State Supreme Court Rules State Employee Unions Can Sue Rowland For Illegal Firings
Today the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Connecticut’s state employee unions are entitled to a trial of their claims that former Governor John M. Rowland illegally fired 2,800 public service workers seven years ago. Rowland had requested immunity from charges he abused the power of his office to silence the voices of his critics when he fired thousands of members of the unions in the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) beginning in November of 2002.
The State employee unions contend that Governor Rowland targeted union employees for termination for refusing to give up their vested contract rights under their collective bargaining agreements, for opposing his Administration’s policies, and for supporting his opponent in the 2002 gubernatorial elections. The contract agreements had been negotiated by Governor Rowland and were all approved by the Connecticut General Assembly. The Supreme Court decision expressly noted that under state law, the unions cannot be forced to give up their contract rights.
David S. Golub of the Stamford law firm of Silver, Golub & Teitell, counsel for SEBAC and the terminated union members, stated, “the State has admitted that it targeted unionized employees to try to compel their unions to give up their contract rights. That’s illegal. The First Amendment guarantees that individuals can belong to unions and engage in union activity and can’t be penalized for doing so.”
Golub stressed that the terminations had no relationship to budgetary savings. “This case isn’t about laying off employees to save money; these terminations were ordered based on calculations of how many unionized employees had to be terminated in order to inflict enough pain on the unions to make them give up protected rights.”
The case will now return to State Superior Court at Hartford for trial. A related case is also pending in Hartford federal court.
“We hope that Governor Rell will put this period of corruption and intimidation behind us and choose not to spend taxpayer money to try this case on behalf of Governor Rowland,” said Bob Rinker, Executive Director of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001, one of the unions in the coalition. “That taxpayer payer money in this economic crisis would be better spent to support Family Resource Centers, HIV/AIDS services, keeping Life Star in the air, and other vital services that Connecticut needs.”
To learn more about the coalition’s campaign for a fair budget and a livable state with great public services visit www.InThisTogetherCT.org.
Link:
ROBERT CONBOY ET AL. v. STATE OF CONNECTICUT (SC 17798)
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