Ending the DOT's "Culture of Fear"
Leadership and Vision
P-4 Council Members Kevin Ng and Stephen Livingston Urged US Representative Chris Murphy to Support Federal Reform at the 2009 NASHTU Conference
When Governor M. Jodi Rell announced the formation of a blue-ribbon commission to bring an end what the press had begun to call the Department of Transportation's "culture of corruption," our members called for including at least one long-standing department employee in our union to the panel.
Our members have consistently called for more effective, competent leadership as the real reform the agency needs. Our message remained consistent, and we turned-up the volume when the Governor proposed dissolving the DOT and replacing it with two separate bureaucracies in 2008.
We succeeded in blocking this short-sighted proposal, and made brought real change to the agency in late-2008 when we negotiated a historic agreement that reduces the DOT's dependence on costly contractors.
For two years in a row, our Union has been asked to share our successes with our allies in the National Association of State Highway and Transportation Unions (NASHTU). The presentation and complete report on efforts at the 2009 gathering are posted below.
Report to the P-4 Council on the 2009 NASHTU Conference
"Connecticut: How We Got Here, Where We Are Going" presentation
NASHTU-supported federal reform legislation
"Calling for Action on Our DOT OJE Agreement"
Steve Livingston's blog entry reporting-back on the 2008 NASHTU convention
Hartford Advocate article on DOT's overliance on outsourcing
Blog Post on members' testimony at hearings on DOT split
Press Release on the proposal to split the DOT
"5-Point Plan for Reforming the DOT: 'Safety, Security, and Savings"
National Association of State Highway and Transportation Unions (NASHTU)
