Pandemic Assistance Available for Renters and Essential Workers

Essential Workers Sick with COVID-19 Win Assistance Fund

Essential workers who got sick with COVID-19 on the job have won relief through a special Connecticut Essential Workers COVID-19 Assistance Fund included in the state budget.

“This fund will help potentially thousands of essential workers – healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store workers, bus drivers, corrections employees and many others – who contracted the novel coronavirus on the job through no fault of their own. Many ended up with out-of-pocket medical expenses and lost wages,” said Sal Luciano, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO.

“Throughout the pandemic, the state has required our essential workers to continue to show up to work every day and sometimes without adequate personal protective equipment. And they have. The least Connecticut can do is take care of them when they get sick,” he added.

Labor co-chairs Sen. Julie Kushner and Rep. Robyn Porter prioritized this issue. Comptroller Kevin Lembo agreed to administer the Fund after several agencies refused.

Rochelle Palache, vice president of 32BJ SEIU said, “Although we’re disappointed that a workers’ compensation COVID presumption did not pass the full legislature, the funding provided for essential workers struck by COVID will be a tremendous benefit for some of our janitors and security officers in a healing process that often has only just begun.”

$400 Million for Emergency Rental Assistance Available through UniteCT

Governor Ned Lamont declined to extend Connecticut's moratorium on evictions and foreclosures beyond June 30, despite the fact that the federal Centers for Disease Control extended its eviction moratorium until July 31, 2021, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, HUD, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the USDA extended their foreclosure moratorium until July 31.

It is estimated that Connecticut could surge from 670 monthly filings for evictions to between 4,408 and 12,093 monthly filings after the moratorium is lifted.

At the same time as ending the moratorium, the Governor issued an executive order effective through July 20, requiring that landlords, before issuing an eviction notice, file an application with UniteCT for the federal relief available to tenants for emergency rental assistance. The funds are part of the American Rescue Plan. The Governor also extended the appeal period for tenants from three to 30 days

The State’s UniteCT program offers up to $15,000 in rent relief for those who qualify, and covers 12 months of expenses back to March 30, 2020. To date, UniteCT has dispersed just $23 million of the $457 million that the federal government granted for rent relief in Connecticut.

The application process with UniteCT requires many documents and is only available on-line. Therefore local organizations in 11 cities are assisting with applications. In addition, the UniteCT van is available to help with applications as it travels from town to town.

The program is open to anyone earning no more than 80% of the median income in their area, which is $54,950 for a single person in most of the state ($66,500 in some lower Fairfield County towns.) 

The eligible income increases with household size — ranging from $78,500 for a household of four to $103,650 for a family of eight in most of the state.

To apply for financial assistance if you owe back rent or payment on utilities because of COVID-19 call UniteCT at 1-884-864-8328.

Go to the UniteCT website to find the list of local organizations helping tenants fill our applications and to find the schedule for the UniteCT van. https://portal.ct.gov/DOH/DOH/Programs/UniteCT

In addition, some cities have established emergency rental assistance programs. In New Haven, the CASTLE program can provide additional rental assistance along with UniteCT funds. https://www.newhavenct.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=37902

Laid Off Workers Win Right to Recall by Seniority

Excerpts from an open letter by Rev. Scott Marks, New Haven Rising

We are living in the great reveal. Nearly everyone has experienced hardship and tragedy from the global pandemic, but the pandemic has fallen hardest on Black and brown communities, which have long faced the burden of systemic racism. Residents in our worst-off neighborhoods were the least able to work remotely. For some this has meant enduring months of unemployment and uncertainty. For others, it has meant risking their own and their family’s health and safety as essential workers. Black and brown residents have died at a disproportionate rate, and they have suffered higher unemployment rates.

In response to this crisis, the Connecticut House and Senate passed “An Act Requiring Employers to Recall Certain Laid Off Workers iI Order Of Seniority” that gives laid-off employees the right to return to their jobs once workplaces recover in some of the industries hit hardest by the COVID pandemic: hotel, food service, and commercial building services industries

Nearly 8,800 hotel jobs were lost in Connecticut in 2020. Many of these workers have been laid off since March 2020, and are struggling with lack of healthcare, housing insecurity, and hunger.

