AUGUST FOR HEALTH INSURANCE AND LAID OFF MEMBERS

Thank you Comptroller Nancy Wyman! Prior to her announce-ment on March 6, the health insurance for members laid off prior to February 1, 2003 would have ran out on March 31, 2003—the date the Placement & Training Fund would be empty—leaving several hundred laid off state workers with a date on or after February 1st with noth-ing. Due to the fact Comptroller Wyman cares about workers and their families, significantly more than Democratic and Republican Leadership in the General Assembly and the Governor, laid off mem-bers will now have coverage through August, 2003. They will be re-quired to pay what was deducted from pay checks prior to layoff. Agency’s will notify laid off members of their to send their check. If members are not returned to work by August, they will have to pay the COBRA rate (employee and employer share) in order to continue their health insurance coverage for up to 18 months. COBRA cost for a family in a P.O.S. plan is over $800 per month. Wyman stated:

Many of these workers would otherwise lose their health insurance later this month. I am aware that the admini-stration disagrees, but the contract specifies that most of them are eligible for six months of health coverage after they are laid off. This is a binding contract that can only be changed by the mutual agreement of the administra-tion and the workers. Until that time, these workers de-serve the health coverage that is provided by their con-tract.

Thank you Attorney General Richard Blumenthal! A formal written opinion from the Attorney General served as the basis for continuing health insurance for up to 6 months following a layoff.

The question above is often asked by members who qualify for the ERIP. Nobody but you, with input from your family, can answer it. What you read on pages 3, 4 and 5, is an attempt to provide you, at this time, with pertinent information in regeards to the ERIP. If after reading this information and/or attending your agency’s group retirement sessions you still have questions/concerns in regard to retirement, CEUI will be holding a Basic Question and Answer (Q & A) session.

· DATE: Sunday, March 30, 2003. · TIME: 1:00 PM · LOCATION: CEUI Headquarters

If you would like to attend, please call Tracy at CEUI at 860.344.0311 x712 or email her at tdeegan@ceui.org. Be sure to include your name and how many people will be attending in the email. Please also bring any documents you were given by your agency to assist in answering questions If the turn out is too big for Union Headquarters to accommo-date, an alternative location (within 1 mile) will be used.

Should I Retire Now? See Pages 3, 4 & 5

“INDEPENDENT”

UNION NEWS Affiliated ·Service Employees International Union ·AFL-CIO, CLC

CT EMPLOYEES UNION INDEPENDENT, SEIU LOCAL 511

MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES UNION INDEPENDENT, SEIU LOCAL 506

110 Randolph Road, P.O. Box 1268, Middletown, CT 06457

Phone: 860-344-0311 Toll Free: 1-800-622-3359

Fax: 860-344-8648 WEB SITE: www.ceui.org Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30am—5:00pm

Monday Nights 5:00—8:00pm

Non-profit Org.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Middletown, CT

Permit No. 18

LOCAL 511 LOCAL 506

March 2003

Pictured above, some of the members who volunteered to work at the Spaghetti Luncheon, held Saturday, March 8th, at Xavier High School in Middletown. Stewards and retirees helped raise approximately $20,000 to benefit active laid off members and their families. Contributions were re-ceived from members, concerned citizens, other Unions and business or-ganizations. The event was a great success

Pictured above, members serve pasta at the Spaghetti Luncheon. All the food was prepared by Chief Steward John Birtwistle, Southbury Training School, Steward Jamie Findley, UConn, and Art. St. Lawrence, UConn. Music was provided by laid off member Tony Magno. The event was en-joyed by all who attended, including: State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, Attorney General Dick Blumenthal, Democratic Party Chair George Jepson, Middletown Mayor Dominique Thornton, State Senator Billy Ciotto, and Representatives Caruso, Donovan, McCluskey, O’Rourke, and Serra.

Continued on pages 6 & 7

RETURN ALL LAID OFF MEMBERS FUNDRAISER

A SUCCESS!

SERVING THE WORKING PERSON

If any settlement is reached expect it in the summer. Printed to the right of this column is SEBAC’s February 20, 2003 offer amounting to $1 billion in savings. Here are some of the reasons why the summer: As recent as March 5, the Governor stated a

