
Closed-door labor talks continued Friday afternoon when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s chief labor negotiator, Mark Ojakian, returned to the CSEA union hall around 2:30 p.m. to continue working on clarifications to a labor savings and concession agreement that failed to win ratification last month.
Despite his confidence in his negotiator, Malloy complained at an event in Manchester that the process is taking too long.
“Listen, this agreement got shot down once, it could get shot down again,“ Malloy said Friday. “It will get shot down again if people don’t do their jobs and explain to people why this is necessary. So let me be very clear: we are prepared to fully fund our obligations in a program that is sustainable.”
In the absence of a sustainable program, he said they are talking about layoffs this year, next year and the year after because the state can’t afford to maintain the current state employment ranks under the current system.
Malloy said that attempts to clarify the agreement were ongoing but he also implied there wasn’t much left to clarify, saying there is “precious little” left for Ojakian to talk with union leaders about.
After returning to the union hall Friday afternoon, Ojakian said they continue to have discussions around the tentative agreement, but he refused to offer any specifics.
“We’ve identified the issues that need to be clarified. We feel that we’ve offered a clarification of those issues and now we’re in discussions over those issues and over some language,” he said. “I’m hopeful we can come to some resolution today.”
Sources say the governor was too anxious to announce the first tentative agreement back on May 13 before the final language had been drafted. Some suspect the announcement prior to the release of the 20-page agreement may have led to the “misinformation” campaign. Sources have speculated that misinformation was spread in order to fill the void.
Leslie Maddocks, secretary treasurer of the Connecticut Employees Union Independent, SEIU Local 511, said the governor’s pronouncements of a deal on a clarified agreement being reached is “not helpful.“

Earlier in the day Ojakian thought he had clarified the agreement enough and was waiting to hear back from the unions about whether it was acceptable. But he said he was back at the union hall Friday afternoon because his “clarifications, needed clarification.”
In the meantime, the lack of information from union leadership is troubling to some rank and file union members.
“This is a process and it needs to go forward. Everybody just needs to take a deep breath,” Maddocks, who is in the room with negotiators, said Friday. “We are still talking.”
“It is a frustrating process,” Maddocks said. “It’s not a neat, clean process.”
She said being in the room has been more frustrating than being in the dark like most of the rank and file members. She said the governor, the media, and others shouldn’t be handicapping this because “no one wants this done more than the people in this room.”
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
“We have a lot of pressure on us. There are lots of things at stake, lots of lives at stake,” Maddocks said.
“These layoffs are not just a few that are being proposed and they’re not a one-time shot,” Maddocks said. “I’m not so sure the legislators or governor are cognizant of the trickle down that will effect the community these people live in.”
“The governor just needs to take a deep breath along with our members and the public and realize what’s at stake,” Maddocks said.
With the bill that changes collective bargaining rights on the House calendar, union members are aware that their ability to bargain for health and pension benefits could be changed forever, if this deal doesn’t get ratified.
But even if union leaders reach a deal on a clarified package it’s unclear if the membership will ratify it. Earlier this week union leadership voted to change the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition to lower the threshold for passage of a package.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
The labor deal was supposed to generate $1.6 billion in savings over the next two years, and in its absence Malloy has proposed $1.6 billion in service reductions and eliminations, including the elimination of 6,560 positions, 1,599 of which are currently vacant.
Some of the first employees to receive layoff notices will be separated from their employment as early as the middle of next week. If they get separated from their jobs, they will no longer be state employees, and will no longer be able to vote on a concession and savings package.
More State Budget news

