HARTFORD, CT – A coalition of public sector unions and Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration announced earlier this month that they had reached a tentative agreement on compensation for around 43,000 state employees.
So what does the agreement say?
CTNewsJunkie requested the documents from the Lamont administration at the beginning of the month, but were told they were not available under Connecticut’s Freedom of Information laws.
The administration cited two exemptions, which they are claiming in order not to release the documents. The first is an exemption to “records, reports and statements of strategy or negotiations with respect to collective bargaining,” and the second is “records pertaining to strategy and negotiations with respect to pending claims or pending litigation to which a public agency is party.”
“We had a full and thoughtful negotiation with our partners in labor and we want to let that process play out,” Max Reiss, a spokesman for Gov. Ned Lamont, said.
According to documents provided to unionized state workers, the deal includes 2.5% step raises for the next three years beginning with a raise retroactive to last July. If approved, workers will also receive $3,500 in bonuses spread over two installments.
In addition to a vote by rank and file workers, which union leaders expect to occur in the next few weeks, the terms will need to be approved by the state legislature.
The process of ratifying the agreement through votes by the members of the various bargaining units has begun and is expected two wrap up in the next week or two.
Once the vote is finalized the agreement will need to be voted upon by the state legislature and will be made public.