settlement could be reached returning all 2800 workers back immedi-ately, and job security through June 2007 (which are the two most im-portant issues needed to reach settlement). The money issues the members and Governor said were needed, SEBAC has proposed --again listed to the right, except for changes in the health insurance issues. No one is sure what the Governor is seeking in that area, be-cause every time SEBAC has met with the Governor and/or his desig-nees, their issues always changed. Cost shifting of health insurance requiring members to pay a greater percentage than present, overall is the third most important issue to members and SEBAC. If you dis-agree on these three issues please contact me and we can discuss your ideas. Yes, after hearing the Governor make his statements on the radio talk show, his designees were contacted and asked to meet. The response given was the remarks made were general in nature and meeting would not change anything. Bad faith negotiation tactics have been the constant theme over the last five months and will continue until summer. The Democratic leadership in the General Assembly have also been disingenuous and lacking when it comes to having a back-bone….No help whatsoever is putting it lightly! The recent budget approved dealing with the deficit through June 2003, is a perfect example of the leadership’s sellout of State workers, municipalities, and social services. Having the first chance in eight years to take on the Governor, due to the deficit created by busi-ness tax cuts, leadership not only bullied legislators in approving the budget, it undercut SEBAC’s negotiating position by passing an illegal Early Retirement Incentive Plan (ERIP). The reasons can be found on page 5. Let’s see how the democratic leaders will justify their actions when they ask for election help and contributions. In fact, the Special Election to be held on April 8 in Bridgeport to fill a vacant democratic senatorial seat, CEUI has again endorsed, and will actively support the election of union activist Ed Gomes. The General Assembly democratic leadership has put their support and money behind another contender. The sellout of 44,000 unionized State workers and their families by the AAUP UConn Faculty (please don’t confuse with the faculty at Community Technical Colleges or Central, Eastern, Southern, or West-ern Universities who are in different bargaining units and rejected simi-lar offers) was not management initiated. Additionally, issuing of a press release to announce its with-drawal from the federal law suit filed against the Governor and the OPM Secretary, was tantamount to “royal buttock kissing” of the Gov-ernor. Fortunately, UConn AAUP has not chosen to be present for any SEBAC discussions since, and I will object to their presence in the fore-seeable future. UConn AAUP, not facing any layoffs now or in the fu-ture, harmed the future of every unionized State worker and their families by their knee crawling to management and initiating a pay freeze. My final reason for the earliest settlement being in the summer, the Governor, following in the footsteps of President Bush, has an even bigger goal for workers and the public service they proudly performed, which is permanently downsizing State government by privatizing work and the services rendered. To accomplish his goal, his biannual budget (outlined on page 4), if passed by the General Assembly in its present form, will do just that. But the democratically controlled Gen-eral Assembly will not finish a budget before the session ends on Wednesday, June 4. A Special Session that will actually begin in late June or early July will decide if the State’s largest businesses will pay more taxes than a Custodian presently pays, and if millionaires who are scheduled to receive a federal income tax cut of $24,000 for every million dollars they earn will be asked to pay their fair share, or if mu-nicipalities, social services, education and State workers are better to cut. Only with the continued help of laid-off workers and members, will the proposed cuts fail!

Expect a slowdown/lull over the next sev-eral months in regard to new layoffs and con-tracting out. The present session of the General Assem-bly ends June 4th. Summer session begins June 21 and ends September 23. During that period, it will be nastier than the last 4 months have been until a budget is finalized.

SEBAC NEGOTIATIONS

Below is a synopsis of SEBAC’s proposal for settlement:

·All 2800 laid off members return immediately. ·Job security through June 2007. Reminder: The next Guberna-

torial Election is Nov. 2006. ·All of our members going without a wage increase or increment

for an entire year, with future increases delayed by 9 months in the following year, and a total of 31 months of lost wage in-creases and increments.

·Changes in the state’s prescription drug program assuring a much greater use of generic drugs immediately, and accepting an increase in co-pays in the future.

·Preventing new enrollments in the state’s most expensive health plan.

·Re-computing premium shares for singles on managed care. ·Allowing pharmacy co-pays to increase in July of 2007. ·Requiring 3 unpaid furlough days or unpaid holidays immedi-

ately. ·An early retirement program to reduce the state’s payroll, thus

saving the state over $337 million in the next 2 1/2/ years from the unionized payroll alone. This would also allow the state to offer a managerial early retirement, which would save at least an additional $65 million that could be added to the $750 million in savings.

·Agreement with the administration’s suggestion to allow over $150 million in pension fund deferrals.

·Voluntary schedule reductions, which the administration costed as saving nearly $16 million dollars over the next 2 ½ years.

Steve, Hi, Wade Messervy here. I am one of the fortunate graduates of the CDL B Training Course which your union sponsored for other union members in the state system. (Graduated from the very last class!) I just wanted to drop you this note to say thanks for an excellent pro-gram. I also want to thank the guys who worked with me directly: Chris Denslow, Kevin Backman, Juan Rosado and Bob Waldner and Bill Eisenlohr, who coordinated the driving aspect of the program. The thing that really impressed me was their level of professionalism. They are good guys, “regular guys,” but they really took their responsibility seriously. They made learning fun, while staying on task and were more than willing to accommodate my crazy time schedule and never hesi-tated to stop and answer questions from any of us. There were no “stupid questions” and an atmosphere was created whereby everyone supported and encouraged everyone else. I’m sorry it took me so long to get this letter out to you. I know you probably have lots of big issues on your mind at this time dealing with potential layoffs and putting together a strategy with which to go forward. Good luck in those endeavors—give ‘em hell. Thanks again. Sincerely, L. Wade Messervy DMR, 1199 member To Union Leadership, A little note of thank. Due to problems with Blue Cross, it was extremely enlightening that the union was there to clarify my rights and benefits I could utilize. Your union brother, Robert S. Nogas Brainard Airport Crewleader Dear Steven: I am writing to thank you and the union members who donated their time while I have been undergoing treatment for cancer. This diffi-cult time has been eased somewhat by the generosity of the union and its members. People donated time without knowing who my family or I are and they came through to help us. For this alone, words cannot be-gin to express the gratitude we feel. I would like to thank each and every person who so selflessly donated time. Sincerely, Daniel Krupczak Windham Regional Vocational Technical School Editor’s Note: Dan realized his war service credit was not included in a recent seniority list. A letter was sent by CEUI asking for a clarification concerning his military service and the Department of Education re-sponded it was not and added it to his seniority.

