Press Room

Fix is In: Business Lobby Urges Adoption of Fiscal Stability Commission Recommendations Before they are Voted on and Released

David C. Dal Zin
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HARTFORD – On Tuesday, Connecticut’s business lobby released their legislative agenda for 2018 and urged the legislature to adopt the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth’s recommendations that reform state pensions and collective bargaining.

There is only one problem. The Commission has not released their recommendations.

“It appears the fix is in,” said Lori J. Pelletier, President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, which represents over 200,000 workers in the state. “CBIA is already supporting the Commission on Fiscal Stability's ‘recommendations that reform state pensions and collective bargaining’ despite the fact that they will not be released until March and the Commission is still hearing testimony.”

According to state statute, the Commission is due to officially release their recommendations by March 1.

Pelletier also noted that there had not been any representatives for workers testifying at any of the Commission’s hearings when CBIA endorsed their recommendations.

“We can’t help but wonder if the business lobby has some inside track and knows the recommendations have already been decided,” said Pelletier. “The Commission asked labor representatives to come in on the last day of testimony, but apparently have made their decisions after only listening to one side of the story. It looks like this system has been rigged against working people.”

Representatives of working people will finally be afforded the opportunity to testify before the Commission on Friday, February 9, at 12:00 p.m. Presenters will include Connecticut AFL-CIO President Lori Pelletier, AFSCME Council 4 Executive Director Sal Luciano, CT Education Association Executive Director Donald Williams, and SEBAC Chief Negotiator Atty. Daniel E. Livingston.

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Related: On Monday, Connecticut AFL-CIO President Lori Pelletier wrote an op-ed in the Hartford Business Journal, titled “Unsurprisingly, CEO commission attacks working people,” to correct the record on state worker pensions and to lay out some proposals for real fiscal stability and economic growth.