Hundreds of Connecticut state employees, critical of lagging contract talks, rally in state Capitol On Monday, the legislative Appropriations Committee will hold a public hearing on proposed contracts with the Connecticut Employees Union Independent.

"All of our state workers are still upholding #TheCTDifference, despite federal chaos, decades of state attrition and the reliance on public services only increasing. But the dam is breaking. Gov. Lamont, Connecticut's public workers have done our part." @aft.org

Recruit, retain & reinvest; tonight, #union members in #SEBAC urged #GovNedLamont prioritize contracts for all #CTStateWorkers to deliver #TheCTDifference for all residents: www.facebook.com/share/p/1JJt... @aft.org @afthighered.bsky.social @afthealthcare.bsky.social @aftteach.bsky.social @aaup.org

Happening now: #union members urge #CTGeneralAssembly finance cmte lawmakers to embrace @ctforall.bsky.social's #StandUpCT agenda proposal to generate revenue needed to preserve & protect #TheCTDifference. @aft.org @aftteach.bsky.social @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org

Opinion: No rest for the part-time at CSCU All workers -- including part-timers at CSCU --deserve paid sick days and job security while recovering from illness or a catastrophic personal event.

"The part-time teachers in the CSCU system deserve job security and the dignity provided by allowing them to heal and tend to their loved ones when necessary." #TheCTDifference @csuaaup.bsky.social

UConn, CSCU advocates condemn state funding 'disaster,' demand more dollars for public higher education in CT Connecticut public higher education institutions face massive budget shortfalls in the upcoming fiscal year.

"Let's be clear, the strain on higher education is not a failure of our students or our faculty and staff. It is a result of policy choices. Connecticut has the resources to do better." #thectdifference #FundOurFutureCT #FundOurFuture @aft.org @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org

Happening now: @csuaaup.bsky.social, #UniversityHealthProfessionals & #UCHCAAUP leaders testify before the #CTGeneralAssembly’s budget-writing committee urging more funding for CT’s public #highered programs. #TheCTDifference @aft.org @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org

Happening now: @uconnaaup.bsky.social, #BackusNurses leaders urge lawmakers on #CTGeneralAssembly’s #HigherEd cmte to stopgap x’d federal Grad PLUS loans, empower RNs & #HospitalStaff to seek advanced careers. #TheCTDifference @aft.org @afthighered.bsky.social @afthealthcare.bsky.social @aaup.org

Advocates, coalition leaders hopeful lawmakers can address wants in legislation session HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — As lawmakers reconvened at the Connecticut State Capitol Wednesday, advocates said they’re hopeful they can address their priorities in the coming months of the legis…

“We’re educating Connecticut’s workforce, we’re educating Connecticut’s leaders and we want to make sure that education is affordable.” #TheCTDifference @csuaaup.bsky.social

Do Teachers Have Free Speech? CT Panel Grapples With The Issue At Education Summit | CT News Junkie State Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, said teachers shouldn’t have to choose between basic American freedoms and their career.

“Teachers also should have confidence that making a comment on social media that someone doesn’t like can be a career-ending decision” #TheCTDifference

Gov. Ned Lamont, 35 Connecticut employee unions nearing new contract deal "I think we’re getting closer. It’s not a deal at this point," Gov. Ned Lamont said.

"We are hopeful that the governor will make good on his commitment to each local table and deliver fair and fully funded contracts without any further delay." #TheCTDifference @aft.org

EXCLUSIVE - ‘They’re living in a fantasy world’ - UConn professors sound the alarm on looming budget cuts The university is ordering some departments to cut their temporary labor budget by 30%, which professors say could lead to changes in the classroom.

"...if the university is asking instructors and professors to teach the same way in the classroom with fewer resources and with less support, they're living in a fantasy world." #TheCTDifference @uconnaaup.bsky.social

Demanding workplace policies that make #TheCTDifference possible; a @uconnaaup.bsky.social member called out @uconn.bsky.social administrators’ refusal to make #PaidLeave accessible & equitable for faculty growing their families: aftct.org/2025/11/12/s... @aft.org @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org

A CT university has a $44B endowment. But staff layoffs are possible; prof calls it ‘demoralizing’ “Nearly two-thirds of the university’s expenses relate to compensation and benefits,” university administration said in a memo.

"We have so little voice in even offering ideas and feedback. It is concerning to everyone that the possibility of layoffs has been put on the table..." #thectdifference @aft.org @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org

CT court workers get 2.5% raise, step hike through arbitration Contracts for nearly three dozen bargaining units representing 45,000 state workers expired July 1.

“It also sends a clear message to (Gov. Ned) Lamont that he should take negotiations seriously and offer honorable contracts that reflect workforce needs beyond one year." #thectdifference @aft.org

3 CT state employee unions to get pay hikes worth 4.5% The COLA and step raise effectively represent a 4.5% increase and could help all state employees get similar raises.