THANK YOU

PAGE 2

WHEN CAN YOU RETIRE? STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM (SERS), TIER I, TIER II, AND TIER IIA ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, SUMMARY

FOR NON-DISABILITY PENSIONS BENEFITS, RETIREE, HEALTH INSURANCE AND COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCES (COLA)

* Earliest anyone can retire (regardless of being in Tier I, II and IIA is: If you have at least 10 years of credited service,

you can begin pension and health insurance benefits by retiring on the first of any month following your 55th birthday.

TIER RETIREMENT

TYPE

AGE AND SERVICE REQUIREMENTS

FOR COMMENCEMENT OF PENSION

BENEFITS

ENTITLED TO RETIREE

HEALTH COVERAGE*

ENTITLED TO COLA

TIER I

(almost every member

who started to work

before July 1, 1984)

NORMAL

EARLY

HAZARDOUS DUTY

VESTED RIGHTS

AGE 55 with 25 years credited service

AGE 65 with 10 years credited service

AGE 70 with 5 years credited service

AGE 55 with 10 years actual service

AGE 60 with 10 years credited service

ANY AGE with 20 years hazardous duty

service

AGE 55 with 10 years actual service

AGE 60 with 10 years credited service

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

TIER II

(members who ini-

tially started to work

on or after July 2,

1984)

NORMAL

EARLY

HAZARDOUS DUTY

VESTED RIGHTS

AGE 60 with 25 years vesting service

AGE 62 with 10 years vesting service

AGE 62 with 5 years actual service – effec-

tive 7/1/97

AGE 55 with 10 years vesting service

ANY AGE with 20 years hazardous duty

service

AGE 55 with 10 years vesting service

AGE 65 with 5 years actual service –

effective 7/1/97

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

TIER IIA

(members who ini-

tially started to work

on or after July 1,

1997)

NORMAL

EARLY

HAZARDOUS DUTY

VESTED RIGHTS

AGE 60 with 25 years vesting service

AGE 62 with 10 years vesting service

AGE 62 with 5 years actual service

AGE 55 with 10 years vesting service

ANY AGE with 20 years hazardous duty

service

AGE 55 with 10 years vesting service

AGE 65 with 5 years actual service

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES-if 10 years actual state

service

NO

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES-if 10 years actual state

service

NO

Tier 1 members issued a layoff letter with 25 years of credited state service can immediately begin collecting a pension including health insurance regardless

of age. Although, there is a reduction of approximately 5% for each year prior to his/her 55th birthday.

● If you retire on or after July 1, 1992, your basic normal benefit amount is reduced by on-quarter of one percent (.0025) for each month you retire prior to

your attaining age 60 if you have at least 25 years vesting service, or age 62 if you have at least 10 but less than 25 years vesting service.

● If you retire on or after July 1, 1992, your basic normal benefit amount is reduced by on-quarter of one percent (.0025) for each month you retire prior to

your attaining age 60 if you have at least 25 years vesting service, or age 62 if you have at least 10 but less than 25 years vesting service.

COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT—WHEN DO YOU GET IT? You will be eligible for an annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) after you start receiving retirement benefits. The first increase will take place on the January 1st or July 1st (whichever comes first) after at least nine full months of retirement. Future increases will occur on ei-ther the January or July anniversary of your first increase.

TIER I AND IIA: The COLA will range for a minimum 2.5% to a

maximum of 6% based on a formula which takes into account a portion of the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the 12 months immediately preceding your COLA anniversary date. Specifically, the COLA will be determined in accordance with the following formula:

60% of the annual increase in the CPI-W up to 6% -PLUS- 75% of the annual increase in the CPI-W above 6%

TIER II: You may be eligible for a higher cost of living adjustment

(from 3% to 6%, depending on the consumer price index) if: You were not covered by Social Security for at least one-half of

your years of state service; and You (or your survivor receiving Plan payments) are at least age 62.

When to Begin Social Security Benefits

If you have not reached full retire-ment age (FRA) and you are still working with substantial earnings, it is usually not advantageous to begin benefits. The benefits might not be needed for current living expenses, and they will permanently be re-duced, subject to the earnings limit, more likely to be taxed, and it would cause a reduction in benefits to your widow or widower. If you are retired before reaching FRA, you may need to begin receiv-ing benefits in order to meet your current living expenses. Benefits will at least be partially tax-free and they may enable you to delay drawing income from assets that are growing on a tax-favored basis. If you do not need Social Security to

meet your current living expenses and you are in good health, you might decided to delay entitlement until you reach FRA or later and re-ceive larger benefits. The federal government guarantees your bene-fits for life, they increase with auto-matic annual cost-of-living increases, and the widow(er) benefit payable to your surviving spouse will be higher. A higher Social Security benefit that is payable for life and protected against inflation can help offset the risks you may have in the rest of your investment portfolio. These risks include inflation, poor invest-ment performance, market down-turns, and outliving your income-producing assets.

