THE CHIEF-LEADER welcomes letters from its readers for publication.
Correspondents must include their names, addresses and
phone numbers. Letters should be submitted with the understanding
that all correspondence is subject to the editorial judgment of this
newspaper. Letters can be e-mailed to: RSTEIER@RCN.COM or
mailed to: Richard Steier, Editor, 277 Broadway, Suite 1506, NY, NY
10007.

COMP DEAL A SELLOUT

Comp Deal A Sellout

To the Editor:

The recent report of the agreement by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly and the insurance industry to reduce the period of time an injured worker can be "permanently partially disabled" is a shameful episode of the privileged casting the poor further into poverty.

Worse, the State AFL-CIO approves the transaction. Who can workers turn to, if the State AFL-CIO is party to this monstrous transaction?

Al Smith, former Speaker of the Assembly and Governor, must be spinning in his grave, because Smith came to prominence after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. That's when we could be proud to be New Yorkers; we can't now.

I am dumbstruck by the audacity of this worker sellout. I have lived too long. As a child I was told America was a beacon of hope, freedom and opportunity. We aren't any more. We are the victims of wealth and privilege.

C. RICHARD WAGNER

Editor's note: Mr. Wagner was the longtime president of Board of Elections Local 1183 of the Communications Workers of America.