will ct state employees get a raise in 2022
Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! SEBAC employees who are employed before March 31, 2022 would also get a $2,500 bonus. The Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates the package will cost the state $1.87 billion over four years. Gov. The easiest way out of the crisis is to keep employees on board by offering them generous pay and benefit incentives. Beginning after the July 1, 2022 cut off, the State has relinquished their obligation to adjust pension payments at least 2% (current minimum) for inflation. Government bureaucracies are notoriously resistant to change, layered with the accretion of rules, processes, union contracts, all contributing to a workplace culture. In addition, full-time workers would receive a $2,500 bonus in mid-May and another $1,000 bonus in mid-July. Ned Lamont previously touted the agreement as a way to retain state employees amid a wave of potential retirements. Now shes asking for help herself, One musician remembers what it was like to tour the world with singer and activist Harry Belafonte, Connecticut COVID data: Your town's infection rate, hospitalizations & vaccinations, Tracking health threats, one sewage sample at a time, COVID during pregnancy may alter brain development in boys. Published April 18, 2022 at 3:52 PM EDT. Connecticut holds $3.1 billion in its rainy day fund, equal to 15% of annual operating costs the maximum allowed by law. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. Connecticut Property Taxes In Every Town: Who Pays The Most? Sen. Cathy Osten defending the SEBAC deal. Connecticut State Department of Administrative Services CT.gov Home Department of Administrative Services Human Resources Business Rules and Regulations Compensation Salary Increase Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Salary Increase Non-Represented Employees Expense Reimbursement/Meal Allowance Pay Differential Longevity Recruitment Pay But Gov. Amazon and others in the private sector have made it very easy to envision what that future could look like, if you think about online shopping or online bank services, Geballe said. The deal works out to about $40,000 in raises per state employee over four years, Fazio said, which works out to about $1,300 per Connecticut household. There will be no guaranteed minimum for those who retire after July 1, 2022, and their first potential COLA would come in 30 months, not 12. Connecticut Public Radio | State finances also are being supported this fiscal year and next by about $3 billion in emergency federal pandemic relief. Budget panel endorses raises, bonuses for CT state workers Full legislature expected to vote before May 4 by Keith M. Phaneuf April 18, 2022 @ 1:08 pm Rob Baril, the president of SEIU 1199,. And that total is expected to grow considerably between now and July 1. The formula used took 60% of the increase in the Consumer Price Index ( CPI-W) up to 6% and . Ned Lamont believes it will keep critical state workers on the job. Ned Lamont's administration and already ratified by the 35 . The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Workers and Clerical Workers known as the CPI-W increased 6 percent between July of 2020 and July of 2021, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the price of nearly everything increasing substantially in recent months. The package was previously approved by the House. We share the concern about whats going to happen in 2022, said Dave Glidden, the executive director of CSEA SEIU Local 2001, which represents 5,000 state employees. Its also done with the best financial interests of the state at heart.. Required fields are marked *. This proposed contract is a raw deal for the working people of this state, said Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, who noted state workers, on average, would receive more than $10,000 in total added compensation over four years. The bargaining units ratified the agreement earlier in the week, and it now it heads to the state legislature for consideration. Negotiators will meet again to determine raises after the time period. State employee unions offered concessions in 2009, 2011 and 2017. We were trying to get people not to retire well, thats not what this agreement does, said Sen. Craig Miner of Litchfield, ranking GOP senator on the Appropriations Committee. Those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Lamont hopes the extra money will slow a wave of retirements before July 1, when pension benefits drop as part of previous union concessions. Connecticut Property Taxes In Every Town: Who Pays The Most? About 1,700 management-level state employees will receive pay raises, an effort by Gov. Currently, the only way to advance in most agencies is for someone to retire, leaving a specific job open. Similar deals would pass automatically if the legislature didnt take action in the past, but a 2017 law requires approval from both chambers. In 2015, Connecticut paid $1.7 billion to 49,111 retirees, according to the Comptrollers Open Pension website. To that end, we have produced a new edition of our Charter for Change. Those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law. Administrations come and go, taking with them their priorities. Connecticuts pension COLAs, however, are set for a change one year from now prompting concerns over a potential surge in state employee retirements. The non-unionized managers will receive a one-time bonus of $2,000 and 7.5% in wage increases, including a 3.5% cost-of-living increase and up to 4% annual increments. Get CT Mirror emails in your inbox daily. in its annual Fiscal Accountability Report. They are our people, who we count on each day to make us safe, she said. "Today is Tax Day People want to know where their tax dollars are going, said Kim Healy, a GOP Wilton selectman running for the Connecticut House of Representatives. Examples abound. Automation is a word that makes unions nervous, even as they acknowledge the nature of work is changing. DAS is the states landlord and construction manager, its hiring hall and purchasing