Advocates for disabled people and the constitution crashed the first meeting Friday of an executive working group tasked with finding the best way for personal care assistants to collectively bargain.
At issue are two executive orders signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in September that provide a path for state day care workers and personal care attendants to organize and gain collective bargaining rights.
The orders established working groups to make recommendations to the governor regarding the best way to structure bargaining rights for the groups.
But some say the groups shouldn’t unionize and question why the governor did not appoint anyone with a disability to a group whose recommendations will likely have an impact on the disabled community. Several opponents of the orders sat in on the group’s first meeting.
Cathy Ludlum of Manchester, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, said she didn’t understand why the order was necessary.
“It is not clear how unionizing personal assistance will advance their situation. A lot of them don’t want it,” she said. “None of the ones I know want it.”
Stephen Mendelsohn, who is on the autism spectrum, said he felt the deck was stacked against disabled people.
“Unlike with the childcare working group, with this group they didn’t include anybody with a disability or anybody who was a personal care attendant in the group,” he said.
Malloy’s spokesman, Andrew Doba, said the reason the governor established the group was to facilitate a conversation on the issue.
“There will be plenty of time for input from all interested parties, especially the disabled community,” he said.
Mendelsohn said Malloy was developing a pattern of insensitivity toward people with disabilities. He cited the governor’s Thanksgiving message “where he talked about people ‘being afflicted with handicaps’ and ‘hovering on the edges of society.’”
Claude Holcomb, who communicated by spelling out words, pointing to each letter on a board, asked what the workers will gain if a union steps in. Unionized PCA workers in other states still have no medical benefits, he said.
“Who is getting fat? The union,” he said.
However, Malloy defended the order last month, saying PCA workers are not getting the opportunity to bargain for themselves.
“All’s I’m saying is if those folks want that opportunity, I believe in America they should have that opportunity,” he said. “Let’s be very clear, what we’re really talking about is people that are in large numbers employed by agencies that specifically treat them as employees, but under the guise of calling them independent contractors deny them the ability to negotiate.”
Then there’s the constitutional objections. Debra Stevenson, an attorney for the Constitution Lobby, said the executive orders were unconstitutional. The legislature had considered a bill that would have accomplished the same thing, but the bill never made it out of committee, she said.
“The whole premise is faulty when it’s based on an unconstitutional action,” she added. “In particular setting up the election process to begin with, that is not within the authority of the governor to do.”
Both groups listened as the working group discussed some of the problems it faces. Christopher Drake, deputy legal counsel to the governor, said the funding structure of the programs makes the group’s task a difficult process.
“Above all it is important to keep the self-directed nature of this care in place. It is very important that the care that is being provided continues to be directed by the clients,” he said.
But that poses a challenge because each client is considered an individual employer, he said. One possible solution is to create a unified employer for the workers to bargain against, he said.
Drake said the group must also make sure that it makes no recommendation that would change the Medicaid funding the state receives. The working group should also keep in mind there’s a limited amount of money for the PCA program, he said.
Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!
“Right now there is a finite pool of money to draw from. So for instance, if you increase the wages for the PCAs it may have the effect of decreasing the number of hours and that’s an undesirable outcome,” he said.
Larry Fox, a consultant assigned to the group, said the group should refrain from trying to reinvent the wheel. There are successful models in other states the group should consider and make changes as needed to fit Connecticut, he said.
The group is expected to make it recommendation to Malloy by February. However, Drake said that deadline could be extended if the group felt it needed more time to complete its work.
More Health Care News & Analysis

6 Common Barriers Men Face When Seeking Mental Health Support
The outward effects of mental illness can often be dismissed as a sign of weakness or personal failure. For men, this type of social stereotyping can be especially hard to escape — being told to “man up” is a common refrain that can be reductive and stigmatizing.
Keep readingMedical Examining Board Fines Doctor $10,000
The state Medical Examining Board on Tuesday fined an Oxford doctor $10,000 for fraudulently using another doctor’s name and Drug Enforcement Agency registration number to prescribe controlled substances to a family member.
Keep reading
Clinical Trials With Immunotherapy Drugs Are Source Of Hope And Challenges In Treating Aggressive Breast Cancer
Joshalyn Mills of Branford and Nancy Witz of Kensington had the best possible results after being treated in clinical trials with immunotherapy drugs for aggressive breast cancer: Their tumors were eliminated. But while there are dramatic successes with immunotherapy drugs, there are also many failures, and researchers are trying to find out why in hopes…
Keep reading
Coalition of Health Insurers Questions Viability of Connecticut Partnership Plan
Members of Connecticut’s Health Care Future, a coalition of health insurers, hospitals, and businesses, are questioning whether Connecticut lawmakers have done enough this year to protect teachers and municipal employees from increases in health insurance premiums. “Despite repeated bailouts from taxpayers, the Connecticut Partnership Plan continues to be a fiscal Titanic that demonstrates why government-controlled health…
Keep reading
AG’s Tackle Mental Health Parity
Attorneys General in Connecticut and Rhode Island threw their support Monday behind a coalition of mental health advocacy groups asking a federal appeals court to revisit a recent ruling giving insurance companies more flexibility to deny mental health claims.
Keep reading
Budget Green Lights Psychedelic Therapies
Buried in the budget Gov. Ned Lamont signed this week is a provision that would create a pilot program to allow Connecticut to be the first-in-the-nation to study the impact of psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and MDMA on patients with depression and PTSD. The budget now creates a pilot program within the Department of Mental…
Keep readingMore Labor News

Lamont Inks New Employment Law Backed By Unions
In a victory for state labor unions, Gov. Ned Lamont ignored a lobbying effort by business organizations and signed a bill Tuesday prohibiting employers from holding “captive audience” meetings to potentially discourage workers from unionizing.
Keep reading
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
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
‘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
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