About the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC)
What is the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition?
Put simply, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) is the organization that negotiates YOUR healthcare and retirement benefits, as well as all of Connecticut’s other state employees. SEBAC is a coalition comprised of all of the unions representing Connecticut’s state employees, and the organization operates through various subcommittees to ensure that the voice of every bargaining unit is heard and the needs of each member are addressed.
With the current SEBAC agreement set to expire on June 30, 2027, preparations for the next round of negotiations are now underway.
History of SEBAC:
State employees in Connecticut were not granted formal collective bargaining rights until the passage of the State Employee Relations Act (SERA) in 1975; prior to that, they had no voice in decisions about their compensation, benefits, and working conditions. SERA mirrored the language of federal labor law, and similar laws that existed in other states, requiring the State of Connecticut to negotiate with its state employees on all matters relating to questions of wages, hours, and other conditions of employment.
In 1948, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had ruled that pension benefits were an “integral part” of an employee's compensation, and therefore, were a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. However, because the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 omitted public sector employees from its collective bargaining protections—leaving both the decision to grant guaranteed collective bargaining rights to public sector employees, and the scope of any such protections, entirely to individual state legislatures—the National Labor Relations Board’s decision did not apply to state employees. In 1980, believing that Connecticut’s State Employees should be allowed to have a voice in decisions about their future, and understanding that working people derive their power from solidarity, several unions representing state employees formed a coalition called the Pension Coordinating Committee (PCC). This coalition allowed state employees across departments and unions to negotiate as one for better benefits for all.
On March 17th, 1981, the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations issued a ruling stating that “it can scarcely be doubted” pension benefits are considered a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. On April 17th, 1981, the State of Connecticut walked out of pension negotiations with the PCC. State employees responded by organizing a rally at the State Capitol that was attended by thousands. Later that year, on June 14th, 1981, the State Labor Board released a ruling, Decision No. 2044, which reaffirmed that pensions “vitally affect” state employees’ compensation and working conditions, and therefore, were mandatory subjects of collective bargaining.
It is important to understand just how extraordinary that ruling was, and still is today. Although Connecticut’s state employees had been afforded a pension consistently since 1939, it was established by the state legislature through a law called the State Employees’ Retirement Act. Having been created through a state statute, the retirement benefits of state employees could be reduced by the State Legislature arbitrarily at any time, or entirely eliminated—with employees having no say! Due in no small part to Connecticut AFSCME members’ advocacy, alongside siblings from other state employee unions, Connecticut became one of the only states to require the State of Connecticut to negotiate with its state employees on pension issues. To this day, Connecticut is one of only four states that explicitly allow state employees to collectively bargain on the issue of retirement benefits. Over the past several decades, as many states have eliminated defined contribution plans for state employees or significantly scaled back retirement benefits, Connecticut’s state employees have been shielded from the brunt of that trend by their rare ability to bargain over retirement benefits. In fact, in 2017, the state legislature would wage war on this right, in an effort to significantly weaken state employees' pension benefits.
However, Connecticut’s state employees now faced a different problem: how should retirement benefits be negotiated, and by whom? The unions that made up the PCC negotiated as a coalition, reaching an agreement with the state that would become Tier 2 of the State Employee Retirement System. However, the remaining unions representing state employees refused to accept the new tier, forcing the state to negotiate separate agreements with each union through interest arbitration. The process stretched on for an additional two years, proving debilitating and costly, and yet despite the years of delay and considerable expense, the resulting pension agreements were practically identical. It was not until July 1, 1984, that these agreements took effect, formally establishing Tier 2.
The process of reaching a pension agreement was so arduous that groundbreaking legislation was passed in 1986 to streamline reaching agreements on both pensions and healthcare issues with state employees, which required that all bargaining on those issues be conducted by a coalition of all the unions representing state employees—thereby creating the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC). Conncecicut’s state employee unions had fared no better than the State during the prolonged negotiations over Tier 2 and recognized that, while issues unique to job class and bargaining unit (i.e., wages and working conditions) should be negotiated by individual unions at the local bargaining table, issues that impacted all state employees could only be fairly and efficiently negotiated by a coalition comprised of all the impacted unions.
Since the first SEBAC agreement—a 1989 arbitration decision—SEBAC and the State have successfully negotiated eight agreements, safeguarding state employees’ healthcare benefits, protecting pensions, and defending members' right to a dignified retirement.
How This Affects You:
As a correction officer, you put your life on the line every day to keep the State of Connecticut safe. Your career comes with unique risks, demands, and long-term physical and mental strain. SEBAC decisions directly impact:
- What your benefits will be upon retirement
- What your pension looks like
- What healthcare you and your family receive
- What you pay out-of-pocket
These are some of the most important financial decisions affecting your future.
For example, healthcare costs have skyrocketed for public sector employees, with coverage being reduced across the nation. But, due to your contractual rights through SEBAC, Connecticut continues to lead the nation in providing quality, affordable healthcare coverage to state employees.
On average, state employees in Connecticut pay 2% of their healthcare costs compared to an average of 14% in other states.
Who Bargains For You?
Connecticut’s state employees are represented by one of the nation’s leading labor and employment law attorneys: Daniel Livingston.
Danny Livingston has been a part of our nation’s labor movement for nearly fifty years. Livingston has been the Chief Negotiator and Legal Counsel for SEBAC since 1994.
He helped craft the ground-breaking 20-year pension and health care agreement in 1997, and is proud to have served the Coalition in 2002 and 2003 as it fought to fend of then-Governor John Rowland's decimation of public services and his layoff of nearly 3000 state workers.
He also led the Coalition in 2009 and 2011 as it reached successful agreements preventing layoffs and preventing service cuts contemplated first by then-Governor Jodi Rell (2009) and then by Governor Dannel Malloy (2011).
Dan has committed his life to helping SEBAC and other public employee unions protect vital public services and the members who provide them, as well as leverage their power to fight more broadly for all working families.
Why SEBAC Works?
OUR SOLIDARITY IS OUR POWER
SEBAC exists for one reason: strength in numbers. By bargaining together as one coalition:
- The State cannot divide unions against each other
- All workers—across agencies—stand united, bargaining as one for better benefits for all
- We secure stronger, more consistent benefits for everyone