2016

The case pits the right of public employees to band together and form effective unions to pursue the common interests of workers against the free speech rights of dissenting public employees to abstain from funding collective bargaining efforts with which they disagree.1 A decision by the Court against the teachers association could not only significantly weaken public sector unions, but also endanger the nation’s core democratic values.

A decision by the Court against the teachers association could not only significantly weaken public sector unions, but also endanger the nation’s core democratic values.

Read more by Richard D. Kahlenberg here.

Challenging Runaway Inequality

January 20, 2016

Join the 4Cs and Connecticut Citizen Action Group for Justice Works Convening

Saturday, January 30, 9AM

Middlesex Community College, Chapman Hall 808 A&B

Lunch Included

Speakers & Panelists include:

Les Leapold, The Labor & Public Health Institute
Libero Della Piana, Alliance for a Just Society
Bishop John Selders Jr., CLS, D.D. Pastor, Amistad UCC
Subira Gordon, African American Affairs Commission
Frances Padilla, President, Universal Health Foundation CT

Video from "A Celebration of Unity, Equality, and Democracy"

January 27, 2016

A diverse group of community, faith, civic and labor organizations on the weekend before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2016 came together to reclaim the great civil rights leader’s vision. Over 300 people gathered at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Bloomfield for a forum design to promote greater democracy and end racial and economic inequality.

Attendees pledged to work together and hold elected and civic leaders accountable in five key policy areas. They include: * good jobs and fair wages; * universal access to quality public education; * a vibrant and fairly funded public sector; * racial, gender, and ethnic justice; and * real democracy in our state and in our workplaces.

Follow Unity, Equality and Democracy Connecticut on Facebook to learn more and be part of the movement: https://www.facebook.com/UnityEqualit...

Music: Scotticesa Marks, https://www.youtube.com/user/sdmwassup

Videographer: Neal Thomassen, https://www.facebook.com/unionneal

Gov.'s Budget Cuts

February 5, 2016

Wednesday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed deep cuts to public services and state workforce layoffs that threaten Connecticut's quality of life. The governor also addressed contract negotiations with our unions and referred to us as "partners in labor."

Let's be clear; the governor and legislators on both sides of the aisle have done little to engage state employees as partners. Instead, their tactics look more like attacks against an adversary.

If elected officials want to be partners, a good start would be ending costly and wasteful outsourcing that even the governor's budget chief could not account for when asked by the press. Another significant step would be to ask Connecticut's millionaires and profitable corporations to pay their fair share to protect the vital public services all Connecticut citizens depend on.

True partners would welcome our talented and hardworking members' help in tackling much bigger problems: a shrinking middle class and growing income inequality.

We know our union members won't sign on to an agenda of slashing vital services and continuing a race to the bottom for our state. Neither will our brothers and sisters in the labor, community, faith, and environmental community, especially when politicians are unwilling to step up and address the real issues affecting the 99 percent.

More to come, and in solidarity,

4Cs President

P.S. Click here for the public comments our coalition of state employee unions released yesterday after the governor's speech.

P.P.S. The 4Cs wants to hear from YOU. Share your reactions to the Governor's budget address here.

Community College Lobby Day, March 31

March 12, 2016

It is imperative that we make our voices heard to protect students and working people throughout the state of Connecticut. Though the fiscal crisis impacts all Connecticut residents, state workers have been singled out by Governor Malloy and the Legislature to absorb the cuts.

On March 31, the 4Cs and AFT memberships, students, and other community college supporters will go to the Legislative Office Building in Hartford to let our elected representatives know that Connecticut’s community colleges are essential to the future of the state.

Date: Thursday, March 31 Location: Legislative Office Building Time: 10am-3pm

Register to attend here! Encourage colleagues, students, and community members to attend. If you cannot attend, please be sure to sign the postcard.

4Cs Membership Conference - April 30

April 5, 2016

The 4Cs will be holding a Membership Conference on Saturday, April 30 at Manchester Community College. Please see the tentative schedule that follows, which is based on the results of a membership conference survey. Register here!