FULL SOCIAL SECURITY—WHEN IT BEGINS FOR YOU

Beginning with persons born in 1938, the full retirement age (FRA) gradually increases from age 65, to eventually reaching age 67 for persons born in 1960 and later. The benefit at the FRA is the Pri-mary Insurance Amount. The adjacent table illustrates this provi-sion. The FRAs shown are applicable for retired-worker and spouse’s benefits. The FRAs for widow’s(er’s) benefits are slightly different (for instance, 65 and 2 months for persons born in 1940 and 67 for persons born in 1962 or later).

Year of Birth Full Retirement Age Year of Birth Full Retirement Age

Before 1938 65 1955 66 and 2 months

1938 65 and 2 months 1956 66 and 4 months

1939 65 and 4 months 1957 66 and 6 months

1940 65 and 6 months 1958 66 and 8 months

1941 65 and 8 months 1959 66 and 10 months

1942 65 and 10 months 1960 and Later 67

1943-54 66

Note: Decimals are rounded down.

REDUCED SOCIAL SECURITY: You will receive this percent of your PIA if you retire at age:

Year of Birth 62 63 64 65 66

Before 1938 80.0% 86.6% 93.3% 100.0% ——

1938 79.1 85.5 92.2 98.8 ——

1939 78.3 84.4 91.1 97.7 ——

1940 77.5 83.3 90.0 96.6 ——

1941 76.6 82.2 88.8 95.5 ——

1942 75.8 81.1 87.7 94.4 ——

1943-1954 75.0 80.0 86.6 93.3 100.0%

1955 74.1 79.1 85.5 92.2 98.8

1956 73.3 78.3 84.4 91.1 97.7

1957 72.5 77.5 83.3 90.0 96.6

1958 71.6 76.6 82.2 88.8 95.5

1959 70.8 75.8 81.1 87.7 94.4

1960 and Later 70.0 75.0 80.0 86.6 93.3

You may retire at ages between the ones shown. The reduction factor applied to the PIA is 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months that entitlement is prior to the FRA, plus 5/12 of 1% for each month in excess of 36. These reduction factors are for workers only. PAGE 3

No Concessions in Budget Passed! March—June, 30, 2003

The 2003 Budget Deficit Plan approved by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor on February 28, 2003, does not include any concessions by CEUI or SEBAC! The budget plan calls for cuts in services and tax hikes only through June 30, 2003.

The following state agencies had additional Personnel Services cuts as follows:

· Comptroller $250,000 · Office of Workplace Competitiveness $100,000 · D.A.S. $300,000 · Information Technology $300,000 · Public Safety $1,250,000 · D.M.R. $1,000,000 · Corrections $2,442,695 · D.C.F. $170,000

Operating Expenses were cut as follows: · UCONN $1,141,001 · UCONN Health Center $463,338 · Community/Technical Colleges $767,543 · Conn State University $822,293

Exactly how the agency’s listed above will make cuts was not pro-vided. The Governor also has the authority to cut an additional $12.5 million in agency budgets before June 30, 2003. How is un-known.

What About the ERIP? The budget approved and signed by the Governor on February 28, 2003 in-cludes an Early Retirement Incentive Plan (ERIP) very similar to the 1992 and

1997 plans (exception: see #7 and #8 below). Below are highlights:

1) State employees (full time or part time) who will be at least fifty-two years of age on or before May 31, 2003.

2) Who have at least ten years of actual state service in the State Employee

Retirement System (SERS) in either Tier I, Tier II or Tier IIA. 3) Retirement under the ERIP program must be either March 1, 2003, April

1, 2003, May 1, 2003, or June 1, 2003.

Special Attention: Anyone retiring on March 1 or April 1 will receive a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in the check dated January 31, 2004. Anyone

retiring May 1 or June 1 will receive their COLA in the check dated July 31, 2004.

This is not a change in the pension contract, which reads as follows:

You will be eligible for an annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) after

you start receiving retirement benefits. The first increase will take place on the January 1st or July 1st (whichever comes first ) after at least nine

full months of retirement. Future increases will occur on either the Janu-ary or July anniversary of your first increase.

4) Disability retirement and employees eligible for terminated vested retirement benefits are excluded from this program. 5) Incentive—3 chips—An individual who is eligible for the ERIP shall be per-

mitted to add up to three years to age or up to three years to service, or

any combination not to exceed three years in total. The credit shall first be added to age until it reaches age fifty-five. Hazardous duty members shall

have the credit added to their service. Incentive years shall only be used in whole units of one month.

6) An employee who was laid off or whose position was abolished between

November 1, 2002, and May 31, 2003, who would otherwise have been eligible for the Early Retirement Incentive Program shall be eligible to re-

ceive the benefits of the plan beginning March 1, 2003, if such employee is

at least fifty-two years of age. If an employee who was laid off or whose position was abolished attains the age of fifty-two prior to May 31, 2003,

such employee shall be eligible for the ERIP on the first day of the month following the month of such employee’s birthday. If such employee has

received payment for accrued vacation and sick leave, such employee shall

not be required to repay such amount in order to be eligible for ERIP. 7) Payment for Unused Sick and Vacation Days—Any employee participating

in the incentive program shall be eligible for payment of accrued sick days

(1/4 up to 240 days or maximum of 60 days) and for the balance of vaca-tion leave as follows: One-third of the amount owed such employee on

July 1, 2005; one-third of such amount on July 1, 2006; and one-third of such amount on July 1, 2007. The State may, at its option, make the pay-

ment in one installment on or before July 2005, if the amount of the pay-

ment is less than $2,000. (the underlined wording is different from the 1992 and 1997 ERIP) (ERIP continued on page 8)

MEMBERS LAID OFF TO RETURN, BUT….

