At this moment, real police reform is within reach. But last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill that continues to protect powerful labor union interests. As the Senate prepares for special session tomorrow, Yankee Institute calls for more meaningful reform. The people of Connecticut deserve legislation that will increase public safety and transparency and hold bad actors accountable—in all areas of our state and local government.
It’s time to do what’s right. Let’s end the practice of allowing government union contracts to override state law; reform the grievance arbitration process; increase transparency for public employee disciplinary hearings and actions; and eliminate paid administrative leave for all employees in positions requiring a high level of public trust – including teachers, firefighters, corrections officers, judicial employees, and social workers — when they are arrested. Lawmakers must protect the public from all abusive public servants and terminate the backroom union deals that place bad actors in government above the law.
Government unions’ stranglehold on Connecticut’s state government has continued far too long, and elected officials continue to choose powerful special interests over taxpayers. It is time to put the welfare of the people before that of powerful special interests. It is time to pass real reform that will truly keep the public safe.
Statement attributable to Carol Platt Liebau, President of Yankee Institute
Click here to read our testimony on the original draft bill.
James Hagan
July 27, 2020 @ 8:26 pm
Yes, Carol (Platt Liebau) is spot on regarding the pandering to the labor unions by the Democratic legislators, and the subsequent “stranglehold” the unions have on the State legislators, and by extension, the CT taxpayers. How can we fix or begin to reverse the costly waste in paying in total, millions of dollars in “administrative leave pay” while accused criminals on the state payroll collect their pay with impunity? What we really need are more Republican legislators and a Republican governor to “sway the boat” away from the preferred direction of Labor Unions, and towards the preferred direction of CT taxpayers. Only Republicans can and will do that.
We came close in the last election, with the vast majority of the 169 towns in CT voting for Bob Stefanowski, but the handful of large CT cities voting for Lamont. It’s a shame the folks in the cities continue to support the Democrats, as the money wasted by the Democrats could better serve the cities if better spent.