I am writing to commend The Day’s editorial board on their stance towards the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) negotiated raises that went into effect for Connecticut state workers July 1. As a grocery store employee, my co-workers and I have been working hard on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside many other private sector workers. As a New London city councilor, I am urging everyone not to forget the municipal and state workers alongside us. It is imperative, as both leaders and as consumers of these services, that we honor our promises to them, especially during a pandemic.

From the Department of Transportation workers continuing to keep the roads that bring our constituents to work every day safe, to the devastating number of people who are filing weekly unemployment claims with our Department of Labor employees, state workers accepted six years without any pay increases along with many other changes to their healthcare and pension benefits that have saved Connecticut nearly $1.6 billion. It is time for us to honor the contracts they have negotiated.

The answer is not more cuts, but more promised resources to more of the working families helping to keep our city and state running safely.

James Burke

New London