Workers Deserve Transparency
Connecticut’s public employees deserve to know how their hard-earned money is being spent by their unions. This is a right that private sector union workers already enjoy.
But right now government workers don’t have that right. State law says that government union reports should not be available to the public and that they should only be accessible to union members at their union hall. They can also be less detailed than the reports that private sector unions are required to submit.
In addition, the Connecticut Labor Commissioner can destroy these reports after only two years.
Connecticut’s public employees deserve the same rights as private sector workers. They deserve the same type of detailed financial reports that private sector unions file, which are publicly available and preserved.
A simple fix would be to amend Connecticut law to allow government unions to file reports that conform to federal labor law standards, and to make those reports publicly available as well.
Yankee Institute’s Newest Study: Above the Law
Connecticut has so many advantages — including an educated population, a prime location midway between Manhattan and Boston, and a quality of life that’s hard to beat. Why, then, is the Constitution State mired in debt, and shedding both residents and jobs? The primary reason: Outsized power wielded by government unions.
Government unions’ dominance in Hartford has led to a two-tiered system of laws — one that unfairly advantages government unions at the expense of ordinary citizens, and erodes the legitimate power of elected lawmakers.
As a result, Connecticut suffers from a litany of ills including high taxes; high debt; the worst pension liabilities in the nation; the highest differential between private and public sector pay; and the slowest job growth in the nation.
This report details the laws and practices that have created this disparity between government unions and the rest of us. It also compares Connecticut to our neighboring states – and the comparison is not a flattering one. Even in a union-friendly region, Connecticut is an outlier in how much power it cedes to its government unions.
We hope this paper serves as a blueprint for the changes that Connecticut needs to make to get back on track. These common sense reforms can help Connecticut realize its potential once again, with thriving residents and a flourishing state economy.
Yankee Institute Labor Policy Papers and Briefs
Articles
Prevailing Wage Rat Buried in Budget Bill Will Cost Connecticut Jobs
Buried on page 200 of Connecticut’s nearly 700-page state budget is a provision lawmakers couldn’t pass on its own merit: a union-backed expansion of prevailing wage laws that forces small fabrication shops across Connecticut to pay inflated union-level wages for off-site work. The original bill (S.B. 1370) was amended in a way that forced it […]
Sen. Marx: ‘Biggest Corruption’ From Nonunion Workers, Struggles to Defend Housing Bill
During Friday night’s (May 30) Senate debate on a sweeping omnibus housing bill, Sen. Martha Marx (D–New London) offered a revealing defense of a provision (section 31 of the bill) that steers taxpayer-backed bond funds toward union pension–financed housing developments. “Some of the biggest corruption of our workforce is the nonunion construction workers,” Sen. […]
Sweetheart Deal for Unions Buried in Housing Omnibus Bill
There really are no limits to how far Connecticut lawmakers will go to reward their union allies. On Tuesday (May 27), the House passed a 92-page housing omnibus bill stuffed with mandates, attacks on local control and central planning schemes — but the most egregious provision is buried in Section 31, on page 70. What’s supposed […]
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