The state employee unions will be voting at essentially the height of the summer vacation season over the next three week on the revised concessions deal with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy - prompting concerns about a low voter turnout.
With some state employees take long-planned vacations on Cape Cod, Block Island, and points beyond, officials are questioning how a low turnout could affect the outcome of the vote.
Malloy said the question of voting should be directed to the unions, which control the process.
"If they're concerned, they should get back and vote - if they're on the Cape,'' Malloy told reporters Tuesday at the state Capitol. "That's an issue where we, as management, don't have a say. That is between the bargaining agent and their members.''
He added, "I think they've got to do a better job in communicating with their members what this agreement is and what this agreement is not. What this agreement is is a road forward that puts the state on a sustainable basis in a relationship with its employees. It gets us by the current, short-term crisis, and it goes a very long way to getting us by the current long-term crisis. Are sacrifices required to do that? The answer is yes.''
He added, "Clearly, if the unions want this to be passed, they need to do a better job in answering the questions of their membership.''
"I'm a Democrat. I prefer people to vote,'' Malloy said.
The unions will be voting on a savings-and-concession deal that guarantees four years of no layoffs, which the unions tout as "the most substantial layoff protection language for a state's workforce anywhere in the country.''
Malloy and his budget team say the union deal will save $1.6 billion over two years, but Republican legislators charge that at least $600 million of that total represents illusory savings that will never be achieved in a smoke-and-mirrors deal.
When asked about the governor's comments on the process of voting during the height of the vacation season, SEBAC spokesman Matt O'Connor responded by issuing a long statement that did not mention the vacation season.
"The process that each union in the coalition will follow to decide on whether to approve the revised SEBAC tentative agreement is still being finalized,'' he said. "Each union's executive board or governing body is deciding on their own internal voting process following its own democratic methods. So far, most have decided that the revised agreement will be sent out for full membership votes. Some unions or bargaining units whose members overwhelmingly voted 'yes' for the previous tentative agreement may decide this time that the vote will be taken by their governing bodies.''
He added that the unions are working extensively to deliver information to their members about the revised agreement.
"With all of that in mind, union leaders are asking the press and the governor to give them the space they need to communicate with the 45,000 state workers they represent,'' he said.