Tentative Schedule (subject to change) 8:30am: Registration/Breakfast

9:00am: Welcome & Keynote Speaker

10:30:11:20: Concurrent Sessions A (choose 1)

1. Thinking about Retirement for Full-Timers
2. What Other Chapters Have Won and How: New England & New York
3. Contract 101 for Part-Timers, including Seniority Pool

11:30-12:20: Concurrent Sessions B (choose 1)
1. Thinking about Retirement for Part-Timers
2. Contract 101 for Full-Timers
3. Conflict Mediation

12:30-1:25: Lunch & Information Fair

Visit our information tables to ask questions and pick up information about our contract, retirement, and more!

1:30-2:20: Concurrent Sessions C (choose 1)
1. Being Active in the Political Process
2. Promotion & Tenure
3. Diversity on our Campuses: What are our needs?

2:30-3:20: Wrap Up & Discussion

Time: Saturday, April 30, 2016 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM EDT

Host: The Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4Cs)

Contact Phone: 860.296.5172

Location: Manchester Community College (Manchester, CT), 60 Bidwell St,,Manchester, CT 06040

Directions: Manchester Community College is conveniently located about 10 miles west of Hartford, off of I-384.

SEIU Higher Ed Wins!

June 24, 2016

There have been an amazing number of milestones for the faculty movement across the country this Spring Semester. So far in 2016, thousands of faculty members at 10 colleges and universities have voted to join SEIU. Ten schools or university systems have settled or ratified first union contracts this Spring. These new agreements raise wages and solidify job security in higher education.

Although the semester is coming to an end, faculty at half a dozen schools have active union campaigns that will continue to build over the summer.

Highlights:

[caption id="attachment_4485" align="alignright" width="246"]Over 10 colleges and universities have voted yes to joining SEIU in spring 2016![/caption]
Faculty at the following schools have voted to join SEIU so far this year: Saint Louis University, Wells College, Loyola University Chicago, Notre Dame de Namur University (Tenured and Contingent), Ithaca College (Full-time), University of Southern California, St. Charles Community College, Duke University, Boston University (Full-time), Holy Names University.
Several university faculty campaigns have filed, including: St. Martin’s University, McDaniel College, and Hillsborough Community College. The faculty at the University of Minnesota also filed this semester and are hoping to vote in the fall.
[caption id="attachment_4496" align="alignleft" width="300"]4Cs delegate and part-time faculty member at MCC (and other colleges), John Mueller is pictured participating in Fight for $15! John's image was used by SEIU for the 2016 April 14th campaign.[/caption]
On April 14, 2016 – the eve of Tax Day – faculty joined the Fight for $15 movement in the U.S. and around the globe to hold McDonald’s, other corporations and their own colleges accountable. (The 4Cs also participated in these actions locally!)
Faculty across the country have set dramatically higher standards in first contracts, planting strong roots for industry-wide change in a short time. So far this semester, faculty at Boston University, Northeastern University, Washington University in St. Louis, Dominican University, St. Mary’s College, Mills College, the College of St. Rose, Hamline University, Antioch University Seattle, and the California Faculty Association have come to agreements or ratified contracts.
Faculty have won significant contract victories, and the growing attention paid to their work has led to impactful coverage in USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the National Catholic Reporter.

Faculty across America are showing the country that when people stick together and take action, they win. These contracts include many important victories for faculty at individual campuses, across metro areas and are helping to turn around the trends that have marginalized the profession: low pay, job insecurity, and a lack of respect and a faculty voice in higher education. Here are a few significant contract wins this semester:

[caption id="attachment_4491" align="alignleft" width="300"]Campaign at the University of Southern California[/caption]

In a new agreement, full-time and part-time members of the California Faculty Association will receive at least a 10.5 percent raise within the next three academic years.
At Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., SEIU faculty secured a raise for all part-time faculty – ranging from a 15 to 30 percent increase.
Adjuncts at the College of St. Rose secured 24 percent to 35 percent increases in pay over three years.
Washington University in St. Louis, faculty will receive a 26 percent raise over the next four academic years. Individual faculty members will also receive $750 for classes that are canceled within seven days before the first scheduled class meeting.
At Antioch University Seattle, full-time and part-time faculty protected their health care insurance, won monthly transportation benefits, and defined workload expectations within their contract to keep faculty from becoming overworked.
As part of a new contract, Dominican University will establish a $40,000 professional development fund for part-time faculty. Dominican University adjunct compensation will be pegged to 80% of a tenure-track associate professor salary by the end of their 3-year contract.

This blog post was edited slightly with permission from facultyforward.org.

