Yes to Job Corps

 

Yes to Job Corp, no to Trump’s attack on working class programs!  Inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal work relief programs, the Job Corps has successfully and reliably provided jobs, training, and education to millions of young workers aged 16 to 24 throughout the country since its first campus opened its doors in 1965.

Job Corps in Connecticut has campuses in New Haven and Hartford.  For decades, about 300 students graduate each year and go on to contribute skills and leadership to their communities.

Today, the largely African American and Latino students of Connecticut’s Job Corps programs are in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration’s shameless war on workers.  For months, the Trump Administration has used loopholes and disingenuous legal theories to shutter this successful program.  

Just a few short weeks ago, the program and its allies pushed back in federal court and won an injunction protecting the program.  But, because of a super-majority of conservatives on the Supreme Court, it is not clear how long this injunction will hold.

The young people who are training at Connecticut’s Job Corps are not waiting to see what the Supreme Court will do.  They recognize that public action is necessary to protect Job Corp. They have the support of federal, state and local elected officials and the community.

The Jobs and Unemployed Committee of the New Haven Peoples Center is circulating a petition in support of the 149 New Haven students whose future is threatened by possible funding cuts from the Trump administration.

Standing outside the New Haven Campus, next to Senator Richard Blumenthal, Nahjayiah Munoz, the foreman of the campus carpentry program, shared that she would not have gotten a career without Job Corp, adding “we learned everything we need to do safety-wise, because on the job site, there’s not a guarantee that you’re safe - [Job Corps] makes sure we will be safe.”

Troy Sanders, who became employed as plumbing apprentice through Job Corps, said, “Job Corps is helping me out a lot, to get a good trade.  I know a lot of people that need Job Corps.”

Connecticut Sues Trump over $53 Million in School Funding

 

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 25 states in suing the Trump Administration over its unconstitutional, unlawful, and arbitrary decision to freeze $6.8 billion in funding for six longstanding programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education, including over $53 million for Connecticut schools alone.

Loss of this funding will cause immediate and severe harm to schools nationwide. Already, ongoing summer learning programs have been left unfunded. Tong and the coalition ask the court to declare the funding freeze unlawful – as courts have repeatedly done in other cases filed by Connecticut and the states– and to block any attempts to withhold or delay this funding.

“The White House has dropped an unnecessary and cruel bomb on students and their families. All Connecticut students - not just those most in need - will be jeopardized if local districts are forced to make up the difference. No one voted for starving children of their opportunity to learn. The White House should immediately back off and allow the resources Congress has already appropriated to be directed to classrooms here in Connecticut and across the nation,” said Mary Yordan, AFT Connecticut Vice President.

“Trump and Linda McMahon are stealing from Connecticut schools to fund tax cuts for billionaires, and its our kids and our teachers who are paying the price. We are talking about over $53 million already built into local school budgets in nearly every district in Connecticut for computers and technology, afterschool enrichment and field trips, social workers, English language instruction, teacher training, adult education and more,” said Tong.

“We stopped Trump when he tried to defund Head Start, when he tried to defund disaster relief and energy assistance, when he tried to defund our police, cancer research, and our libraries. We are back in court yet again to make sure our schools and our kids get every penny that our tax dollars paid for,” he added.

The lawsuit seeks both declaratory and injunctive relief—to declare the funding freeze unlawful and block Trump from withholding these critical funds.

Childcare Funding Makes History

 

Connecticut made history this month as the first-in-the-nation to comprehensively address all the challenges in early childhood, offering relief to families across the state.

With families earning under $100,000 eligible for free child care — and costs capped at 7% of income for everyone else —thousands more children will gain access to affordable, high-quality early learning — and for many families, that means free child care for the very first time.

Beth Bye, the state Early Childhood Commissioner, called the legislation a model for the nation

The suite of groundbreaking child care bills, collectively known as the Early Childhood Education Endowment is fully funded at $300 million, unlocking transformative investments in child care and pre-K.

In addition to capping child care costs, the bills raise wages and establish a new health insurance subsidy for early educators, and create a new hospital pilot program to connect new parents to resources.

