HARTFORD—Public service workers united in CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 have been reaching out to their elected representatives since the start of the 2008 legislative session in February. As the State's economic outlook has soured, union members are concerned about cuts to safety, transportation, health, education, and countless other vital services hundreds of thousands of families across Connecticut depend on them to deliver.
Members of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 are coordinating "Labor Lobby Day 2008" at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on Wednesday, April 16 beginning at 10:00 a.m. A capitol news briefing, co-hosted with CEUI/SEIU Local 511 and AFSCME Council 4, is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. in room 1B with House Majority Leader Chris Donovan and Senator Edith Prague on legislation that "pools" state, municipal, and school district workers in a single, cost-effective healthcare plan.
"This year, there is added urgency to our Labor Lobby Day efforts" Lynn Coda-Klein, the union's Legislative Action Committee Co-Chair, observed of Wednesday's events. "We're facing tough times ahead, and we're going to tell our elected officials that investing in quality public services is an investment in our state's economy," Coda-Klein, an analyst with the State Department of Information Technology, continued. "Slashing public services to balance tight budgets would be detrimental to the quality of those services every resident deserves" she concluded.
In addition to relief from rising healthcare costs for local towns and school districts, public service workers united in CSEA/SEIU will ask elected officials where they stand on a variety of public policy issues. Union members will track the positions of their Representative and Senator on current legislation that would empower them to lead for quality public services, such as reorganizing the beleaguered Department of Transportation, adopting telecommuting to improve efficiency, and expanding educational requirements as part of comprehensive criminal justice reform.
Members of the press may contact the union's Communications Director Matt O'Connor at 860/951-6614, extension 129, or by sending e-mail to moconnor@csea760.com to coordinate interviews with participating members.
CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 represents 25,000 active and retired public sector workers across Connecticut, and is an affiliate of SEIU, the nation's second largest public employees union. Visit www.seiu2001.org online for more information on the working families' issues its members have been advocating at the State Capitol.