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In Their Corner

Should teachers be concerned about the upcoming elections? Absolutely. They need State Senate candidate Christine Cohen and State Representative Sean Scanlon (D-98) in their corner. Both Christine and Sean will support teachers in the Legislature.

Remember the Connecticut teacher strikes in the ’60s and ’70s? Remember the strikes last year in the West? Why have there been no strikes in Connecticut in the last few decades? Because of binding arbitration. Christine Cohen and Sean Scanlon will work diligently in our legislature to make sure the binding arbitration laws ensuring continued education for our children and fairness for our teachers remain unchanged.

The State of Connecticut hasn’t funded its portion of the State Retired Teacher’s Insurance Fund. So even though the teachers have paid their portion throughout their teaching careers, they’re now seeing drastic changes in their insurance plans due to a shortfall of funds. These people have dedicated their entire working careers to helping educate our children, and now their benefits are being cut, due to the state. We need Christine and Sean to protect both the Teacher’s Retirement Fund and pension fund.

Christine is on the Board of Education, and understands the issues that education faces. She will work to improve conditions for our students, our teachers, and our retirees.

Sean has worked closely with teachers and understands their concerns. He has supported education and will continue to do so. He was able to protect our schools by stopping millions of dollars in education cuts, and he will continue to work to support education.

As a retired teacher, who spent her first day of teaching, many years ago, on a picket line because of a teacher strike, I urge you to support Christine Cohen and Sean Scanlon in the coming election. Educators need them in their corner.

Rose Dostert

Guilford