During the great reveal this is an important bill to achieve racial justice in Connecticut. Hotel work is disproportionately non-white and female. In 2019, Black people and Latinos collectively made up 29.9% of the total workforce but 49% of the traveler accommodation sector. Women were 47% of the workforce but 58.7% of the traveler accommodation sector.

When elected leaders and the community stand together and fight, we win. Thank you to Senate Leadership, House Leadership, Labor Committee Chairs SenJulie Kushner and Rep Robyn Porter for making sure worker recall was a priority and driving it every step of the way. And a very special shout out to our New Haven delegation, who held the line for our workers.

With Governor Lamont’s signature low-income workers across Connecticut will have a path toward putting their lives back together. This bill will help our state avoid deepening segregation like we experienced after the Great Recession. Together we win our freedom.

State Budget Misses Historic Opportunity to Reduce Inequities

The General Assembly adopted a $46 billion budget before adjourning the 2021 legislative session. The plan does not add fairness to the tax code for working class taxpayers and relies heavily on one-time federal American Rescue Plan funds.

This year the Connecticut AFL-CIO joined with other labor unions, community organizations and faith groups to form Recovery For All, a coalition committed to closing opportunity gaps and reducing racial and economic disparities in the state budget by adding progressivity to the tax code and investing in programs and services that build equity.

Given the scale of human need created by the pandemic and the deep roots of systemic inequities in Connecticut, the adopted budget misses an historic opportunity to shift tax burdens and significantly invest in the long-term future of working people and their communities.

While the budget passed by the General Assembly maintains, and in some cases expands, service levels, provides some tax relief to low-income families by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and begins to reverse some austerity measures employed in the 2017 budget, it does so by relying on more than $2 billion of one-time federal funds, which will create deficits when the federal dollars run out.

Governor Lamont has called this budget “transformational,” “bold,” and “progressive,” but it closely adheres to the status quo that has prevailed for decades. Rather than take bold steps to ensure equitable, permanent revenue streams, Governor Lamont has relied on gimmicks and failed to meet the moment.

Senator John Fonfara, Co-Chair of the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee expressed his frustration with the package on the Senate Floor. “The murder of George Floyd generated an unprecedented response from many across the state. It did so primarily because of our ability to see Derek Chauvin’s knee on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes,” Fonfara said. “When our policies fail to address needs in a sustained way, it’s as though...our policies are a knee on the neck of the Black community and other under-served communities of our state. We can do better, and we must do better.”

A summary can be found HERE.

– Excerpted from Worker Bee, Connecticut AFL-CIO

Union Group Home Workers Win Wage and Benefit Increases

On the eve of a strike by over 2,100 group home caregivers demanding a Long-Term Care Workers’ Bill of Rights., a two-year state funding package of $184-million was allocated toward livable wages and benefits, affordable health insurance and a path to retirement.

“This is a great victory for racial and economic justice for the majority of Black and Latina women who make up this workforce of caregivers. All strike notices have been immediately withdrawn,” declared Rob Baril, president of District 1199 New England, SEIU.

The agreement culminated weeks of organizing, rallies and actions at the State Capitol directed at Governor Lamont by the workers and their allies.

“It’s time for our long-term care system to do away with poverty wages and to protect quality services for the elderly and people with disabilities,” said the union. The workers have not had a pay raise in 14 years.

“We believe this additional funding will resolve the open contracts. We have made substantial progress toward our goals for a $20 minimum wage, with major progress on retirement and other benefits,” said Baril.

"This last year with COVID has been horrible with a lot of these group homes,” said Kimberly Ackerman, an SEIU District 1199 worker.

The COVID-19 pandemic was horrific for healthcare workers. “We went through so much last year with COVID, being short-staffed, lack of PPE, being stressed out every day, hoping and praying that you won’t get sick.”

One retiree greeted the victory saying, “The folks who live in these homes will benefit from the higher pay staff get by less turnover, more stability, and better care as a result.”

The new funding agreement for group home workers at Oak Hill, Whole Life, Sunrise, Network, Mosaic and Journey Found marks the second major settlement for long-term care workers.

Last month over 4,000 union nursing home workers won new contracts with improved wages and benefits, following rallies, protests and preparations to strike.

The health care workers have also joined with their allies in the Recovery for All Coalition demanding an equity budget for the long term that funds services and increases taxes on the wealthiest who pay less than everyone else.