Lamont Signs The Budget
Alongside Democratic legislative leaders, Gov. Ned Lamont signed the $24 billion budget adjustment Monday that includes $600 million in tax relief. That’s more than they anticipated they would be able to offer Connecticut residents this Election year because revenue came in higher than expected, but it still creates about an $800 million deficit in 2024. …
Keep reading
ANALYSIS | It’s A Wrap: The Winners and Losers of the 2022 Session
It was a short legislative session, but the House and the Senate were able to move a lot of business this year, including the passage of a $24-billion budget with around $600 million in tax cuts.
Keep reading
Connecticut Acts To Help Its Lead-Poisoned Children
After decades of inertia, Connecticut is finally moving to help its thousands of lead-poisoned children and prevent thousands of other young children from being damaged by the widespread neurotoxin.
Keep reading
Bill Bolstering Contracting Oversight Board In Jeopardy After Lamont Administration Raises Concerns
It passed unanimously in the Senate, but a bill that would give the State Contracting Standards Board greater oversight over state contracting appeared stalled in the House Wednesday on the last day of session. “The governor and I have not talked about the bill,” House Speaker Matt Ritter said. “The commissioners have sent us a…
Keep reading
Senate Approves Tax Cuts, Sends $24B Budget to the Governor
The state Senate gave final approval late Tuesday to a $24 billion election year budget plan that includes around $600 million in tax relief while enabling the state to make an $3.5 billion payment on its unfunded pension debt. Senators voted 24-12 at around 10:30 p.m. to send the midterm budget adjustment to the desk…
Keep reading
House Green-Lights $24B Budget
On a party-line vote early Tuesday, the House passed a $24 billion budget adjustment package containing more than $600 million in tax cuts which Democrats heralded as “historic” and Republicans derided as temporary. Lawmakers voted 95 – 52 at around 12:20 a.m. to send the 673-page budget document to the Senate for consideration before the…
Keep reading
Budget Materials
The General Assembly is preparing to debate adjustments to the $24 billion state budget. Below are a few of the documents we’ve been provided as back-up materials. The budget, HB 5506. Town runs. Car tax impact on municipalities. Finance Committee Power Point.
Keep reading
Lawmakers May Vote for First Pay Increase in 20 Years
With legislative retirements mounting, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were considering Monday raising the salaries of General Assembly members for the first time in more than two decades and indexing their pay in the future. During a morning press briefing, House Speaker Matt Ritter told reporters that funding for pay raises had been…
Keep reading
Amid Surging Revenue, House Prepares to Vote on Budget Adjustments
Connecticut’s House of Representatives was expected to vote Monday on a $24 billion budget adjustment package, buoyed by revised revenue predictions that exceeded expectations by more than $350 million. The revised consensus figures released Monday confirm the surge in revenues that enabled Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative Democrats to reach an agreement last week on…
Keep reading
Dems Detail Budget Deal With $500 Mil in Tax Cuts, Extension of Gas Tax Holiday
Legislative Democrats and Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration announced Wednesday the details of a $24.2 billion budget adjustment package, which they say provides around $500 million in tax relief including extending a gas tax holiday until December. Lamont and legislative leaders outlined the agreement during an afternoon press conference in the state Capitol building. Both chambers…
Keep reading
Health Care Workers Call for New Hires
After a record number of health care workers are expected to retire this year, health care staff called on Gov. Ned Lamont to commit to filling 1,000 vacant positions by August 1 of this year. A record 1,137 state workers who notified the state that they will retire this year comes at a moment of…
Keep reading
Senate Joins House And Votes To Give Raises, Bonuses To State Employees
The Senate gave final approval by a 22-13 vote on a plan to give unionized state workers a set of raises and bonuses. The plan, negotiated by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and a coalition of public sector labor unions, provides three years of 2.5% raises and step increases as well as a total of $3,500…
Keep reading
House Advances Labor Deal In Historic Vote
Lawmakers in Connecticut’s House of Representatives signed off on a plan to give state workers a set of raises and bonuses Thursday in a mostly partisan vote on a negotiated labor agreement. The House voted 96 to 52 in support of the deal with 1 Republican, Rep. Tom Delnicki of South Windsor, joining all Democrats…
Keep reading
Republicans Propose Last-Minute Tax Package
Legislative Republicans pitched a $1.2 billion tax relief plan Thursday which reduces state income, sales and gas taxes and proposes to join other states in suing the federal government to challenge restrictions on spending pandemic relief funds. House and Senate Republicans announced the plan during a state Capitol press conference Thursday morning. It cuts the…
Keep reading
The Budget Battle Begins To Take Shape
Tax collections have improved and pushed Connecticut’s budget surplus to $4 billion, but the state budget still relies heavily on federal funding and without it the state would end up running a “sizeable operating deficit.” The Office of Policy and Management told state Comptroller Natalie Braswell Wednesday that if not for the use of the…
Keep reading
Ritter: Time Is Running Short For Budget Agreement
The legislature will have a difficult time approving a state budget before the end of its session in two weeks if lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont do not reach an agreement in the next 48 hours, House Speaker Matt Ritter told reporters Wednesday. During a morning press briefing, Ritter said the legislative schedule was looking…
Keep readingMore Labor News

States With The Largest Unionized Workforces
Where does Connecticut stand in the list of states with the most unionized employees?
Keep reading
Business Leaders Make Push To Veto Captive Audience Bill
Connecticut business leaders are leaning on Gov. Ned Lamont to veto a bill that would restrict what employers can say in the workplace. The bill, which has been a priority of labor unions for years, is being described by business owners as an unconstitutional attempt to restrict workplace communications and an infringement on employer free…
Keep reading
‘Captive Audience’ Bill Headed To Governor’s Desk
Legislation prohibiting Connecticut employers from holding “captive audience” meetings to discourage workers from organizing received final approval in the House late Friday despite Republican arguments it was preempted by federal law. The bill passed in a 88 to 56 vote, generally along party lines. Eight Democrats joined all but one Republican in voting against it.…
Keep reading
Senate Advances Captive Audience Bill After All-Day Debate
The state Senate debated and passed a bill Thursday that outlines what employers can and can’t tell their employees in the workplace. Dubbed the “captive audience” bill, the legislation which passed the Senate 23-11, has been a topic of discussion for years at the state Capitol. It received bipartisan support this year despite opposition from…
Keep reading
Nursing Home Workers Ready To Strike in Windsor
A strike at a Windsor nursing home accused of unfair labor practices will proceed unless a tentative agreement for raises and other benefits is crafted by 6 a.m. Friday, according to officials with the New England Health Care Employees Union, SEIU 1199. The union and four other homes, Avery Heights, Bloomfield Health Care Center, the…
Keep reading
Home Care Workers Finally Have Something To Celebrate
Connecticut’s home care workers, who have struggled without a contract since last summer, are celebrating today. After almost a year of negotiations, the state has agreed to give the 10,000 workers a pay increase, health insurance, and even paid time off. The workforce, which is mostly women –predominantly women of color, take care of 6,000…
Keep reading