Make no mistake,” said Childcare for CT Coalition Director Eva Bermudez-Zimmerman, “This win is the direct result of advocacy, organizing, and relentless pressure from parents, providers, and people across the state!” The 1000 grass roots activists calls and emails to lawmakers and 14 childcare rallies led to passage of the 2025 Connecticut Childcare Bill.

“The legislation isn't just a win for families and providers — it's a win for Connecticut at large! When we prioritize early childhood, we prioritize CT's future,” said Bermudez-Zimmerman. “We're building a future where every Connecticut family has access to quality, affordable childcare, where parents can join or remain in the workforce while setting our kids up for a bright, successful future.”

The Office for Early Childhood and Child Care for CT will host information town halls across the state.

“This is a huge win for children, parents and child care providers across Connecticut. From day one, our members have been clear about what we need: affordable and accessible childcare for families and systems that work for both providers and the parents we serve,” said Maria Reyes, CSEA SEIU Local 2001’s Childcare Council President.

Unions Condemn Lamont Veto of Pro-Worker Bill

 

Over 500 public and private sector union members from across the state gathered outside the Governor's Mansion on July 16 chanting: “What do we need? SB 8. When do we need it? Now!” Their picket line filled both sides of the street, overshadowing a Yankee Institute mobile billboard flashing the message: “Do Not Pass SB 8”

The bill would allow striking workers to receive unemployment insurance after two weeks. Would Governor Ned Lamont side with the workers who make the economy run, or side with the billionaires who seize all that wealth for themselves?

On June 23 Gov Lamont vetoed SB 8 making his choice clear. He said no to Connecticut workers even though workers in New York and New Jersey have long had this protection.

Union leaders from the Connecticut AFL-CIO, IAM Local 700, UNITE HERE, UFCW Local 371, and SEIU District 1199NE immediately responded..

Wayne McCarthy, President of IAM Local 700 at Pratt & Whitney, just coming off a 23 day strike for wages, pensions and job security emphasized “this legislation is necessary in order to ensure that companies enter into negotiations ready to bargain in good faith.”

“If SB 8 was enacted prior to our strike, there would have been a strong chance that the strike could have been averted all together,” said McCarthy. “Minimally, Pratt and Whitney’s executives would have reached out much earlier to resolve our labor dispute.”

The Connecticut AFL-CIO organized hundreds of testimonies, calls, visits and rallies. “This veto sends a clear message: Gov. Lamont is more concerned with protecting corporate profits than supporting the working people who make our economy run,” said president Ed Hawthorne. “I’d like to remind Gov. Lamont that Pratt & Whitney, Electric Boat and other large corporations are not his constituents. The thousands of hardworking people who work there are.”

Underscoring this critical moment Hawthorne added,  “Protecting working people in our state has only become more urgent since the Trump Administration has gutted the NLRB and severely weakened the ability to enforce existing worker protections.”

 

New Haveners Say “Resist this Endless War”

As the news broke last Saturday that Donald Trump had illegally ordered the bombing of nuclear facilities in Iran, peace activists in New Haven and around the country sprang into action.  A noon time rally at the corner of Park Street and Broadway in New Haven included signs that read "Resist this Endless War", "Silence is Not an Option", and "Bombings Spread Terrorism", as well as a picture of Trump with the words "War Head".  The signs and banners received many supportive honks from cars driving by, with a few drivers stopping to cheer, "Trump's gotta go!" and "Peace!".

The rally participants distributed printed copies to passers-by of a statement that the American Friends Service Committee issued on Saturday, June 21st.  "A clear majority of people across the U.S. political spectrum oppose war with Iran," the statement reads.  "Trump's direct attack on Iran has placed U.S. military personnel and citizens at increased risk...Last week, both the House and Senate introduced 'War Powers' legislation to block the executive branch from taking unilateral and unauthorized action.  We need members of Congress to speak out against this act of U.S. aggression and immediately pass these bills."

The urgent call for peace and avoiding a protracted U.S war with Iran comes on the heels of the growing international demand that the U.S. stop funding the Israeli government's wars on Palestine, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.  The only people benefiting from these horrific wars are weapons manufacturers and Trump's billionaire friends. Trump's billionaire budget is before Congress, threatening the largest transfer of wealth from working class people to billionaires in history and devastates funding for all human needs..