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Join your fellow citizens and
encourage the San Luis Obispo City Council to

Let the Voters Decide

on Binding Arbitration

The city's future viability could depend on where you are tonight.

Where:

 City Hall, 990 Palm St.

When:

 Tonight, meeting starts at 
7 p.m., get there early to get a seat
Who: You, your neighbors and friends
What: Special City Council meeting discussing whether or not to put binding arbitration and the city's ability to make pension reductions on the ballot

Make your voice heard at a special City Council meeting, where the council will discuss putting before the voters both binding arbitration and the city’s ability to make pension reductions. To include the topic in a potential June statewide election, the council must take swift action to give voters the opportunity to decide whether to repeal or amend binding arbitration.

If tonight is anything like the last time binding arbitration was discussed at City Hall, huge numbers of out-of-town union organizers will come to sway our elected officials.

Think we're exaggerating? Read this e-mail to out-of-town union sympathizers from Erik Baskin, president of the local firefighters union.

The facts:

  • Voters approved binding arbitration 11 years ago in good economic times. That led to 30% increases in salary to sworn officers and 37% increases for non-sworn personnel and ongoing yearly costs of $2.7 million.
  • The City of San Luis Obispo now faces a $2.6 million shortfall per year.
  • The City Charter currently says that pension benefits can only be increased, but not decreased, by the City Council without a vote of the people.

We elect the City Council to make these critical decisions and binding arbitration turns this power over to an unelected outside arbitrator who doesn't answer to the voters. This is undemocratic.

Urge your City Council to let the voters decide whether to repeal or amend binding arbitration.

 

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The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce is an independent business advocacy organization that is not affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or any other Chamber of Commerce.
© 2012 San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce.  http://slochamber.org