The budget includes language rehiring at least 2,000 of the 2,800 laid off unionized workers between March 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004—yes, June 30, 2004!

The budget does not include language listing the job titles, numbers of workers returning at any time and the state agencies involved. Jobs will be offered to workers laid off on or after December 1, 2002. Jobs will be offered to workers who have reemployment and/or SEBAC rights. It does not include anyone on their initial working test period. The budget does not include language placing workers back in the same job location he/she was laid off from. As of press time, CEUI has not been notified of any position(s) to be filled.

Each person laid off but returned to employment with the state pur-suant to this section shall be deemed to have been continuously em-ployed by the state, with no interruption in service or pension credit, during any period that such person was laid off on or after Novem-ber 1, 2002, to June 30, 2003. 2003 is not a misprint.

At that time, agencies will be required to reemploy maintenance workers (including anyone who bumped into a lower position) in ac-cordance with the Maintenance Contract, Article 13, Order of Layoff and Reemployment, Section 7.

Members involuntarily transferred (in job title) will not be affected.

WHO GOT LAID OFF? You should have learned by now not to believe what you read in newspapers (especially the Courant) or hear on radio and T.V. re-garding the Governor and negotiations with SEBAC. Below are still some of the most often asked questions as to who and why only un-ionized state workers were laid off:

The Governor says “Management or non-unionized state workers were not laid off because they did not receive a pay raise and an annual increment (as unionized state workers refer to it) in calen-dar year 2002.

The least senior CEUI members were not the only ones to receive layoff letters (as we go to print and still waiting for all the informa-tion the contract requires), the most senior members with 36 years of state service and not yet age 55 were issued a layoff letter and almost 200 members with more than 20 years of service in the maintenance bargaining unit received a layoff letter also.

A second round of 1000 layoffs announced by the Governor in mid-January but, this time the layoff letters will be issued sporadi-cally to inflict additional pain and fear. Out of 135 layoffs that went into affect on March 6th, 8 were issued to CEUI members and seniority ranged from 5 to 28 years.

Layoff letters were not issued to just the lowest paid state work-ers. CEUI members in Salary Group 25 received a layoff.

State workers with seniority were able to bump another worker in the same job title or lower – Is not true! OPM was responsible for the selection of all 2800 plus state workers to be given a layoff let-ter – a majority of workers chosen had no bumping rights to an-other job.

Yes! There will be more layoffs. page 4

Proposed Budget July 1, 03 through June 30, 05 Governor Rowland’s proposed budget for July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2005 was unveiled on Tuesday, March 4, 2003. This proposal is damaging to state services in an uncountable number of ways. State employees are specifically targeted in that: • the Governor proposes elimination of funds designated to pay for wage in-creases in collective bargaining units that have not yet settled –this means he is assuming no general wage increases or annual increments for those bar-gaining units who do not have contracts (this includes clerical, social services, some judicial units, correction lieutenants, etc.), • counts on savings achieved from the mass layoffs and early retirement in-centive program (which calls into question if the Governor ever intends to re-hire laid off state employees), •a proposal to weaken binding interest arbitration for both State and Municipal workers. Here are a few examples of how agencies will be affected by the Governor’s proposed budget: • At the Department of Transportation, the Governor proposes funding 300 fewer positions and the elimination of non-snow and ice overtime expendi-tures. • At the Military Department, the Governor proposes closing some armories. • At the Department of Mental Retardation and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, his proposal includes privatizing group homes and eliminating services. • The Governor also proposes closing state museums and branch offices of the Department of Motor Vehicle, Department of Social Services and the De-partment of Labor. • At the Department of Children & Families, Long Lane will be closed with the girls currently cared for in this facility being sent to private service providers. • The Governor also proposes the elimination of the Board of Education Ser-vices for the Blind in its entirety. Virtually every state service and state agency would see cuts as a result of this proposed budget. While the Governor is eliminating essential state services, he continues to protect large corporations and the wealthy. The Governor has switched positions and is again opposing a millionaire’s tax. The Governor’s pro-posed budget also does not include any meaningful taxes for large corpo-rations. What the Governor does propose, is a cut in the property tax credit from $500 to $400, which mainly impacts middle class homeowners. If you wish to review the budget, please contact Justin Zartman at the Un-ion office.

Pension Contract Violated—AGAIN

You should have learned by now not to believe what you read in newspapers (especially the Courant) or hear on radio and T.V. regarding the Governor and negotia-tions with SEBAC. Apparently the General Assembly Democ-ratic Leadership also does not remember back in 1992 that it passed an ERIP without the consent of SEBAC.

Back in 1992, a pension grievance and legal action on behalf of all unionized state workers was pursued and successfully won! Below is the Arbitration Award issued and sustained in Superior Court.

