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.