Connecticut unions taking steps to get workers rehired

By Susan Haigh, Associated Press

July 20, 2016

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut union leaders have begun to take steps, ranging from running ads to filing labor complaints, to try and help more than 1,000 laid-off state employees get their jobs back.

The union SEIU Healthcare 1199, New England, on Wednesday launched a new television ad campaign. It focuses on the ramifications of the continuing job cuts, made to help cover the state's budget deficit. The first 30-second spot, one of several ads planned, features a woman with cerebral palsy named Jenny who needs a special computer to communicate. She says the only state employee who knows how to customize the device was laid off May 3 and urges Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to hire her and her colleagues back.

"The goal of this ad and of the subsequent ads is for lawmakers and the public to see first-hand the human toll these layoffs have had and the important role state workers have in our state," said union spokeswoman Jennifer Schneider, adding how the union is hopeful state officials will reconsider the job cuts affecting workers such as speech pathologists and nurses who care for veterans.

GianCarl Casa, spokesman for the state Office of Policy and Management, said it is unlikely the administration would rehire people into the same positions they had before. He said many people who receive layoff notices either bump out less senior workers in other positions or fill vacancies.

"We try to help workers stay in state service where that is possible. It is the right thing to do and it is required by statute and contracts, which we are being careful to follow," he said. "But the budget is tight and we are working with agencies so they can meet their responsibilities given the state's fiscal constraints."

Connecticut AFSCME Larry Dorman said his union has both short- and long-term plans to restore services and eventually get all laid-off workers back to work.

"It's putting people back whenever possible," he said, adding how "it's important to the economy to keep people working."

On the labor relations front, he said AFSCME has already filed grievances and prohibitive practice complaints in numerous cases. He said about 75 executive branch employees his union represents have returned to work in new jobs. Dorman said the union is also engaging a public relations campaign, such as holding a rally at the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest layoffs of deaf and hard-of-hearing interpreters who worked for the Department of Rehabilitative Services. The union also represents corrections officers at state prisons.

While the Office of Policy and Management contends many of the interpreters will continue to provide services through less expensive private agencies the state will hire, deaf and hard-of-hearing clients said they're not receiving the services they need.

Dorman said he expects there will be increased public mobilization efforts this fall, "making sure we inject service cuts and layoffs into the election campaign." State legislators are up for election this November and Dorman said the union plans to press the candidates about their plans to restore services and the laid-off state employees.