Travis Woodward, President of the Connecticut State Employees Association (CSEA) affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2001, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed how staffing shortages among state workers in Connecticut could impact infrastructure work throughout the state.
CSEA SEIU Local 2001 represents 24,000 active and retired public employees in the state of Connecticut.
In the last eight months, the state has lost over 4,500 workers across all Connecticut state departments, Woodward said. The Connecticut Department of Transportation currently has 800 vacancies. From historical data, the CSEA estimates that Connecticut wastes $100 million per year in contracting out public work to the private sector, which is rising sharply due to a national shortage of engineers, he added.
Woodward also talked about a new four year Collective Bargaining Agreement for CSEA members approved by the General Assembly that includes substantial pay raises and the right to telework.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.