The Power of Organizing Demonstrated in Documentary

June 28, 2016

Film Synopsis

The Hand That Feeds is a documentary film that was screened at Northwestern on April 26. “At a popular bakery café, residents of New York’s Upper East Side get bagels and coffee served with a smile 24 hours a day. But behind the scenes, undocumented immigrant workers face sub-legal wages, dangerous machinery, and abusive managers who will fire them for calling in sick. Mild-mannered sandwich maker Mahoma López has never been interested in politics, but in January 2012, he convinces a small group of his co-workers to fight back.

Risking deportation and the loss of their livelihood, the workers team up with a diverse crew of innovative young organizers and take the unusual step of forming their own independent union, launching themselves on a journey that will test the limits of their resolve. In one roller-coaster year, they must overcome a shocking betrayal and a two-month lockout. Lawyers will battle in back rooms, Occupy Wall Street protesters will take over the restaurant, and a picket line will divide the neighborhood. If they can win a contract, it will set a historic precedent for low-wage workers across the country. But whatever happens, Mahoma and his coworkers will never be exploited again.”

Q&A with Robin Blotnick, Director of The Hand That Feeds

Q). One of the things I’ve read about Mahoma and The Hand That Feeds was the importance of education. Can you describe what transformations you saw in Mahoma and his co-workers when they were educated about their rights? What actions did they take based on this newfound knowledge?

A). Laundry Workers Center (LWC), the volunteer labor group that organized the 63rd Street Hot & Crusty, is unusually devoted to finding and training worker-leaders. They don’t just pay lip service to the idea, they actually made Mahoma co-director of their organization while he was still working full-time as a deli man. From the beginning, LWC recognized leadership qualities in Mahoma that others might have missed because he was quiet and soft-spoken, and they gave him intensive training in how to lead his own labor campaign.

[caption id="attachment_4504" align="alignright" width="300"]Panel Discussion following the screening of The Hand That Feeds at NWCC. From left to right: Robin Blotnick, Director; Julie Sabo, a member of United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 919; Dr. Gregory Jackson, 4Cs Organizer[/caption]

The impression I got was that most of the Hot & Crusty workers already knew that the way they were being treated was wrong, and they were angry about it. But the organizers taught them that undocumented immigrant workers have rights under US labor law and that something can actually be done about it. After many intense late night house visits, a small group of them found the courage to join together and act.

Q). Without giving away any spoilers, can you tell me a little bit about the struggle that Mahoma and his co-workers faced after deciding to organize?

A). It quickly became clear that management wasn’t going to concede anything without a fight. At first the manager threatened to report the workers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Then there were visits from a mysterious anti-union consultant who claimed to work for the Department of Labor. The management challenged the formation of the union with every legal method they could find, they closely monitored surveillance footage looking for excuses to fire the leaders, and there were many attempts to bribe the workers, some of them successful. But the biggest challenge came in the summer of 2012, when the management announced they were closing the location and laying off the entire workforce. This is a classic union avoidance tactic for small shops like this, and there’s very little workers can do about it, legally speaking.

But this battle was going to be waged in the streets not the courtrooms, and it was at this point in the story that things really started to heat up.

Q). The Hand That Feeds film focuses on low wage workers in the food industry, but higher education has also seen a dramatic increase in the reliance on low wage workers – adjunct or part-time faculty. SEIU has done research to show that 25% of part-time professors and their families nationwide are in enrolled in one or more public assistance programs, and in Connecticut, 15% of adjunct faculty are near or below poverty. What inspiration do you think our part-time faculty members, many of whom are struggling to piece together a full-time job from part-time work, will find in this film? Are there any lessons that you think Mahoma would share with the adjunct faculty?

A). Those numbers are shocking. It seems like higher education is becoming more and more like the food industry these days, with management taking the “low road” of cutting costs on the backs of those who make the organization run. If there’s anything this film shows, it’s that workers from all sectors should stick together. The Hot & Crusty workers couldn’t have achieved what they did without reaching out a very diverse group of people, including grad students, adjunct professors and other university faculty. One day I was surprised to see the media professor who first taught me documentary production (at nearby Hunter College) marching on the Hot & Crusty picket line. Helping these deli workers wasn’t just some philanthropic cause for these “white collar” professors, they were fighting their own union battle on the campus and they were there as an expression of true solidarity.