“For reasons already stated no discussion of the merits is necessary. SEBAC’s claim of a violation is evident from the back-ground facts, and the State concedes that a statutory requirement incorporated in the Pension Agreement was not complied with.

For remedy, the SEBAC grievance seeks a “cease and desist” ruling and an order that the plan can be made whole for any losses suffered to date. Both in hearing and in Briefs the parties suggested alternative approaches to the remedy issue if the grievance were found to be arbitrable and supportable on the merits.

The Arbitrator concludes as follows: First. The implementa-tion of Public Act 92-226 should cease and desist. Second. The Arbi-trator believes it would be grossly unfair to have employees who have wrongfully benefited from the implementation of P.A. 92-226 be asked to reimburse the State for any moneys received pursuant to the Act. SEBAC, of course, did not suggest any remedy of this type. On the contrary it urged that these recipients be penalized in no way. The Arbitrator prefers to make it clear that this type of re-dress should not be part of any remedy. Third. It is only proper that the State, through the executive and legislative branches, pro-vide money to replenish the plan fund for the cost of paying for the benefits covered by Public Act 92-226.

AWARD I. It is ruled that the grievance filed by SEBAC in this matter is

arbitrable under the terms of the Pension Agreement. II. It is ruled that the adoption of the Public Act 92-226 consti-

tuted a violation of the Agreement and a statutory provision incorporated therein. This ruling on the merits may be re-garded as stipulated by the parties to this proceeding.

III. The implementation of the provisions of Public Act 92-226 shall cease and desist forthwith. The pension fund shall be reimbursed for all money involved in paying the cost of bene-fits paid pursuant to the visions of Public Act 92-226.

Signed James J. Healy, Arbitrator

The Same Reason This Time

Just as in 1992, SEBAC will be taking similar legal action against the State for unilaterally implementing an ERIP without SE-BAC and membership approval. This will not impact or harm anyone who is planning to retire based on the ERIP being offered through June 1, 2003 (the lastest anyone can take the ERIP) and receiving the 3 chips and health insurance. This action must be taken or else the integrity of the services and benefits of the pension contract could be changed at any time a position has a desire.

Has this happened before in the past? Yes. Several years ago the Governor and General Assembly passed

legislation (when there wasn’t a budget deficit) withholding a Cost of Living allowance (COLA) in the Teachers Retirement System (T.R.S.). Every teacher in Connecticut belongs to the T.R.S., but they do not have the right to negotiate pensions as do state workers.

What else is wrong with this picture? The present ERIP changes the method pf payment for accu-

mulated sick and vacation leave. Members have called and asked if interest will be paid on the money owed? The answer is: Interest is not included in this legislation. The legislation also includes language that anyone laid off be-tween Nov. 1, 2002 who returns by June 30, 2003, shall be consid-ered, “employed with no interruption in service or pension credit.” The legislation does not explain how members in Tier 1 and Tier 2A get pension credit for time they did not contribute to their respected plan, nor does it include the state’s contribution to the plan.

The Worse Case Scenario What if the Governor decides next year to take some or part

of the health insurance away from those who retire over the next 3 months? If you think that won’t happen because the Governor is to honest of an individual, you need to take a reality check -- consider what private industry has done over the past couple years -- cut costs on retiree’s health insurance. So the outcome in legal action being sought is the same as it was in 1992, no harm to anyone who retires and to prevent the state from unilaterally changing benefits.

A federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of CEUI member Dennis Hefferman, age 52, laid off January 17, with 28 years of service for D.A.S., four other laid off state workers, and (now) 12 SEBAC unions early in Febru-ary. The lawsuit challenges the Governor’s layoff of more than 2,800 unionized state workers. The law firm of Silver, Golub, & Teitell LLP lo-cated in Stamford, CT was chosen by SEBAC due to its litigation exper-tise in matters such as this. SEBAC has brought this case because the governor broke the law. In singling out 3,000 union employees for layoffs, he has crossed the line between legitimate negotiation to obtain concessions and illegal and unconstitutional conduct. SEBAC does not dispute that the governor has the right to make budget decisions that impact union members. He does not have the right, however, to make budget decisions that target only union employ-ees. Nor does he have the right to penalize union employees for refus-ing to agree to his demands, or to coerce union employees into agreeing to his demands. The principles at issue in our lawsuit are important to all Con-necticut residents, not just state employees. Just as a private employer must fulfill its contractual commitments to its employees, so the Consti-tution requires the governor to do the same with his employees. In ad-dition, the Constitution does not allow the governor to penalize citizens -- employees or not -- for refusing to give up protected rights. For example, one of Gov. Rowland’s principal demands involves a contract for health and pension benefits signed in 1997. At that time, the governor negotiated a 20-year agreement with the unions. As part of those negotiations, the unions gave more than $1 billion dollars in financial concessions to the state. The governor now has fired over 3,000 union employees because the unions will not give up what he agreed to under that long-term contract. Everyone should understand that the governor’s demands for health and pension concessions and the resulting layoffs have been di-rected solely at union employees. Although all state employees get the same health and pension benefits, the governor has only demanded that union employees give up their rights. And although there are about 18,000 nonunion employees in the state’s workforce, the governor has singled out union employees for layoffs. The Constitution requires that budgetary cutbacks, including lay-off decisions, be made on an evenhanded and impartial basis. The First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution guarantee employees the right to join a union and to engage in union activity. Just as the Gover-nor would not be permitted to lay off only Democrats or only Republi-cans or only men or only women, he cannot single out only union em-ployees for layoffs. And, in making his layoff selections, Gov. Rowland has singled out only those unions that endorsed his opponent in the last election. The one union to endorse the governor – state police troopers – was the only union not to receive any layoff notices. SEBAC has evidence that the administration has gone so far as to specify the number of employees in a given union that must be laid off. The First Amendment does not allow the governor to penalize a state employee for his or her political views or for belonging to a par-ticular union that opposed his re-election. Numerous agency and department heads have publicly stated that they offered the Rowland administration budget savings cuts equal to or greater than the purported savings from the layoffs, and that the administration insisted on the union layoffs nonetheless. One Deputy Commissioner has specifically stated that layoffs were designed to target union employees with the longest state service so as to inflict the most pain on the unions. And there is evidence of a voice mail recording from one person-nel director admitting that her agency was ordered to lay off a specified number of employees in a particular union. That’s not an evenhanded layoff decision based upon the legitimate service needs of an agency; it’s breaking the law. By law, all of the state’s agreements with the unions were sub-mitted to the legislature for approval, and all were approved by the leg-islature. The Constitution does not allow the governor to try to coerce the unions into giving up protected contract rights by threatening lay-offs. Nor does it allow the governor to penalize the unions for refusing to give up contract rights by going forward with layoffs. Unionized state employees have made it clear time and again that they want to be part of the solution by helping to resolve the state’s budget problems. Our latest offer is worth -- by the governor’s own cal-culation – more than $750 million in savings to the state, and we’re will-ing to keep negotiating. If the governor genuinely wants to reach an agreement with state employee unions, he can; if he wants to break the law, he can’t. It’s important that the governor recognize there are legal limits to what he is permitted to do in the name of “negotiation.” By taking legal action against, unionized state employees are seeking to make sure that the governor honors the law.

FEDERAL LAWSUIT

PAGE 5

Pablo Montalvo and stewards Ruth Strontzer and Steve Harris selling raffle tick-ets at the fundraiser.

Above, President Steven Perruccio taking members orders at the spaghetti fund-raiser on Saturday, March 8th. Perruccio raised an additional $200 for the Return All Laid Off Members Fund by volunteering to serve anyone who made an addi-tional $5 contribution.

Above, Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton, CFEPE Lobbyist Susan Heller Williams, Sam Williams, CEUI Lobby-ist Barry Williams, Kelly Deegan and CEA Uni-serve Repre-sentative Steve Ozga enjoying the spaghetti luncheon fund-raiser held Saturday, March 8, 2003.

Executive Board member Ron McLellan at the spaghetti luncheon fundraiser.

Below, members enjoying the spaghetti fundraiser on March 8th to benefit all active laid off CEUI members.

page 6

At left, State Comptroller Nancy Wyman ad-dresses members in attendance at the spa-ghetti lunch-eon fund-raiser.

At left, Stew-ard Ric Barry, his wife Mary-anne, daughter Hannah, friend Kelly, and daughter Kyla, enjoying Satur-day’s spaghetti luncheon.

At left, Steward Jim Kowalsky and member Darnell Begun and family enjoying the pasta prepared by CEUI cooks.

Below, CEUI member Dan Mills, BESB, at the CEUI meet-ing held on December 8, 2002.

Southbury Training School members loudly voice their opposition to the cuts affecting DMR clients in January 2003.

CEUI mem-bers Ruth Strontzer, DOT and Carl Chisem, DOE addressing members of the General Assembly regarding how layoffs will impact State ser-vices and the

Above, CEUI members at a rally in Norwich in December, 2002 lis-tening to a tape of the Governor’s outrageous comments regarding DOT workers. President Steven Perruccio responded to the Gover-nors comments at the rally and with the news media.

At left, laid off member Mark Wil-liams, DOT addressing a rally out-side the Office of Policy and Manage-ment on January 17, 2003.

At left, a member signs the SEBAC pledge to return all laid off workers at a training held at CEUI.

Above, CEUI member Dave Meehl at a meeting held on December 8, 2002 to inform laid off members of their rights.

page 7

CEUI members rally at the Capitol on February 27, 2003 to protest the Governor’s budget.

DO YOU WANT TO PLAY?

16th Annual Salvatore J. Perruccio Golf Tournament—

raises money for Scholarships

Thursday June 26, 2003

Portland Golf Course

Shotgun 9:30 a.m.

Cost per player $100.00

During the June 2002 Tournament, Golfer Roger Schwatlow won a 2002

Chevrolet S-10 pick-up and if you play in 2003—you could win too! 1st

Come, 1st Served. To register call Tracy at the Union office at (860) 344-

0311 or 800-622-3359, x712.

SEIU SCHOLARSHIP MATERIALS NOW AVAILABLE

SEIU will award 15 scholarships for $1,000 and 33 for $1,500 to SEIU members and their children next spring.

The $1,000 scholarships are renewable for up to 4 years. The $1,500 scholarships are available for one year of study for continuing educa-tion.

