Malloy urges rejection of UConn labor contract

Both Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, agreed the state cannot afford the contract, which recently cleared the General Assembly's Appropriations Committee and has been awaiting action by the full legislature.

The governor's call to reject the contract comes as his administration continues to negotiate wage and working condition contracts with most of the state employee bargaining units.

The memo from Office of Policy and Management Secretary Ben Barnes notes how the agreement for the UConn non-teachers "could establish a pattern that would cost more than $1 billion over five years if applied across state employees outside of higher education."