I would say the first lesson from Mahoma’s story is to lean on your friends and also don’t be afraid to make enemies. This campaign showed that aggressive, militant tactics, including negative publicity, sit down strikes and civil disobedience can be effective even in very small scale struggles.

Another lesson is to not be discouraged by setbacks, which are inevitable. And third, it’s important to keep labor organizations democratic. Judging from this story, the best way to keep up the morale of the rank and file is to have the rank and file lead their own campaigns.

For more information, go to www.thehandthatfeedsfilm.com.

Take Back CT!

August 19, 2016

Take Back Connecticut!

Thursday, September 8

Central CT State University

New Britain, CT

"We must never adjust ourselves to economic conditions that take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few."

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Martin Luther King birthday weekend, a coalition of labor, civil rights, community and faith organizations came together to Celebrate Unity, Equality, and Democracy, and to pledge to work together inspired by Dr. King's legacy and leadership. This diverse coalition is committed to working together during a time of increasing income inequality, spikes in racial, ethnic, and gender based injustice and attacks, and threats to democracy in elections and in the workplace from "dark money" interests, and the billionaire super-elite.

Rev., Dr. Barber Speaks at the Democratic National Convention

The DUE Justice Coalition rejects calls that ignore Dr. King's words, saying that we must "adjust ourselves" to the "new economic reality", a reality where virtually all economic growth goes into the pockets of the 1 % and the middle class slowly fades away. What could be a clearer example of an economy that "takes necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few?" We will not "adjust ourselves." Instead we pledge to work together both in the short term and in the long term on 5 key issue areas needed to turn our state around, and to hold our political leaders accountable for their efforts and commitments in those areas. Those 5 issue areas are:

Good Jobs and Fair Wages
Universal Access to Quality Public Education, Preschool to Grad School,
A Vibrant and Fairly Funded Public Sector,
Racial, Gender, and Ethnic Justice,
Democracy in our State and in Our Work Places.

At the center of the DUE Justice Coalition vision is the creation of a unified, shared collective movement dedicated to Democracy, Unity & Equality. It is our belief that the way forward to achieve this goal is through building relationships and creating a common strategy and campaign to effectively advance our shared goals.

To advance this goal, Rev. Dr. William Barber, North Carolina NAACP President and inspirational leader and founder of the Moral Monday Movement will be speaking to leaders and organizations from across the state, challenging us to build a powerful movement for justice in our communities, and in our state.

4Cs Culture of Commitment: Food Pantries Open At Two Community Colleges

October 20, 2016

WSHU, the National Public Radio affiliate in Fairfield County, recently aired a segment on the Middlesex and Tunxis Community College food pantries. Read the story here!

Post-Election Update

November 16, 2016

More than a week after, we are still dissecting the 2016 election. What happened and what does it mean for our collective future?

Connecticut

While much of the attention has been focused on the national elections, in Connecticut the Democratic Party kept control of the House of Representatives but only hold a 79-72 majority in the House. Republicans gained eleven seats.

The Senate will be evenly divided at 18-18, with Democratic Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman able to break ties as the presiding officer. However, it is yet to be determined if the Senate Democrats are technically the "majority" party and has the right to appoint committee chairs.

It has been reported that Rep. Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin) has been elected Speaker of the House and Rep. Matthew Ritter (D-Hartford) as Majority Leader. Rep. Themis Klarides (R-Derby) was elected as Minority Leader.

There will be new chairs of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee forthcoming as Rep. Roberta Willis did not seek re-election and Sen. Dante Bartolomeo did not win re-election.

National

SEIU released a statement on the election results, which follows:

After Tuesday's election, our union's path to our Vision for a Just Society is more important than ever.

Many of our members, their families and communities are waking up every day with a new level of anxiety and fear about the impact that the incoming Trump Administration and Republican-controlled Congress will have on their lives. Meanwhile, some of our members voted for Trump and are satisfied with the election outcome, something we want to dig deeper to understand.

If the rhetoric in the campaign is truly a bellwether, we can expect national "right to work" and other attacks on worker organization, increased criminalization and disenfranchisement of communities of color, more immigrant families being torn apart, and lower wages for millions of workers who already cannot make ends meet.

The outcome of the election threatens our agenda on many other fronts at the federal, state and local levels: millions stand to lose healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, funding is at risk for childcare, education and services that seniors and people with disabilities rely on, and the hopes that every community can have clean air and water, and that we can reverse the effects of climate change may become more distant.

