HARTFORD - State Representatives Themis Klarides, R-Derby, and Nicole Klarides-Ditria, R-Seymour, voted no Wednesday on a union deal to increase the pay and to give bonuses to unionized lawyers who work for the state Attorney General.
The two-year pay deal for lawyers working for Attorney General’s Office will cost taxpayers $5 million. This includes stipends for department heads in the amount of $6,000 in the first year and $12,000 in the second year.
“Connecticut’s current financial state of affairs cannot shoulder the continuation of labor agreements that put the taxpayer at risk, while unionized attorneys receive benefits that most people could never dream of, let alone receive in the private sector. Our state employees proudly serve our state, and we are fortunate. But, the labor agreements of the past cannot be the agreements for Connecticut’s future, it is simply not realistic,” Klarides said.
“Residents and business owners could have to pay tolls and new taxes on a variety of services and now are being asked to front the bill for pay increases for Assistant Attorneys General making over $100,000,” Klarides-Ditria said. “If we want to save money we shouldn’t be approving this union deal. When is the majority party going to get serious about cutting wasteful spending?”
A total of 185 Assistant Attorneys General plus 14 department heads will benefit from this new union deal.
The current average annual salary for these employees is $120,436. Over the next two years, the average annual salary will be increased to $133,436, due to this contract with a no-layoff clause.
This is a release from press secretary Spencer Rubin.
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