agent, and, perhaps most vitally in the digital age, its information technology office. See Critics say the deal is too generous and could lead to future tax hikes. So, it is a safe bet that Lamont will sign a juicy new wage contract with SEBAC. But overall, as agency heads told Geballe as he made the rounds in January and February, the states hiring process still is cumbersome, with rarely updated job classifications that are numerous, narrowly drawn and can require their own tests. The Connecticut State Legislature will begin its 2023 session on January 4thand will adjourn on June 7th. On top of that, most workers would "step" into a higher pay grade, adding an extra 2% to most raises. The agreements, which unions ratified earlier this spring, are retroactive to the start of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. And thats why we want to work with you to build a broad-based coalition to encourage sound policy reforms to enable Connecticut residents to forge a better future for themselves and their families. Weve seen clerical workers go from a high of almost 9,000 to 4,000.. They also cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. He has been the state finances reporter at CT Mirror since it launched in 2010. ThanKs Vin, Lyle Scruggs DARRELL HACKETT For the average pensioner, receiving $39,887 per year, the COLA increase would amount to an annual increase of $1,435.92. As a Ned Lamont believes it will keep critical state workers on the job. . In the past 10 years, the number of management-level state employees has dropped from 2,000 to 1,400, with nearly all of them choosing to leave their posts to join bargaining units and another 60 petitions currently pending, McCaw said. Ned Lamont and president of state's network of community colleges square off in showdown over state funding. That helps focus peoples minds and increase their willingness to change and to take risks. And while some criticized the bonuses, the Hamden lawmaker and others say they would save the state money over the long haul. Its nothing more than a handout.. In the prison system, there are separate classifications for supervisors of correctional industries, auto mechanics, data entry, printing, clothing, and general industries. Not this weeks data release showing that the median American household saw its income fall 2.9 percent last year while Connecticut state employees got a 5.5 percent wage increase. The coalition, which represents most state employee unions excluding the state police, added that, It is a critical step in resolving the current staffing crisis that is the consequence of decades of disinvestment and austerity., Lamont spokeswoman Lora Rae Anderson said, Were happy the House has passed the SEBAC agreement, and we are hopeful the Senate will do the same.. State and union officials are expected to meet again in the fourth year to negotiate wages. Those employed on July 15, 2022 would get a $1,000 bonus if the agreement is approved. There are also new bonuses: $2,500 next month and an extra $1,000 in mid-July. They would then get the same increase on July 1, 2022 and again on July 1, 2023. Part-timers would be eligible for prorated bonuses. The virtually inevitable pay hikes and favorable benefit modifications will then be classified as hardship pay to reward for employees for their phantom frontline service.. The best long-run thing for the state pension system is to have inflation just at or above 2%. The contracts, which Gov. Note: the above image is a chart for the CPI-U, not the CPI-W. Inevitably, it will be highly unpopular, so the announcement will be buried as deeply as possible and spun like a top by Lamonts spokespeople. Fazio cited a study by the American Enterprise Institute, which found that Connecticut state employees on average are paid 5.6 percent less in salary than a private sector employee with similar qualifications. CT Gov. So why might Lamont do something so patently unfair and so politically toxic as awarding pay raises to already overcompensated state workers while most Connecticut citizens and voters have been and still are hurting very badly? It includes 2.5% raises for four straight years that would be retroactive to July 1, 2021. functions now spread across agencies, just as Raymond recently struck a five-year deal with Microsoft that replaces a dozen separate agency agreements. The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition represents 35 different bargaining units and more than 40,000 state employees. 2023 The Conneticut News Project. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members By 2020, the state paid $2.2 billion to 55,348 retirees. Thats because state governments coffers are flush with cash as never before. Changes to state employee retirement benefits will go into effect in July of 2022 But more than that, this is a necessary contract so that we can hold on to the best and brightest.. The state also faces a potential wave of retirements. Bonuses would be prorated for part-time employees. Private-sector employees can only dream of having that, said Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol. Osten said the raises reflect the valuable work state employees provide daily, and particularly throughout the coronavirus pandemic. A wave of state employee retirements is expected in the coming months, resulting in an "unprecedented" loss of knowledge and skills, some officials say. The $2 billion agreement also includes special lump-sum payments of $2,500 for active employees who've . The Charter provides commonsense reforms to make Connecticuts government work for its residents. The contract is not a done deal. How will schools be implementing to curriculum requirements? House and Senate negotiators expressed optimism Monday as they began trading budget proposals, despite gaps in spending over issues such as public schools, land preservation and tourism marketing. The announcement Thursday from the governors office of the 7.5% raises comes as union workers ramp up their fight for wage increases in their new contracts, which they are currently negotiating with the state.