SENATOR HOCHADEL VOTES TO APPROVE FOURTH YEAR OF LABOR CONTRACT FOR 45,000 STATE EMPLOYEES

HARTFORD –  Senator Jan Hochadel, D-Meriden, joined Senate Democrats today in voting to approve the fourth year of the state employees’ SEBAC labor union contract, giving 45,000 state employees a 2.5% wage increase and some others an additional “step” increase – on par with what private-sector employees have been seeing in Connecticut over the past year and similar to what municipal governments have been approving for their labor unions.

The fourth-year wage reopener was negotiated by the Lamont administration in late March and as required by state law, had to be voted on by the General Assembly.

Senator Hochadel spoke in favor of the contract during a floor debate in the Senate Tuesday.

“State government has recently struggled to fill vacant positions and I believe if we truly want to fill these positions, what we have to do is pay people a fair wage and fair pensions,” Senator Hochadel said. “I was proud to vote for this labor contract and want to thank our state workers for everything they do every day for the state of Connecticut.”

“Years of wage concessions and reduced fringe benefits have taken their toll on the dedicated professionals who make up Connecticut state government. To protect essential services for our residents, we need to retain and reward the tens of thousands of state employees – from social workers and nurses to national guardsmen and correctional officers – who serve the people of our state,” Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said today.

“We’ve lost nearly a quarter of our state workforce over the past decade and a half. Government-sector employment is the only job sector in Connecticut that still hasn’t recovered from the 2008 recession. Meanwhile, private-sector employees in Connecticut saw their wages rise on average almost 4.5 percent last year. Just like we did last year for our state police, we’ve got to grow our state workforce and stay competitive with the private sector,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said.

Funding for the contract was included in last year’s bipartisan state budget.

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