Planned raises for Connecticut State Police would be cancelled under a budget plan unveiled Thursday by House Republicans, who floated the idea of canceling the arbitration process used to resolve labor disputes between the state and its employees.
The House Republican caucus announced its budget recommendations Thursday morning, more than a week after the Appropriations and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees approved the legislative budget proposal.
Among the Republican ideas was a plan to cut the 2.5% cost of living raise and a step increase for most state police troopers, which was recently negotiated between Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and the union representing troopers.
During the press conference, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora argued that public sector workers like state police already received “plenty” and called the notion of giving them raises “excessive.”
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask them to go two years without increases,” Candelora said of state employees.”
In its own budget proposal, the Democratic-controlled Appropriations Committee set aside money to honor the commitment Connecticut has made to its state police troopers.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff said the Republican proposal to cancel raises for state police ran counter to frequent statements from Republican legislators who claim to support Connecticut law enforcement.
“Despite all their rhetoric, it’s clear Republican support for police starts and ends with feel-good bumper stickers and legislative speeches. When it counts, Republicans are quick to throw state police troopers under the bus with the rest of the public sector workforce,” Duff said. “If they really ‘backed the blue’ they would join Democrats and put their money where their mouth is. Instead, they’re trying to defund the Connecticut State Police.”
State police weren’t the only working class employees targeted by Republicans on Thursday. Connecticut Republicans called for across the board wage freeze, a decision that would impact some 46,000 Connecticut families.
They also called for a suspension of the state’s binding arbitration process. Unlike most workers, Connecticut state employees are not permitted to go on strike in order to negotiate better working conditions. Instead, they can participate in arbitration, a procedure by which labor disputes are resolved with the help of an impartial third-party.
Given recent state surpluses, an arbitrator would be unlikely to deny Connecticut employees raises. So, Republicans called for suspending the process in order to deny Connecticut families an increase in their income.
“We could suspend arbitration,” Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland, said. “We would just have to pass the wording that says we are suspending arbitration for 26 and 27, and then we can achieve those savings.”
