WHO:     CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 Legal Counsel Robert Krzys, State Board of Labor Relations General Counsel Karen Buskin, and Connecticut State Police Lieutenants and Captains.

WHEN:    Thursday, February 11 beginning at 10:00 AM.

WHERE:  Supreme Court of Connecticut, located at 231 Capitol Avenue in Hartford.

DETAILS: In 2008, the Administration of Governor M. Jodi Rell, at great expense to taxpayers, retained a private firm to appeal a Superior Court decision upholding the free choice of Connecticut State Police commissioned officers to form a union. On Thursday, the State Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case, the roots of which are in the unanimous election in 2006 by lieutenants and captains in the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to join CSEA/SEIU Local 2001.

"The Labor Board, the Attorney General, and a Superior Court Judge all previously agreed that we should be allowed to come to the table with leadership and work together to solve problems," said Ed Gould, a State Police lieutenant. "The reality is that the Administration's actions have discouraged others from seeking leadership positions, and that has left key command positions vacant," Lt. Gould, the Vice-President of the Union's Council representing DPS commissioned officers, added.

The lieutenants and captains who have been the targets of this protracted and costly legal battle have seen important command positions at the DPS go unfilled as the Administration's court case has dragged on. In December, Lt. Gould and CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 staff met with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), to share their concerns over the impact of the prolonged dispute on the current and future ranks of the State Police.

State Police commissioned officers who are members of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 will be available for public comment at the Supreme Court Thursday immediately following the hearing. They can address recent staffing shortfalls in the DPS, including the absence of command officers in key positions since last summer.

CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 represents 25,000 active and retired public sector workers across Connecticut, and is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's second largest public employees union. Visit www.seiu2001.org online for more information about its members' advocacy in gaining dignity and respect for public service workers in state, municipal, and education agencies across Connecticut.