Applicants must read the SEIU publication “Stronger Together” and then correctly answer all of the questions on the application form to qualify for a lottery drawing selection process. Applicants may access the booklet on the web at www.seiu.org.

Scholarship application materials can be obtained from by calling: 1-800-846-1561, or by writing to SEIU Member Services, 1313 L Street NW, Washington, DC, 20005

FOR YOUR CHILDREN

CEUI AND MEUI SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

Applications are now available for the 2003-2004 Salvatore Perruccio Scholarship. CEUI offers four (4) $2,500 scholarships and MEUI offers one (1) $1,000 scholarship to a deserving child of an active dues pay-ing member of CEUI/MEUI. The specifics for qualifying are: 1. You must be a senior in high school about to enter a four-year ac-

credited college by the Fall of 2003. 2. You must fill out a preliminary application form and postmark it by

April 15, 2003. 3. You must complete and submit a Final Application postmarked by

May 12, 2003. 4. Qualifying students will be individually interviewed. 5. Winners will be expected to attend the 16th Annual Sal Perruccio

Golf Tournament held June 26, 2003. To obtain a preliminary application form please call 1-800-622-3359 or locally at 344-0311 and ask for Tracy at ext. 712.

CEUI Scholarship

Tournament

NP-2 JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE ON TRAINING

The first meeting of the joint committee on training will take place this month. As you may recall, this is a new committee, provided for in the language of Article 10, Section 4 and was obtained during the last con-tract interest arbitration proceedings. Two CEUI members have volun-teered to serve on the committee—Mike Griffin (Crew Leader, DOT, Litch-field Maintenance) and Paul Kalajian (GTW, UCONN, Storrs). If you have ideas for courses that your would like CEUI to sponsor or would like to see addressed through the Joint Labor-Management Com-mittee on Training, please contact the steward at your agency or Julie Paff at (860) 344-0311 ext. 721.

ATTENTION ALL STEWARDS: DENIED TRAINING GRIEVANCES

If you or a member at your agency is denied entrance to any of the NP-2 In-Service Training Courses, it is extremely important that you contact Julie Paff at the Union office to file a grievance. As with grievances filed on other issues, denied training course grievances must be filed within the 30 days as provided in your contract. Additionally, if you or a mem-ber applies for an In-Service training course and does not receive a prompt response, please call Julie Paff at the Union.

DO YOU KNOW A MEMBER DESERVING OF A HUMANITARIAN AWARD?

The Salvatore J. Perruccio Humanitarian Award is presented to a mem-ber for outstanding recognition of his/her time spent serving the com-munity by volunteering and/or providing his/her leadership and lend-ing a helping hand whenever needed. The award is presented to a CEUI member who demonstrates qualities such as being humane, kindhearted, public-spirited, idealistic, generous, merciful, considerate and exceptionally kind.

If you would like to nominate a “special” CEUI member whose efforts are deserving of such an award, please submit a paragraph or two about this nominee by May 3, 2003, to:

CEUI Confidential: Tracy Deegan P.O. Box 1268 Middletown, CT 06457 or email it to: tdeegan@ceui.org.

The Humanitarian Award will be presented at the 16th Annual Salvatore J. Perruccio Golf Tournament on Thursday, June 26, 2003.

OPENINGS IN SPRING TRAINING COURSES

Two of the NP-2 In-Service Training Courses still have open seats. Late registration will be accepted for the following 2 courses: Outlook 2000 Learn how to effectively send and receive mail messages, manage con-tact records, and keep track of completed and uncompleted tasks. Use mail management tools. View, create, edit and use contacts. Schedule appointments, meetings and events in calendar. Enter and update task information. Create and edit notes. Customize menus and toolbars. Sort and filter items in a folder. CEUs: 0.6 Course No. Date(s) Time

506MX870 05/16 9:00am-4:00pm

College, Campus & Room:

Middlesex CC, Chapman Hall, Room 612

Word 2000 - I (Introduction) Explore one of the most popular and powerful word processing packages available to business users.

Learn About: ● Navigating screens, menus, and toolbars ● The basics of text entry ● Creating and editing files ● Using copy, cut, and paste ● Moving the insertion point ● Using search and replace ● Formatting text ● Print control and settings ● Spell checker ● Outline mode

Prerequisite: Working knowledge of the Windows operating system. CEUs: 0.6 Course No. Date(s) Time

507MX869 05/09 9:00am-4:00pm

College, Campus & Room:

Middlesex CC, Chapman Hall, Room 612

If you are interested in either of these courses, please contact your Agency’s Training Approval Officer or call Julie Paff at (860) 344-0311 ext. 721 for more information.

PAGE 8

ERIP continued from page 4 8) Any such employee who retires shall not be rehired. Unionized and management workers can NOT return as retired—re-employed (aka 120 day wonders).

*Future refills following the ERIP are as follows: For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004 and June 30, 2005, up to 80% of positions vacated in any employer unit as a result of ERIP may be refilled, provided, of the positions refilled, at least 70% must be positions classified as essential positions and not more than 30% may be positions classified as non-essential positions.

*State will have an option to defer on a case-by-case basis to defer ERIP to not later than June 1, 2004 for the following: hazardous duty, Retirement Division in Comptrollers Office, Budget Division of OPM and