As the squabbling between the unions and a conservative thinktank increased Monday, another union voted to approve the savings and concession deal with Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
The clash continued on the day that the 900-member Connecticut Police and Fire Union voted in favor of the deal that would save a projected $1.6 billion over two years, although Republicans complain that about $600 million in savings are illusory and ill-defined.
The police and fire union, formerly known as the Protective Services Employees Coalition, includes 50 different job titles in 13 state agencies, including Department of Environmental Protection officers and police at the University of Connecticut, officials said. Union sources said the union became the 15th out of 34 bargaining units to approve the deal, and the fifth of the 15 separate State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition unions to vote separately in favor of the health and pension benefits.
The state university administrative faculty union, AFSCME Local 2836, then became the 16th bargaining unit to vote in favor.