 million this month, the meeting between the two was a formality.
Under the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition agreement last May, the union agreed that if state revenues dipped below $300 million they would agree to delay the $100 million pension payment.
The unions have already agreed to a $750 million concession package, which includes a no-layoff clause for most of the 28 bargaining units until 2011.
It was Democratic lawmakers who first proposed that Rell sit back down with the unions to talk about the $100 million pension deferral. Republicans lawmakers actually thought it was a bad idea. Rell’s administration didn’t warm up to the idea until this month as revenue continued to plummet.