At a time when the threats are so real, we can find hope in our union's lived experience of creating opportunity and fighting forward time and again.

We see it every day when workers risk it all to stand up for a better future. We've seen it in the Fight for $15 movement where workers in home care, childcare, airports, and higher education have united to win higher wages and change the narrative in the United States and around the world.

We felt it together in Detroit, when delegates committed to a path that unites across the Fight for 15, racial, immigrant and environmental justice movements to become an "Unstoppable" force for change in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico."

To read SEIU's entire statement and their path forward, please visit our website.

University of Hartford File for Union Election to Join 4Cs

November 16, 2016

Congratulations to the part-time faculty at the University of Hartford for filing for a union election last Thursday! Read all about it here.

Will Cuts Affect the Community Colleges?

November 22, 2016

Last week, CSCU was asked to submit to the Office of Policy & Management reduction options for a 10% cut, which painted a very bleak picture for the Community Colleges. You can read all about it in the following article: A 10 percent cut to state colleges would be "devastating" (CT Mirror).

Please keep in mind that these are not recommended cuts, nor are they being implemented. At this point, they are simply worst case scenarios. The Community Colleges will likely not be immune from any and all budget cuts or rescissions, but it would more likely be a mix of cuts and savings.

We will continue to keep you informed, but one event to keep in mind is a January 26th Higher Education Day of Action. The 4Cs, CSU-AAUP, and UConn-AAUP will be encouraging students, faculty, and staff to speak out on higher education issues at the Capitol. This will be an excellent opportunity for all to make their voices heard to the decision makers.

November 29th Actions

Low wage workers, including adjunct faculty and graduate students, are joining with child care, airport, and fast food workers to protest on November 29.

Locally, we will be standing up for living wage jobs, racial justice, and affordable child care with the following actions in Hartford:

6:00am: Strike with Fast Food Workers at McDonald's, 214 Prospect Avenue
3:30pm: Rally for Care for Kids at the State Capitol, 210 Capitol Avenue
5:00pm: Massive Fight for $15 Action at McDonald's, 172 Washington Street

Join us!! RSVP or acquire more information by emailing kvnburgos1@gmail.com.

Read more about the actions planned across the country here, including the following quote from a graduate student about why he's planning to participate in this day of action:

Scott Barish, a research and teaching assistant in the biology department at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said that although he led class discussions, mentored students and helped write grant proposals, his pay didn't match his duties.

"When I started working at Duke, I was shocked to see that graduate assistants like me were treated as though our work was not valuable," Barish told callers.

"We're not paid enough to meet the rising cost of living, which is why many grad assistants are fighting for unions. so together we can have more power to speak out and create a better work environment. On Nov. 29, we will be out in the streets . . . for higher pay, union rights and respect for all Americans," Barish said.

Agreement Reached to Shore Up State Employees' Retirement Security

December 9, 2016

State employee union leaders and the governor's administration have been in discussions over pension funding for nearly a year in an effort to smooth out the pension liability. Yesterday, they reached agreement to restructure state employee pension fund payments.

The agreement does not impact members' retirement benefits or require increased employee contributions; it does, however, stabilize pensions by ensuring obligations to current and future retirees are fully funded.

Click here for a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the parties.

"This agreement makes sense for the long term retirement security of the public sector workers we represent and the taxpayers of Connecticut," said Ron McLellan, President of the Connecticut Employees Union Independent (CEUI)/SEIU Local 511, representing 4,000 state employees, and a member of the State Employees Retirement Commission.

Highlights of the MOU include:

Reducing the assumed rate of return from 8 percent to 6.9 percent;
Transitioning from "level percent of payroll" to "level dollar" amortization over five years;
Moving to Entry Age Normal cost methodology;
Maintaining 2032 as the payoff date for the unfunded liability accrued through December 31, 1983; and
Extending the amortization period for the balance of the unfunded liability in a new 30-year period.

"We have been raising concerns since 2000 that the current level percent of payroll system insisted upon by then-Governor Rowland was not best way to assure stable and reliable pension funding," said Stephen Greatorex, business manager of the 3,200-member Connecticut State University branch of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). "This agreement at last moves us to a funding system that does its job for the people of the state and the employees who serve them," added Greatorex, also a member of SERC.

