Top union leaders will meet today to consider changing their bylaws to make it easier to approve a savings-and-concession deal with Gov. Dannel Malloy.
"I don't know if we're going to have anything substantial accomplished today,'' Matt O'Connor, spokesman for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, said this morning. "It's quite clear we need a plan moving forward. The question is what will that plan be and when will we have it.''
Both sides aim to avoid the mass layoffs announced by the governor's office last week.
"There's a recognition that if this alternative budget is put in place, with these very draconian measures...that Connecticut won't look like the Connecticut we all know and love in the very near future.''
Labor leaders know that time is not on their side. "We've got to figure this out and quick,'' O'Connor said.
Union leaders are meeting now but no press statements are expected until after 3 p.m., O'Connor said.
The concession agreement between the administration and the unions was rejected by rank and file membership last month. Actually, the majority of unionized state workers supported the plan, but under the union's bylaws, more than a simple majority was needed to pass the agreement. Union officials hope a slight tweak to their rules could result in passage of the plan.
Today's meetings are expected to last into the evening.
Meanwhile, the Courant's Rick Green reports that the union is reaching out to members, telling them it is "confident" an agreement with Malloy can be reached to avoid the loss of thousands of state jobs.