Stamford wrestling with unions to finalize budget that needs $32.2M cut

With money tight as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Stamford could end up laying off  60 city workers if agreements cannot be reached with several labor unions.

According to Arthur Augustyn, a spokesman for Mayor David Martin, the city needs to cut about $32.2 million from Martin”™s $630 million proposed budget in order to maintain its mill rate and not increase taxes for fiscal year 2020-21. Martin and his staff have already taken 2% to 4% salary reductions to 2018 levels, Augustyn said, “and we are asking for similar concessions from all the unions the city does business with.”

The city has successfully negotiated tentative agreements with the UAW union and the Middle Management Association union that would avoid layoffs for City workers in those unions. The agreements 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.

Additionally, each agreement includes a reopener on wages and insurance employee contributions for fiscal year 2020-2021. That clause will allow the unions and the city to reassess the wages of employees next year depending on the status of the local economy, according to Martin.

UAW Local 2377 represents 335 city workers, while MAA represents 115 city managers.

The city continues to negotiate with another 10 city unions and four Board of Education unions, Augustyn said. Martin has said that if those negotiations fail, the city could end up laying off about 10% of its city workers, or roughly 67 people. Augustyn dismissed a rumor that that figure could be 100 or more.

“Obviously we don”™t want to lay off anybody,” he said. “That would not only impact those workers, but also directly impact city services and make everything worse.”