[Hartford, CT] - In 2024, the tragic line-of-duty deaths of a state trooper and a DOT road construction worker highlighted critical gaps in the state emp
Agencies across our state continue to face chronic understaffing, exacerbated by ongoing recruitment and retention challenges. From healthcare and higher education to transportation and public safety, vital services that residents rely on are stretched thin, with workers burdened with the impacts of double and triple workloads. The result is a crisis that threatens Connecticut’s quality of life.
Union members who participate in the State Employees Retirement System (SERS) who can no longer work due to a disability depend on a lifetime retirement allowance and health insurance. SEBAC and the State of Connecticut have recently agreed to clear protocols for disability retirement that ensures the protection of members’ benefits while creating a transparent process for everyone involved.
SEBAC released the following statement following the death of CTDOT employee Andrew DiDomenico, 26, who was killed today while working on the Wharton Brook Connector in Wallingford:
Connecticut has a duopoly healthcare system with Hartford Healthcare and Yale New Haven controlling approximately two thirds of the entire health care market. We have lost 21 independent, community-focused hospitals, leaving just six open. We have one remaining public hospital – John Dempsey Hospital– which is an essential part of the state’s flagship academic medical center, UConn Health.
[Hartford, CT] - State employee labor leaders and local elected officials are reiterating their shared vision for UConn Health as a growing independent system combining top quality research, instruction and clinical services. They are responding to today’s release of a report on the facility’s fiscal health by the corporate-oriented Cain Brothers, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets, an out-of-state investment banking firm with a vested interest in hospital consolidations.
“We share our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of State Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier, who was killed today in the line of duty. He leaves behind his wife and two young children.
"Everyday members on the frontline risk their lives for the safety and betterment of our communities - each life lost is one too many in the name of public service. We’ll continue to share thoughts and prayers in their name.”
[Hartford, CT] - The favorable votes by the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee on the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) Reopener, Recruitment and Retention confirms lawmakers’ - from both parties - commitment to protecting the vital public services that all 3.6 million Connecticut residents rely on.
