The reason Karen's statement attracted such attention was simple; she raised the specter of discrimination against our Chapter's members on the basis of gender by the Board of Selectmen.

Naturally, the threat of a costly discrimination suit hanging over the Town as elected officials grapple with declining revenues and the Governor's proposal to flat-fund municipal aid to Connecticut's cities and towns has far-reaching implications.

That is why we are mobilizing now to move elected officials to be fair to Newtown's municipal Town Hall employees. If you are a resident or work for the town, take a moment to contact each of the three Selectmen on the Board and tell them to grant an extension for our members -- just like they did for the union representing the town's workers in the Highway Department in December.

Tell them allowing an extension for a bargaining unit that is made up of exclusively male workers and refusing the same for a unit that is mostly female is not just unfair; it would be a tremendous waste of taxpayer money if the dispute winds up in court. After all, they have a proposed Town budget to pass in the middle of the worst economy in seventy years...