Statement on Closing of Fire Stations at UConn Health Center & Southbury Training School

Lori J. Pelletier, President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, made the following statement in response to the news about the closing and laying off of fire fighters at the UConn Health Center and Southbury Training School:

“Another week, another round of terrible news for public service workers.

“Despite the fact that the state fire fighters are currently in negotiations with the administration, they were just informed that the UConn Health Center and Southbury Training School fire houses were being closed and all of the fire fighters were losing their jobs. This is unacceptable and shortsighted.

“These workers provide a vital service to UConn and the Southbury Training School and to simply eliminate their jobs will put both facilities at risk. The neighboring fire communities, which are expected to take over for the laid off workers, will struggle to handle all of the calls from UConn and Southbury in addition to the calls in their local towns, which is an obvious threat to safety.

“Simply put, budgets should not be balanced on the backs of fire fighters and other public service workers.”

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