Featured Article

Twenty-seven city employees in New Haven got pink slips on Friday.  And the Board of Ed will face 127 more layoffs at the end of the school year. 

Typists, housing inspectors, clerks, and park supervisors are the first to lose their jobs.  School teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals will be laid off in June, though nearly half through attrition.  New Haven Mayor John DeStefano says his aim is to close a 28 million dollar budget gap without increasing taxes for city residents.  He calls the layoffs “regrettable” and blames frustrating labor union negotiations. "It was largely the result of bargaining units being willing to sacrifice a small number of employees so that they could keep their current and future raises.  That said, it was very important to give homeowners particularly and businesses a chance to get through this crisis by not putting on the additional pressure of taxes."

Taxes have gone up in New Haven in each of the past three years.  Tax exempt institutions like the New Haven Parking Authority have agreed to increase their voluntary payments to the city in lieu of taxes.  Yale University has announced an increase of 50% from 5 million to more than 7 ½ million dollars. 

Unions say they tried compromise

Union leaders say they offered large concessions to the city of New Haven to prevent job cuts, but their offers were rejected.  Twenty-seven city employees got pink slips on Friday..with 127 more layoffs expected at the end of the school year. 
Administrative assistants, park rangers and recreation supervisors were among union workers who found out last week that their jobs were being eliminated.  Larry Amendola, president of management union Local 3144 says he could understand New Haven Mayor John DeStefano’s frustration with labor leaders if unions had flatly rejected compromise. "But when unions agree to give him a good part of it… 80%  of whatever he’s looking for, then he should have in turn sat down with unions..He rejected it because his thing was, it wasn’t enough money."

The majority of Local 3144’s laid off workers have, what’s called “bumping rights”. That means they’re senior employees with 15 or more years on the job.  They’re allowed to bump other employees with the same title.  The bumping process begins this week.  

• Hear more on this story in the audio player below