Thursday, November 20, 2008
Gov. Jodi Rell wants the state-employee unions to sign off, which is a big IF, but she wants to take $14.5 million from their pension fund and use it to offset some of the burgeoning Connecticut budget deficit.
Dan Livingston, the chief negotiator for the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC), said this morning that they’ll listen to her pitch, but the pension and retiree healthcare plans are underfunded.
“Our bigger concern is that the state government must recognize wha tthe incoming Obama administration already recognizes,” Livingston said. “The current problems must be understood not as budget problem for the state, but as a jobs, services, and quality of life problem for Connecticut’s people.”
In an interview, Livingston offered the union position on any possible layoffs down the line, when majority Democrats realize a $6 billion deficit is gonna take alot more than a tax amnesty plan ($40 million) to pay off.
The SEBAC coalition represents about 45,000 state employees.
“We’re willing to sit down and talk about how to make progress on the big issue,” Livingston said. “The budget problems are a symptom, not a cause. We’re willing to be part of a solution to the economic crisis,but to be part of that solution you have to realize during a downturn in the economy, people have more need for public services.”