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Connecticut lawmakers say that union shop stewards should not be paid to do union work during business hours. Connecticut has 911 shop stewards, who answer questions about contracts and handle potential grievances. The state says that their salaries and benefits equal $93 million a year. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees says that the shop stewards are part of a process that saves the state money by fixing problems before they go to arbitration, and that this attack is along the same lines as those in Wisconsin. The Republicans say that they are just trying to fix a budget deficit. The Governor is currently in talks with state employee unions to find savings. Connecticut has 43,000 unionized state employees.