Thirteen municipal employees have been laid off by the city of Stamford, as have 32 school workers, as negotiations with unions are in a state of flux.
The city layoffs “affected laborers, heavy equipment operators, and nurses,” Arthur Augustyn, spokesman for Stamford Mayor David Martin, told the Business Journal. “The exact number of layoffs required to meet the budget adopted by the Board of Finance and Board of Representatives will be impacted by anticipated increases in overtime costs as a result of layoffs.
“With this in mind,” he continued, “the city’s estimation of layoffs may increase over time and will likely result in multiple rounds of layoffs. We anticipate the next round could occur as soon as mid-August.”
As previously reported, the city is looking at potentially laying off as many as 60 workers if accords cannot be reached with eight unions. It is seeking agreements similar to those negotiated with UAW Local 2377 and the Middle Management Association union; those include a 0% wage increase for fiscal year 2019-20, moving all members to the State Partnership Medical Plan, and a no-layoff clause for fiscal year 2020-21.
Four unions representing school administrators and employees have also failed to reach a new agreement with the city, with teachers, administrators, paraeducators and security guards being laid off as a result. Those unions negotiate with the Stamford Board of Education”™s management team.
Why dont we hear about layoffs over the state line in Westchester? Where are Westchester’s leaders?
They need to get their heads out of the sand and realize the revenue from their new Red Light Camera program isn’t going to save the county budget.
And when will CE George Latimer stop looking to increase revenue aka taxes and start to focus on reducing spending?