Dear Senator/Representative,

     I send this letter to convey my concerns about the mistreatment of municipal workers in the City of Waterbury 
at the hands of the Waterbury Financial Planning and Assistance Board (WFPAB). In numerous instances, the 
WFPAB has deviated from its stated mission of restoring financial stability to the city and instead has attacked 
contract provisions without financial implication.  Lacking oversight of its actions the WFPAB has forced workers to 
pursue costly lawsuits in an attempt to preserve rights enjoyed by workers throughout Connecticut. 

     The powers assigned the WFPAB are so broad they constitute an implied coercion.  One may accept an offer 
or face a WFPAB "arbitrated" decision. House Bill No. 5060 (Raised) An Act Concerning Municipal Binding Arbitration 
in the City of Waterbury would address this unchecked power by reinstating binding arbitration by a neutral panel 
in the event that workers, the City, and the (WFPAB) could not reach an agreement. Only through the passage of 
this bill can workers have any meaningful participation in contract negotiation. The current kangaroo court 
arbitration must not continue. The most recent example of WFPAB's abuse of power is its attack on retiree benefits. 
House Bill No. 5468 (Raised) An Act Concerning Municipal Pension Benefit Reductions would prohibit the City from 
diminishing or eliminating the rights and benefits granted to an employee or retiree under a municipal retirement 
or pension system through the collective bargaining process. That this bill is necessitated by WFPAB's wanton 
disregard for contract law and worker rights, is further evidence of the need to place limitations and controls 
on this body. 

     I hope I can count on your enthusiastic support of the aforementioned bills. Waterbury workers have consistently 
worked with the city to solve a financial crisis rooted in mismanagement and the postponement of revaluation. Now, 
with talk of a phased in revaluation gaining momentum, I look to you to stand for the worker, the worker who has 
been forced to bear the brunt of the WFPAB's actions for the crime of going to work for the city. I will be monitoring 
the progress of these bills, and come November, I will be voting accordingly. 

Sincerely,