labor

Governor says state agencies are well-positioned to deliver services. Unions disagree.

The coming increase of Connecticut’s hourly wage to $14 on Friday was an opportunity Monday for Gov. Ned Lamont to share ground with some of his fellow Democrats who sometimes wish for a more progressive governor.

More than 4,400 state employees either have retired this calendar year or filed their written intention to step down before July 1.

A new report from the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis found General Fund overtime spending of most state agencies went up $20.4 million, or about 11%, during the first three-quarters of this fiscal year, which began last July 1. Total overtime spending approached $207 million.

It’s been a banner year for student worker organizing. Several new undergraduate student employee unions formed in the past few months, including at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

State worker retirements in 2022 are nearly double the number of retirements state government has faced annually between 2019 and 2021.

The new state budget includes policy language prohibiting the administration from reducing any departmental budgets as long as the state is in the black.

The Senate gave final passage Wednesday night to a bill making it easier for people with criminal records to obtain professional licenses in their chosen careers.

$24 billion budget invests in child care and social services, allows CT to retire $3.5 billion more in pension debt.

Budget deal has $30 million for special pay for the thousands of health care and social service workers, grocery and department store employees, emergency personnel, utilities workers and others who operated essential services when COVID-19 struck Connecticut hard in 2020.