The leaders of the state employees' unions voted Friday to reject any retroactive changes to their bylaws that would affect the vote that rejected a savings and concessions deal with Gov. Dannel Malloy.
As such, the vote will stand, but union spokesmen said they are still confident that they can find a way to avoid 6,500 layoffs of state employees that Malloy has promised in order to close a gap of $700 million in the state budget. They did not explain exactly how that would happen as union leaders continue to consider their options.
The leaders, however, said they would also consider changes to the bylaws that would affect agreements reached in the future.
The union leaders will meet again on Tuesday - following the Fourth of July holiday - in an attempt to find a way to block the layoffs.
"We're not looking behind,'' said Matt O'Connor, a union spokesman. "We're looking ahead. Everyone will know more next week. ... We're not changing the vote that has already taken place.''