HARTFORD -- Republican and Democratic leaders gathered for another meeting in Gov. Dan Malloy’s office Monday. It lasted about 20 minutes. After, he told FOX 61's Jenn Bernstein that layoff notices went out to certain agencies today.
FOX 61 has now learned that approximately 165 employees got layoff notices--both unionized and non-unionized workers. Of those employees, 106 worked for the Department of Children and Families and 59 worked for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
"The process has been underway for a long time," Malloy said. "As plans are approved by department they are progressing."
When asked what he would say to a state employee today, Malloy said: "Listen, I’ve said from day one, they’re not the fault of this. We have to realign our expenditures with our revenue to the tune of about $921 million for the next fiscal year, and some portion of that will be reflected in that expenditure but it will also be reflected in in many other expenditures across the board.”
He also mentioned that they're moving as fast as possible with notifications. "They are being done on an orderly basis with the hopes of getting people who are on pins and needles the answer about their status as quickly as possible."
However, others disagree. Sal Luciano, the executive director for Council 4 AFSCME, the union that represents DCF workers, doesn't think the process has been handled well. "The layoffs at [Connecticut Juvenile Training School] are not being handled humanely at all. The administration’s actions today have not only violated our members’ contractual rights, but have placed the safety and security of staff and residents at even greater risk."
Stephen Anderson, president of the CSEA, another union that represents DCF and Department of Corrections workers, agreed with Luciano. "Contrary to the governor’s claims that these layoffs are being conducted in an orderly fashion, many staff are being walked off of the job site at the same time as they receive their layoff notice in violation of their contract's layoff provisions, leaving remaining staff shorthanded and at greater risk in what at times can be a dangerous environment."
On Friday, Gov. Malloy reaffirmed what he's been saying for weeks: layoffs are coming. Malloy said he expects about 1,000 to 2,000 layoffs of state employees. The layoffs are part of a budget negotiation for the fiscal year 2017 budget, which begins July 1.
On Friday, the Department of Corrections announced that it would be laying off 147 employees, though no notices have been sent to specific employees yet.