No square one in negotiations with the SEA

Foster's adds to the chorus of newspaper editorial pages backing the proposed state contract, and urging members of the State Employees Association to vote yes.

Sometime between now and Oct. 12, the SEA's general membership will vote on the contract the union leaders have rejected. But the ability to vote comes with a caveat, the stated recommendation of the leaders that the rank-and-file members, too, reject the offer.

Gov. Lynch has made reasonable offers to keep from having to lay off hundreds of state employees. The state has already realized savings with the closing of the Laconia State Prison and a school in Concord for children with behavioral problems. The two closings saw the elimination of about 200 state employment positions.