HUSKY for Immigrants Passes the General Assembly

The lack of healthcare for immigrants in the midst of the pandemic gave rise to a proposal that HUSKY health care for low income childred and families be extended to cover undocumented immigrants. The immigrant community was joined by allies in the Recovery for All Coalition.

A scaled down version of the proposal passed the House and Senate in the last days of the legislative session and awaits Gov. Lamont's signature. HB 6687 as passed will expand HUSKY healthcare to immigrant children up to age 8 and postnatal care for undocumented pregnant women.

The HUSKY for Immigrants Coaliiton held daily noise actions outside the Capitol for the last two weeks of the session. Work will continue to win further expansion of HUSKY to all undocumented individuals. The Coalition said that, “while expanding access to undocumented youth children and pregnant women is a cricual first step, our coalition believes the state of Connecticut must create a long term plan to expand HUSKY access to our whole immigrant community. The health of children cannot exist without the health of their parents and caretakers. We are committed to continue this fight and ensure that we get healthcare access for our entire community.”

State Legislature Declares Racism is a Public Health Crisis

As millions took to the streets one year ago despite the pandemic in horror at the public lynching of George Floyd in Minnesota, the issues of systemic racism in healthcare and policing came to the fore. A determination swept the country to demand action toward equity at every level of government, including the declaration that racism is a public health crisis with policy initiatives for reconstruction.

This week the Connecticut State Legislature sent SB 1 to Governor Lamont's desk declaring that racism is a public health crisis in Connecticut. It is up to the Governor to sign this bill into law.

Earlier this year the New Haven Board of Alders also adopted a resolution that racism is a public health crisis and set up a special committee to come back with recommendations on actions that the city should take in all aspects of life.

Also earlier this year the CDC issued a statement which declared, in part, that “racism, both structural and interpersonal, are fundamental causes of health inequities, health disparities and disease.”

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the wide, long term health and quality of life disparities in communities of color. Studies have shown that Black women are up to four times more likely to die of pregnancy related complications than white women; Black men are more than twice as likely to be killed by police as white men; and the average life expectancy of Black Americans is four years lower than the rest of the U.S. population.

“It is long past time that we address these disparities,” said Rep Juan Candelaria of New Haven one of 60 co-sponsors of the bill. “I was proud to stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this comprehensive bill which takes substantive steps towards addressing the systemic inequities that exist in our state.”

Beyond identifying the racism as a public health crisis, S.B. 1 also includes a number of provisions aimed at addressing and combating this public health crisis such as:

• Creating a Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health to make recommendations to decrease racism’s effect on public health and to create a strategic plan to eliminate health disparities and inequities

• Improving recruitment and retention of healthcare workers of color

• Providing employers with tools to support their mental health needs

• Establishing a gun violence intervention and prevention committee

• Improving demographic data collection

  https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&which_year=2021&bill_num=1

Hundreds of people came out to testify via zoom at the public hearing on SB 1. Now, the organizations that spearheaded the effort are asking Connecticut residents to call the office of Governor Lamont at 860-566-4840 and leave a message that it is essential that he sign the bill, and also sign SB 1019 the Clean Slate bill.

As the legislative session reaches its last days, calls to the governor are also being organized to demand that he support the Recovery for All agenda. As State Sen Gary Winfield put it, “equity requires revenue.” To date the Governor is refusing to support tax increases on the wealthiest who pay a lower rate than everyone else, and who prospered during the pandemic.

Along with SB 1, the legislature's Black and Puerto Rican Caucus prioritized nine pillars toward equity in this session. Among them is a bill passed by the legislature and waiting for Gov Lamont to sign into law that would ensure legal representation for tenants in eviction cases.

As the expiration of the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures nears on June 20, this bill has immediate consequences for hundreds of families.

The caucus explained that “in Connecticut, less than 7% of tenants have legal representation in eviction cases. In contrast, 80% of landlords do. At a moment when so much is at stake, tenants need support navigating the highly technical and fast-moving pace of eviction cases, This bill provides tenants with fairness and equity by guaranteeing they can obtain legal representation. If signed into law, Connecticut will be only the second state to enact this legislation to protect tenants.”

More information is available at the Connecticut Fair Housing Center: https://www.ctfairhousing.org/blog/