MANCHESTER—Municipal workers in the Town of Manchester have affirmed their commitment to helping administrators and elected officials make better budget choices that won't degrade public services for local residents. Leaders of the Union representing two groups of Town employees reminded General Manager Scott Shanley of $140,000.00 in labor cost savings for the current fiscal year they agreed to in April of 2009 in a letter delivered yesterday.

"We made clear that our members understand the challenges facing the Administration," said Manchester zoning enforcement officer James Davis. "All families are all struggling in this economy. We want to be sure the sacrifices we made less than a year ago are considered in any budget plans going forward," said Davis, the President of the CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 chapter representing Manchester's residual employees.

Davis' comments refer to a proposal the General Manager released last month that included a number of assumptions regarding further employee concessions. Not included in his budget plan were continued savings on employee wages provided by the current year's agreement. The Board of Directors proposed a budget for the next fiscal year with even deeper service cuts at their regular meeting on Tuesday.

"We have a number of newer members on the Board," said Scott Neff, the Engineering Department's chief of surveys. "It's important to share our history of stepping forward in difficult times. The reality is that we've always worked with the  current and past administrations to preserve services that residents need and deserve," said Neff, the President of the Union's chapter representing Manchester's supervisory staff.

Neff's comments refer to labor cost savings that members of the Union's two chapters have agreed to over the past two decades, and which are noted in their letter to the General Manager. Highlights include:

• Agreeing to extend the length of service between seniority-based wage increases by 50%;
• Agreeing to multiple days of unpaid leave on two separate occasions; and
• Agreeing to eliminate general wage increases scheduled for the current fiscal year.

CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 represents 25,000 active and retired public sector workers serving in state and municipal agencies, as well as local school districts across Connecticut. Visit www.seiu2001.org online for more information about how the Union's members are working to support quality public services for our children, our families, and our communities.

April 7 Letter to General Manager Scott Shanley