[Hartford, CT] - Today, the reopener agreement reached between the Lamont Administration and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) was filed with the General Assembly for legislative approval. The framework, ratified by members of the coalition’s unions, includes a 2.5% general wage increase plus a “step” pay scale advancement. The agreement's raises track with private sector income growth and are consistent with the current SEBAC contract, as well as those lawmakers recently approved for the State Police. 

The agreement also  includes regular meetings between union leaders and executive branch officials aimed at improving state workforce recruitment, retention and career opportunities.

"But there is much more to be done,” said Bill Garrity, RN, who worked as an emergency department nurse at UConn Health’s John Dempsey Hospital. “We face an escalating public service crisis fueled by chronic staffing shortages in many of our worksites. While these raises alone won’t cure what’s ailing Connecticut, they’ll help provide an ounce of much-needed prevention. The patients, students and businesses that depend on our care, instruction and research need our lawmakers to approve this agreement," added Garrity, president of University Health Professionals (UHP), AFT Local 3837.

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The State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) represents about 45,000 state employees across 35 bargaining units. Members of the coalition’s individual unions work in a wide variety of State agencies, serving Connecticut citizens in many areas that affect all of our daily lives; public health, social services, education, public safety, environmental protection, criminal justice, transportation, corrections, and services for the blind, and developmentally disabled.