Action Alert: Tell Gov. Brewer to Keep Domestic Partner Benefits for State Workers!

Take Action- Flawed Budget awaiting signature

HB2641 passed the House last night, and is on Governor Brewer's desk for signature or veto. Inclusion of HB2641 in the general budget seeks to eliminate the domestic partner benefits granted to state employees last year, along with deep education cuts and other budget items.

The last chance to protect benefits for state employees is to Contact Governor Brewer RIGHT NOW!

Contact Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and ask her to veto the budget bills. Call her at (602) 542-4331 or toll free at 1-(800) 253-0883. You can email here by clicking on http://azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp and filling out the online form.

Losing these benefits affect real people and real families.

Such as Todd, who called the Governor's office yesterday and said, "It is my understanding that Arizona was one of the last states in the west to grant domestic partner benefits to its state University employee's, and it is one of the reasons we elected to stay in the area. It saddens me to think that we may be taking a step backward in our progress toward universal civil liberties. Contrary to the public statements made by Senator Pamela Gorman in today's newspaper, I feel that we may need to move elsewhere if the progress we've made in the past year is stripped away. Other states offer these benefits, why do we have to be the last to grant them and the first to take them away? Domestic Partner benefits DO draw quality applicants to the state and without them qualified professionals at the University level will move away."

Or like Brian, who called the Governor and said, "I am a State worker and one of the 750 who signed up for Domestic Partner benefits. It doesn't seem like equal pay when my coworkers doing the same job as I do can get benefits for their spouses and I cannot for my partner. So, I was very relieved, grateful and appreciative to be able to sign up this year. I had needed to get my partner on my health insurance for the last 3 years. There are other ways to balance the budget than to target a select group."