BRATTLEBORO-After just completing collective bargaining, the employees of USW local 944 Brattleboro public works settled on a one-year agreement with a 1% cost of living increase.
The Selectboard's refusal to provide a meaningful cost of living adjustment and to address the rising cost of medical insurance for employees, while simultaneously supporting the allocation of tax dollars towards other financial obligations such as the bailout of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital for mismanagement, is viewed by many employees as a profound lack of respect and a slap in the face of the workforce that keeps this town running.
For too long, the employees of the town of Brattleboro have been expected to do more with less compensation while receiving less respect from those elected and appointed to lead this community.
The employees of USW Local 944 are the people who plow your roads during snowstorms, repair water and sewer infrastructure, maintain our parks, respond to emergencies, and keep central public services operating every day. We do this work with professionalism and pride because we care about the community we serve.
What we continue to question is whether the Selectboard and the upper administration demonstrate that same commitment to the employees that make those services possible.
Respect is not measured by words spoken during meetings or campaign seasons. It is measured by actions in fair collective bargaining, offering competitive wages and benefits, honoring negotiated agreements, maintaining accurate payroll, listening to employees, and treating the workforce as an asset rather than an expense.
Over the past several years, employees have watched morale decline, observed experienced coworkers leaving, and seen increasing difficulty in recruiting qualified replacements. The cost of replacing the experienced employees far exceeds the cost for treating them fairly in the first place.
USW Local 944 is not asking for special treatment. We are demanding fairness, accountability, and respect. We believe the taxpayers expect their public servants to be treated with dignity because a stable, experienced workforce benefits the entire community.
We call upon the Selectboard and the town's administrations to change course. Invest in employees who keep Brattleboro running. Honor your commitments. Listen to concerns of your workforce. Rebuild trust through transparency and accountability.
A town is only as strong as the people who serve it. If Brattleboro wants to retain skilled employees and continue providing quality public services, it must start treating its workforce as an investment, not as a line item to be minimized.
United Steel Workers Local 944
Brattleboro
Frank Howard, president
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.
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