Hartford - Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered layoff notices Tuesday for 4,742 state employees, insisting that the salaries and benefits of Connecticut's public-sector work force be brought in line with the private sector.

"We need to achieve the short-term savings necessary to balance this budget, and we need long-term structural savings in order to make state government sustainable," Malloy, a Democrat, said in a statement. "I want to say to the people of Connecticut, again, that this is not the road I want to go down. But I simply refuse to dig us into a deeper hole."

The announcement followed more than two months of discussions between the governor's administration and state labor unions. The new $40.1 billion biennial budget that passed the legislature last week hinges on $1 billion in annual savings and givebacks from state workers.

The budget also calls for $1.4 billion in tax increases next fiscal year, the state's biggest tax hike in two decades.

Malloy had warned for weeks that if labor unions didn't agree to concessions, the result would be wide-scale layoffs and dramatic cuts to state programs and municipal funding.

The budget begins July 1, and Malloy has until May 31 to submit to the legislature a balanced version for ratification.

Last Friday Malloy held off from issuing the layoff notices as a goodwill gesture to allow more negotiation time. But after talks dragged on through the weekend and into Tuesday's predawn hours, his patience grew thin.

"He had the sense that not enough progress had been made to warrant delaying another day or two," said Roy Occhiogrosso, the governor's senior adviser.

The administration has yet to disclose what it is asking of the unions. The most revealing public statement to date was Malloy's reference to the need for wages, health care and pension benefits "more in line with those enjoyed by their counterparts in the private sector and in the federal workforce."

Adhering to a confidentiality clause, union officials also won't say what negotiators are seeking, nor what they aren't willing to give up. Both sides returned to the bargaining table later in the day Tuesday.

The 4,742 workers represent 10 percent of state government's approximately 46,000 full-time positions paid for with state funds. The layoffs, if enacted, are projected to save the state $455 million a year.

Occhiogrosso declined to estimate the number of first-round notices issued Tuesday or identify the agencies where those people work.

He said a detailed report on workers affected by layoff notices would be available Thursday. A number of managers also received notices. When possible, the notifications were given in person to workers at their workplaces. Others will be notified by certified mail.

"A significant number of people were notified today, more will be notified tomorrow and the day after and the day after," Occhiogrosso said.

Malloy said he directed the Office of Policy and Management to start planning for an additional $545 million in cuts from the new budget. Those budgets cuts, chosen from a list of so-called Plan B options, would result in a "significant" number of additional layoffs by July 1 if the concessions don't come, Occhiogrosso said.

The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, which represents the 15 state unions, informed its members Tuesday that union leaders were disappointed by the governor's decision to issue layoff notices:

"We have said time and again that laying off workers, whether in the public or private sector, and slashing vital public services will prove disastrous to our shared goal of creating jobs and rebuilding the middle class - especially at a time when our 9.1 percent unemployment rate is already higher than the national average [9 percent]," the coalitions said.

A coalition spokesman, Matt O'Connor, said unions are still willing to work on reaching a deal that's acceptable to all parties. "We'll take this day by day, understanding all of the pressures and the deadlines that are out there until we reach a mutual agreement," he said.

Leo Canty, vice president of the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut, said he's not interested in rushing to an agreement just because notices are going out.

"The clock for us doesn't matter as much as getting this right," Canty told reporters. "We can't really put (an agreement) forward for the membership unless it's something that they'll vote on because the consequences if they vote no - then we're in a bigger pickle than we are now."

If and when unions reach an agreement with the administration, rank-and-file workers would still have to vote to accept any changes to their pay and benefits. Adjustments to health care and retirement benefits would require approval from 13 of the 15 unions. Pay cuts or furloughs necessitate separate votes by each union.

Republican John G. Rowland was the last governor to issue pink slips. About 2,800 state employees received layoff notices in 2003 in the aftermath of an earlier recession. Prior to that, former-Gov. Lowell P. Weicker issued several thousand layoffs in the early 1990s.

Most state bargaining units accepted a one-year pay freeze in 2009-10 under Gov. M Jodi Rell, in additional to furlough days and increases to health insurance premiums and co-pays.

The Malloy administration did not identify the seniority of workers who are now receiving notices. The most senior unionized employees in state government require eight weeks notice before a layoff. Less senior workers require six-, four-, or two-week notice periods. However, layoffs typically occur on a last-in, first-out seniority basis.

Asked to characterize the tone of labor talks, the governor's adviser used the phrase "tough but respectful." Union support is often cited as a critical factor in Malloy's slim victory last fall over Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tom Foley.

"We are a small state," Occhiogrosso said. "We all know each other, and in some ways that makes it more difficult but in some ways makes it easier to have tough discussions."

CONTACT US

The Day is interested in talking to state employees who have received layoff notices. Please contact the city desk at 860-701-4334 or cityeditor@theday.com.