For weeks, President-elect Barack Obama has stressed the need for an economic stimulus package that provides resources for state and local governments to invest in roads, schools, and the health and well-being of the people. Next week, the President-Elect and Vice-President-elect Joe Biden will meet with thirty-five of the nation's governors including Connecticut's M. Jodi Rell.

"Our key advice is to seize any opportunity to join our state with the new President's program," said Dan Livingston, the chief negotiator for the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC). "And we're happy to help. When we invest in human needs and our infrastructure, we not only improve everyone's quality of life, but we help provide the spark to revitalize our economy. If, instead, we retreat and make deep cuts now, we not only make the current crisis worse for the people of our state -- we make it harder to pull out of this downward spiral in the future."

Union leaders, members of congress, and state legislative leaders have been discussing the need for a broad partnership that includes all levels of government and the private sector to secure the resources needed to turn Connecticut around. "We welcome the Governor's involvement in this effort," said Livingston "It will be a struggle either way, but it's far better that we struggle to begin a positive cycle of reinvestment, hope, and renewal, than a vicious cycle of cutback, despair, and decline."

SEBAC leaders pledged to continue working together to build partnerships with other federal, state, and local elected officials, community leaders, and the private sector, to secure federal dollars to stimulate Connecticut's economy.