March 2, 2013 Honorable Andrew M Cuomo, Governor State of New York The Capitol Albany, NY 12224 Dear Governor

Cuomo, I am writing to you today on behalf of the fire fighters of the State of New York. It is with great concern that I read the news that you are considering drastic changes to the fire fighters pension system and binding arbitration process. Just like New York, Ohio has a long-standing tradition of being labor friendly. In 2011, our governor, John Kasich was part of a movement to decimate public employees bargaining rights. The people spoke through referendum by a margin of 61%-38% that they supported fire fighters and public employees rights. Governor Kasichs attack was and continues to be detrimental to his relationship with working people in Ohio. Stop the legislation that would circumvent the binding arbitration process in New York. One of the greatest criticisms Gov. Kasich received was that he did not work with labor in a cooperative manner. Please do not make that same mistake. Work with the fire fighters. Fire fighters throughout the country are not the greedy union thugs like they are portrayed by extreme media. They are reasonable public servants who have one goal: to protect the citizens of their community. Your first two years in office have been perceived as harsh and punitive by many of our brothers and sisters in New York. I urge you to stop this new pension reform, especially considering that the impact of changes in 2010 have not been realized. With the full support of 10,000 Ohio Professional Fire Fighters I ask you to withdraw your proposals and work with New York Fire Fighters for resolve. The best solutions come from working togethera lesson learned in Ohio in 2011. Sincerely

Mark A. Sanders Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters President