Daniela Altimari
4/12/2016
HARTFORD – Union officials said Tuesday they intend to file labor grievances over the state's painful and protracted process of shedding 1,850 government workers, some of whom were informed of their layoff in a conference call.
"If this is what the governor wants to do, then at least management should be telling the workers face to face,'' said Lori Pelletier, president of the state AFL-CIO. "It's a horribly demeaning process and it doesn't need to happen.''
On Tuesday, 43 clerical workers at the Department of Social Services were issued layoff notices, along with 24 at the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and three at the Department of Economic and Community Development.
"Today was a sad day for Connecticut," said Yolanda Rolando, a Department of Transportation employee and president of AFSCME Local 196. "The workers were laid off by way of a conference call. They were told to get their belongings and go home."
"This is a terrible and inhumane way to handle layoffs,'' Rolando said.
Gian-Carl Casa, undersecretary for legislative affairs in the governor's budget office, said laid-off workers were offered meetings with their supervisors.
"Every employee affected at DSS met face to face with his or her manager,'' he said. "In 10 of 12 locations there was a union steward present. Human resources staff were present in most cases and were made available on the phone to answer any questions the individuals, across multiple agency offices, may have had."
The employees receiving pink slips were ordered off the job immediately, even though in many cases they will continue to receive their salary and benefits for a period of time dictated by their union contracts. Most bargaining units require four to six weeks notice.
"We want to make sure we do it right and meet all of our requirements to our employees and the law,'' Casa said.
Once the decision is made to let an employee go, "best practices" dictate that they leave the workplace immediately, Casa added. "That's consistent with best practices in both the public and private sector. It also gives the employee the opportunity to seek employment opportunities elsewhere."
Erika Johnson, a teacher at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, said she was called into a conference room late Monday afternoon and informed that she was being laid off at the end of the day. Her supervisor was there, along with a representative from her union.
"It's a setback but I know personally I can get back on my feet,'' said Johnson, who was among 165 state employees laid off Monday. "What's most devastating to me right now is the effect this is having on my students and my peers.''
The detention center houses 43 juvenile offenders, many of whom struggle with trauma and abandonment issues, Johnson said. She fears the turmoil caused by abrupt departure of laid-off staffers could send some of the boys into a crisis.
"The hardest thing for me to comprehend and accept is that I can't say goodbye,'' Johnson said. "There was no closure."
Johnson has worked at the school for two years. Due to the complexities of union rules, she might have enough seniority to "bump" another state worker from his or her position. "I'll put someone else out of work and that thought is weighing on me right now,'' she said. "I understand the state has a deficit although I question if this was the only way or the best way to deal with it."
Connecticut faces a $933 million budget gap for the fiscal year starting July 1. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget calls for eliminating 2,500 state jobs as part of a sweeping restructuring of state government. There are about 650 open positions, due to vacancies and retirements in the executive branch.
Union leaders have rejected calls to reopen contract talks and consider givebacks. Instead, they have called for greater efficiencies in state government and additional taxes on wealthier residents.
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