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Gov. Dannel Malloy followed through with his threat to the state employees union Tuesday morning. Citing an inability to reach an agreement to save the state money toward its $1 billion deficit, Malloy ordered the layoff of 4,742 state workers. The governor said the move would save Connecticut about $455 million toward the shortfall.
"I want to be clear that this is not the road I wanted to go down. I didn't want to lay people off, and I didn't want to make additional spending cuts beyond the $780 million in spending we've already cut, Malloy said in a statement. "But I have no choice. I promised the people of Connecticut that I would change the way we do business in Hartford.
Malloy and the union have been locked in contract negotiations over salaries, healthcare and retirement benefits. Malloy said he wants to bring those benefit levels more in line with those enjoyed by their counterparts in the private sector and in the federal workforce. But state union leaders have said that reductions in pay and benefits should not come from average workers.
Middle class workers, whether public or private, did not cause Connecticuts economic problems and should not be asked to bear an unfair burden in their resolution, Bob Rinker of the Connecticut State Employees Association said in a blog post Tuesday. This is especially true when Wall Street and the super-rich who have profited at our expense during the economic downturn have been asked to sacrifice so little.
Rinker also said that the mass layoffs would directly affect the services provided by the state government. But Malloy said in his statement that he will continue to cut programs and possibly more workers to make up the remaining $545 million in the deficit if he does not get concessions. Both sides claimed Tuesday that they are willing to go back to the negotiating table.
What do you think of the layoffs? Share your opinions in the comments below. Do you know any of the 4,742 employees who were fired Tuesday? Have them contact gcanuel@mainstreetconnect.us to share their stories.
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