The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Did Lamont say unions must give more?
Did he or didn’t he? Only his budget chief knows the answer — if there is one.
The mystery is whether Gov. Ned Lamont signaled in his State of the State address on Wednesday that public employee unions need to cough up more concessions. We’re parsing words here, and there’s plenty for both sides to work with.
The disagreement, as you might expect, divides along partisan lines. Republicans, seeking more givebacks, thought they heard Lamont say he’ll push for exactly that, maybe even a reopening of the controversial health and pension agreement that runs until 2027.
Many labor leaders heard a softer approach from the governor whose campaign gelled in April, when he won the strong support of the state AFL-CIO after delivering a passionate promise of comradeship. Others worried, at least at first.
Let’s look at a full showing of the words Lamont spoke in his first address to the General Assembly, two hours after he raised his hand for the oath of office in the armory across the street. As you read it, think
about words like “inaction” and “make the changes necessary,” for hints of what he meant.
“We cannot afford to let the next four years be defined by a fiscal crisis. The fate of our great state is on a knife’s edge,” he said. “If we choose inaction and more of the same — we fail. But if we choose creative and bold leadership, a commitment to make the hard and difficult choices necessary to right the wrongs of the past — we will succeed.
“Let’s fix this damn budget, once and for all!
“... I refuse to invest any time in the blame game of who’s responsible for this crisis. It’s real, it’s here and it’s time to confront it head on. And, please don’t tell me you’ve done your share and it’s somebody else’s turn. It’s all of our turns.”
Then he addressed different groups.
“State employees and labor leaders: I have been so impressed by the quality of the folks who work for the state of Connecticut. I am a strong believer in labor, and now is the time to show that collective bargaining works in tough times, as well as good times. As our liabilities continue to grow faster than our assets, together we have to make the changes necessary to ensure that retirement security is a reality for our younger, as well as our older, state employees, and do that without breaking the bank.”
That last bit about making changes, combined with the part about doing your share, gives hardliners hope that Lamont will toughen his stance toward the unions.
“He was referring to exacting some concessions,” said Pat O’Neil, spokesman for the House Republicans and a longtime Capitol insider — real concessions, perhaps.
He added, “We won’t know how meaningful those words were for months, if in fact that’s what he meant,” after budget talks for fiscal 2020 are done.
After Lamont spoke those words, three union leaders sent texts to Jody Barr, executive director of AFSCME Council 4, which represents 15,000 state employees. They wondered whether that meant more demands for givebacks.
“They were curious, like when he said, ‘in good times and bad times,’ what does that mean? He didn’t say concessions,” Barr said.
“Maybe it’s PTSD from what happened in the past, but I think our members were just concerned,” Barr said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Barr and others persuaded the fearful ones that Lamont will stick with his promises to stick by unions — but will seek “win-win” changes that save the state money without hurting workers, like the 2011 preventive health requirements.
His expression is that labor will be at the table, not on the table. “He included us in the campaign, he included us in the transition, and now we’re going to be
part of his term as governor,” said Barr, a calm sort who’s not given to the bombastics of some labor leaders.
Both sides say they feel harmed by the budgets of the last decade. Former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy enacted two big tax increases, Republicans say, without extracting enough from labor. “The shared sacrifices were not in fact so shared,” O’Neil said.
The unions claim their six recent years of pay freezes, 3 percent across the board charges for health care for at least ten years, 2 percent floors for pension, higher co-pays and lower benefits for new employees all represent more than enough. “We are very very sensitive to our membership’s givebacks again and again and again,” Barr said.
Barr tells a story about leaders of the three rank-and-file corrections unions, totaling 5,000 members, upset that Lamont named Rollin Cook, a reformer from Utah, as commissioner — without
consulting them.
“We reached out to Ned with our concerns, and Ned did the right thing and called those local presidents and had a discussion with them about why he made the decision he made.”
Crisis averted — but now they get harder. Lamont’s budget proposal isn’t due until mid- to late-February. His office didn’t issue any statements clearing up the question, probably because Lamont and budget czar Melissa McCaw don’t know yet.
My guess is he’ll be able to avert a standoff this year using measures besides calling the unions back to reopen the 2017-27 deal, such as tapping part of the rainy day fund.
If the economy doesn’t cooperate in 2020, all bets are off — on both sides. That may be unfair but it could be necessary.