Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says he has directed his chief labor negotiator to reach out to the state employee union leaders and learn how they plan to change their process for approving a labor savings and concessions agreement, The Associated Press reports.
Malloy, in a telephone interview with The AP, said he “needs to understand what a road to an approval process is” and whether the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition will make any clarifications to the current rules.
“I don’t see any way that further discussions would be justified if the same approval process is what applies,” Malloy said.
SEBAC leaders sent Malloy a letter on Tuesday, asking to “reconvene discussions” with the Democratic governor’s administration in an effort to stop approximately 6,500 looming state employee layoffs.
Union leaders, who represent about 45,000 workers, have been struggling to find a way to avoid the layoffs after the membership last month rejected a labor-savings deal.