"Real pensions play an important role in Connecticut's economy by supporting jobs and generating purchasing power in our communities," said Sal Luciano, executive Director of Council 4 AFSCME, which represents 15,000 state employees. "This agreement is part of a larger policy imperative by our unions to create retirement security for all," added Luciano, another of the union representatives who sits on SERC.

Because the MOU does not materially change any members' retirement benefits or contributions, it was approved by the leaders of the 15 unions in the coalition:

Council 4 AFSCME;
New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199/SEIU;
CEUI/SEIU Local 511;
AFT Connecticut;
CSEA/SEIU Local 2001;
Administrative and Residual Union (A&R), AFT;
Congress of CT Community Colleges (4Cs), SEIU Local 1973;
UConn-AAUP;
Judicial Professional Employees (JPE), AFT;
CSU-AAUP;
Connecticut Judicial Marshals/IPBO Local 731;
Connecticut Police and Fire Union, IUPA/IAFF;
UConn Health-AAUP
Connecticut Association of Prosecutors; &
AFSA Local 61.

Contract Negotiations, SEBAC and How the Election Results are Impacting Both

December 15, 2016

As the 4Cs has been reporting, our coalition bargaining with AFT and AFSCME has been yielding positive results including a number of tentative agreements on language changes (with the details still being worked out). All of these language changes are non-economic; they benefit our members but with little to no cost to the administration. They include such things as the establishment of a sick leave bank, no loss of pay when the college closes for a snow day, and the establishment of portable tenure for involuntary transfers.

The 4Cs and its coalition partners have also reported that no progress has been made on economic matters (wages, professional development, etc.) and that we are anticipating bringing these issues before an arbitrator. Dates were scheduled with an arbitrator for early January with the assumption that we'd receive a reward by April, in time to have it go through the General Assembly before the end of session.

The last negotiation session between our coalition and the administration occurred on October 27, and we are meeting again today (December 15). However, the election results in Connecticut have complicated things.

Election Results Complicate Negotiations

Two things are of importance that have caused complications: (1) the Connecticut General Assembly is going into 2017 with a split Senate (18 democrats and 18 republicans) and (2) Connecticut is facing a budget deficit of over $1 billion. Deficits of over $1 billion are hard to overcome on cuts alone, especially since many state agencies have faced years of cuts already. However, there is little public support for revenue options, not to mention that it would be extremely difficult to pass a tax increase in a split Senate.

SEBAC Asked to Re-Open Agreement

As you know, SEBAC was approached by the administration last spring to re-open the SEBAC agreement on healthcare and retirement benefits to find savings. The 4Cs and the other union leaders surveyed our memberships; the 4Cs membership was against making more concessions. SEBAC, as a group, decided not to re-open the agreement, which has led to significant state employee layoffs. The community colleges have not been hit by layoffs, but we know our colleges are struggling and cannot absorb many more cuts without it impacting staff (read here).

SEBAC has recently been approached again by the Governor's administration with the argument that we only have a few weeks left with a majority democratic legislature. Their argument is that we have the opportunity to reduce the budget deficit through savings that are mutually agreed upon rather than having a split legislature force savings on state employees.

It is important to note that SEBAC has NOT agreed to re-open the healthcare and pension agreement, but SEBAC will be meeting with the administration to listen to ideas for possible savings and protections for state employees before making its decision.

Next Steps

Needless to say, the SEBAC discussions have complicated the economic components of our coalition negotiations. If SEBAC were to formally begin to negotiate with the Governor's office, economics including salary increases would be a part of a negotiated deal. If SEBAC voted not to reopen the healthcare and pension agreement then cuts of 10% or more to agency budgets are possible. Regardless of what path we end up on in the weeks ahead, it seems that a salary increase for the next year or two is unlikely.

The 4Cs and our coalition partners are preparing for all possible scenarios. Protecting your jobs, healthcare and retirement benefits, and collective bargaining rights are our top priorities.

Check Email Over Break

We know this news is coming at a horrible time. Many of you are preparing for finals and grading; others may be travelling or otherwise unavailable with family commitments. Likewise, our union staff will have some time off around the holidays.

Circumstances are subject to change rapidly, but we will do our best to keep you informed. Please make sure that you are receiving this email at an address that you will be checking around the holidays. If not, please update your email preference by emailing ellen@the4cs.org.

Remember, nothing happens without your approval.

In solidarity,

Bryan R. Bonina

President, 4Cs

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