“Every day, we keep our communities running — protecting the public and providing the essential services we all count on,” #TheCTDifference

Opinion: Academic freedom should extend to UConn graduate assistants Graduate assistants following UConn’s values by speaking clearly, honestly, and frankly deserve the same protection as any full professor.

"As Professors Jeffrey Dudas and @djpressman.bsky.social remind readers, the university must begin listening to the academic departments, faculty, and student-employees, who are 'the beating hearts of the @uconn.bsky.social community.'” #TheCTDifference @uconnaaup.bsky.social

UConn continues review of small programs The University of Connecticut is continuing its review of small programs and is currently planning to consolidate, or has already consolidated, five undergraduate programs, two graduate certificate…

"Our main responsibility is to the state and to provide these teachers for the state. So it would be very short sighted of the administration to eliminate these programs.” #TheCTDifference @uconnaaup.bsky.social

Quality, affordable public #HigherEd & healthcare fulfill dreams & promote healing. Fair, honorable #union contracts for #CTStateWorkers are essential to delivering both. #TheCTDifference @aft.org @afthighered.bsky.social @afthealthcare.bsky.social @aaup.org

CT professors call on higher ed leaders to reject Trump's compact and defend higher education The compact asks colleges and universities to align their practices and policies with the president's agenda.

“reject the Trump administration's so-called compact, which asks colleges to make sweeping changes to policies and practices to align them with the president's agenda.”
#TheCTDifference @csuaaup.bsky.social

Professors lament federal research funding cuts at faculty panel The Yale chapter of the American Association of University Professors held a virtual panel Thursday featuring six faculty members who have been affected by President Donald Trump’s cuts.

“We also wanted to address a frustrating narrative we’ve been hearing more frequently—that Yale has somehow been exempted from the funding freezes and disruptions affecting other institutions,” #TheCTDifference @yaleaaup.bsky.social

UConn faculty paid family leave debate continues in CT Mirror Op Ed pages University of Connecticut faculty have expressed their frustration with university administrations over paid family leave policies.

“[Without guaranteed paid family leave,] we get worse educators in the classroom, less creative and less productive scientists in the lab, unreliable committee members and poor decision makers,” #TheCTDifference @uconnaaup.bsky.social

Opinion: Faculty matter most. So where’s the support? Faculty “is the #1 predictor for student return, retention, and graduation, above and beyond all other factors.

“CSU-AAUP, the union for full and part-time faculty at the four Connecticut State Universities, is currently in a contract battle that has already been drawn out comically long.” #TheCTDifference @csuaaup.bsky.social

Opinion: Faculty matter most. So where’s the support? Faculty “is the #1 predictor for student return, retention, and graduation, above and beyond all other factors.

"Even when we’re not sick, or having babies, or wondering whether our classes will be cut at the last moment, the ordinary mental load of working at multiple universities is exhausting. And it’s making me worse at my job." #TheCTDifference @csuaaup.bsky.social

Opinion: UConn's administration should consult its own experts Genuine collaboration and shared governance - not outside consultants - should guide the decisions of a major university.

“We don’t need a cookie cutter budget approach that drains funds from UConn and passes the money instead to consultants who shop their same ideas from one university to the next.” #TheCTDifference @uconnaaup.bsky.social

UConn-AAUP is excited to be in Stamford today talking with members and organizing for a stronger UConn #thectdifference

UConn-AAUP holds rally outside Student Union Ballroom Members and supporters of the University of Connecticut’s branch of the American Association of University Professors filled the halls outside of the Student Union Ballroom on Monday, Oct. 20, to p…

“This is how unions win; we show up, we demand change and we stand together,” #TheCTDifference @uconnaaup.bsky.social

Opinion: This is UConn: Zero paid family leave for professors UConn currently lets every pregnant/expecting individual reinvent the wheel, cobbling together a leave plan with whatever resources and departmental grace they can muster.

Good professors leave UConn for a lack of family leave and resources #TheCTDifference @uconnaaup.bsky.social

No Secrets: UConn must bargain transparently with its unions During the fall 2025 semester, the University of Connecticut has been engaged in collective bargaining negotiations with several influential and important unions on campus.

All UConn employees deserve to know where they stand on concerns such as pay and working conditions.
#TheCTDifference @uconnaaup.bsky.social @uconngeu.bsky.social

#TheCTDifference. @aft.org @aftacademics.bsky.social‬ @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org @uconnaaup.bsky.social @higheredlabor.bsky.social‬

#TheCTDifference. @aft.org @aftacademics.bsky.social‬ @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org @uconnaaup.bsky.social @higheredlabor.bsky.social‬