Senator Jorge Cabrera Votes For Senate Bill 908's Passage

Press release from the Office of Senator Jorge Cabrera:

May 17, 2021

HARTFORD, CT – Today, state Senator Jorge Cabrera (D-Hamden) voted for the passage of legislation protecting the rights of public employees to freely join or support unions. Sen. Cabrera, Vice Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, said he strongly supports this bill.

"This is a good bill that puts several needed standards in place for employees and unions and I am proud to support it," said Sen. Cabrera. "It is one of my top priorities to support and empower workers and this legislation provides employees with information about union membership and improves communication between public employees and unions on several fronts. This is a good bill, and I am pleased to vote for its passage."

Senate Bill 908, "An Act Concerning Access To Certain Public Employees By The Exclusive Bargaining Representative Of A Public Employer Bargaining Unit," takes steps to protect the rights of public employees to join or support unions, including:

• Establishing requirements for public employers, such as the state, municipalities or boards of education, to provide public employee unions with certain information about new and current employees, including names, job titles, worksite locations, work phone numbers, hire dates, work email addresses and home addresses; access to new employee orientations; and access to represented employees and government buildings and facilities to conduct meetings with bargaining unit members.
• Requiring public employers to rely on union certifications that the union has maintained and will maintain payroll deduction authorizations signed by individuals paying dues to public employee unions.
• Requiring unions to compensate public employers for any claims about deductions relying on union certification.
• Requiring public employers to direct employee requests to cancel/change deductions to unions, rather than employers.
• Prohibits public employers from deterring or discouraging public employees or job applicants from becoming or remaining members of public employee unions, authorizing union representation or authorizing dues or deductions.
• Makes public employers encouraging employees to resign or decline a union membership a prohibited labor practice
• Makes an employer's failure to comply with the bill a violation of the duty to bargain and an unfair labor practice

These steps are vital to ensuring public employers and unions are operating on the same page and provide workers at public workplaces with additional information and access to learning about unionization, leveling the playing field. Workers still can make their own decisions on whether or not they ultimately want to join a union.

The legislation, which passed the Labor and Public Employees Committee by a vote of 9-4 in March, would have no fiscal impact to the state or municipalities. The legislation largely codifies currently standing labor and unionization practices.

Labor organizations including the CSEA SEIU Local 2001, AFSCME Council 4 and AFT Connecticut, representing tens of thousands of public employees, endorsed the legislation earlier this year, citing its clarifications of labor law to ensure unions and public employers continue to work together as well as clarification of existing laws and regulations covering collection of union dues.

Senate President Martin M. Looney testified earlier this year that the bill addresses several recommendations made by a Connecticut task force on domestic workers and will provide them with fair and safe working conditions. He cited the 2017 Supreme Court case "Janus V. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees," which changed public sector unionization standards and allowed public sector workers to enjoy benefits of union representation even in quitting the union. "I believe this bill offers a creative solution," Sen. Looney said. "It sets the ground rules regarding communication with and access to employees which is necessary in the post-Janus world."

This press release was produced by the Office of Senator Jorge Cabrera. The views expressed here are the author’s own.