If successful, the legislation will allow the employees in the state's 54 probate courts and six regional children's probate courts to organize a union.
"I am paid by the state of Connecticut, I have state of Connecticut health insurance, I endured a wage increase freeze from 2008 to 2014 like many state employees, yet without the job security 'real' state employees were afforded," Heather Kennedy, probate court officer at the New London Regional Children's Probate Court, said in written testimony at a legislative hearing this week.
Paul J. Knierim, the Probate Court administrator, urged lawmakers to reject the legislation. The court system reflects probate judges' roles as elected officials accountable to the voters for the performance of their courts and the bill "would eliminate a key element of local control," he said.
The legislation would "upset the reasonable balance that this structure embodies," Knierim said.
State Rep. Peter Tercyak, House chairman of the legislature's Labor and Public Employees Committee, supports the legislation, which is strongly backed by public employee unions and the Connecticut AFL-CIO. He discounted Knierim's criticism, saying probate judges handle nonpartisan, nonpolitical matters.
"The question is, why are we electing these judges in the first place?" he said.
Tercyak, D-New Britain, criticized the probate system's practice of requiring employees to serve judges and courts similar to how political appointees work, with little job security that's available to civil servants.
"Nothing stops them from saying, 'thank you for your service, now it's time for you to go,'" he said.
Connecticut's probate courts oversee estates and trusts and handle guardianship of children, the removal of unfit parents and adoptions, appoint guardians to supervise the care of adults with intellectual disabilities and are involved in involuntary medication and commitment of people with psychiatric disabilities.
Knierim said the probate system has uniform statewide compensation and a benefits plan to "ensure fair and competitive pay" for staff.
But Susan Meagher, an employee of the Berlin Probate Court, told lawmakers that probate court employees are "significantly underpaid" compared with state employees in similar jobs, such as the state Judicial Branch.
In addition, Probate Court employees could lose their jobs if judges they serve do not seek re-election or are defeated at the polls, she said.
"I am lucky that my current judge was re-elected in November," Meagher said.
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Probate Court workers demand recognition as state employees
Not a good idea. They'll be wanting immunity too.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of that.
ReplyDelete