Statement on Hartford City Council’s Opposition to Bankruptcy

Lori J. Pelletier, President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, made the following statement in response to the Hartford City Council’s opposition to any plan for the city to declare bankruptcy:

“Working people in Hartford and around the state applaud the Hartford City Council members who are standing up to Mayor Bronin and oppose any plan for our capital city to declare bankruptcy.

“Bankruptcy would be a devastating option for Hartford. The city’s residents and workers would suffer significantly if bankruptcy was ever declared – and may never fully recover from the repercussions.

“Declaring bankruptcy will also hurt the city’s and region’s efforts to attract a young workforce and convince people to live in the city. This would reduce the tax base in the city and hurt economic growth.

“It’s also important to note that Hartford’s workers have stood up and saved the city over $19 million over a four-year period. And these figures do not include the concessions teachers and paraeducators have made on healthcare, which are still being calculated. It also does not count the savings from the workers still negotiating with the Mayor.

“In just this year on wages alone, Hartford’s teachers have saved the city nearly $4 million, the firefighters saved $1.5 million, and paraeducators saved over half a million. These are significant givebacks that these workers agreed to because they believe in helping shore up the city’s finances and keeping it strong.

“Hartford has a lot of potential and bankruptcy would destroy all of it. Let’s make sure it’s not the first capital in the country to go down this dangerous path.”

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Click here to see labor’s statement in May 2017 when the Hartford municipal unions announced over $8 million in savings for the city.