Union Members, Students Protest Cuts to Higher Education

A fight for the right to higher public education is heating up as funding cuts threaten academics and student services at the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system (CSCU).

As the Board of Regents held a special meeting to discuss “budget mitigation,” students and faculty gathered outside to oppose proposed cuts and tuition hikes and gear up to demand emergency funding during the 2024 legislative session.

“Larger class sizes, fewer faculty, canceled sections, and higher tuition. Each of these cuts on its own will make it harder for students to get to college and stay there until they graduate–students who work, who have family responsibilities, who are food and housing insecure, students from under-resourced high schools,” warned John O’Connor, secretary of CSU-AAUP which represents over 3,000 faculty at the four Connecticut State Universities.

During the state budget fight earlier this year, the Recovery for All coalition of 61 labor, community and faith organizations, now named Connecticut for All, organized countless rallies and public testimonies to support public higher education funding.

Education supporters showed that the money is there if the tax system were to require the richest few to pay the same rates as the majority in our state. But budget cuts followed the imposition of guardrails to enforce spending cap guidelines.

“These caps and guardrails never seem to apply to the wealthy few, but instead fall on those who are striving for better,” said Michael Hinton, an instructor of English and theater at Tunxis Community College.

“The state’s leadership claims to be champions of equity, but they refuse to put the necessary money behind it to make equity happen,” he concluded.

Xander Tyler, a senior at CCSU, implored the Governor to “look beyond the next election cycle, beyond the talking points about austerity, to the future of Connecticut.”

State Senator Gary Winfield, also a staff member of CSU-AAUP will receive the People's World Amistad Award along with Stacie Harris-Byrdsong president of AFSCME Council 4, and Luis Luna campaign manager of Husky 4 Immigrants.

Connecticut for All will receive “In Solidarity” recognition at the event on Saturday December 9 at 4 pm at the First and United Summerfield Methodist Church at the corner of College and Elm street in New Haven. Click here to reserve tickets: People’s World Amistad Awards 2023

Housing is a Human Right

 

“. . .but it is private property. The owners can do what they want.” Environmentalists hear such statements repeatedly.

On Friday, November 17, 2023, some of the homeless who live outdoors in Waterbury heard it with devastating consequences.

 

At least a dozen men and women were uprooted from their tent city in Waterbury near the Naugatuck River. The Saint Vincent DePaul Waterbury Shelter was filled to capacity. One woman came from Meriden looking for shelter but the 108 beds there were already taken. She had no choice but to live outdoors in the tent encampment.

 

Now, she had nowhere to go. 

 

As trees were being cut down with chainsaws around her, anger spilled out. “This sucks. The city needs to buy the land and put us all back.” (Wtby Rep-Am)

 

As is often the case, one of the men was a veteran. He indicated that they had no notice of the eviction.

 

The company, Durable Radiator, owns the land along Thomaston Ave.

 

Complicating the issues is that many Waterbury apartments have been scooped up by absentee landlords. Many are from out-of-state. Rents have gone through the roof.

 

With COVID money drying up, more people are on the streets.

 

With an irony not lost on the homeless, a tour of the encampment was taking place as they were being evicted. United Way of Greater Waterbury scheduled the visit unaware of the disruption.

 

One of those on the tour was State Representative Lezlye W. Zupkus (R) of Prospect. She said it was difficult to watch.

 

She added, “I don’t see the company as the bad guy.” Zupkus then said in a statement right out of a Charles Dickens novel, “. . .I understand businesses need to grow.” (WTBY Rep-Am)

 

To paraphrase Martin Luther King, as the bombs drop in Gaza, they land in the Naugatuck Valley. Money from the almost one trillion dollar military budget needs to be moved for housing, climate change mitigation and other human needs.

 

Also fitting is this year’s Amistad theme. “It’s an Enough is Enough Moment – Time to Organize.”

 

For the booklet, “Housing is a Human Right”. Email ct-cpusa@pobox.com

CT Starbucks Workers Join Nationwide Strike on Red Cup Day

Starbucks workers in West Hartford and Danbury went on strike on November 16, joining the coast-to-coast “Red Cup Rebellion,” demanding the coffee giant stop illegally refusing to bargain with baristas over staffing, scheduling and other issues.

The strike comes on Red Cup Day, when the company hands out tens of thousands of free reusable cups, one of its busiest days of the year.  With no added staff, orders pile up and are abandoned, lines are out the door, leaving Starbucks workers to handle angry customers.

Workers have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for Starbucks’ refusal to bargain around staffing on promotion days.

Over 9,000 Starbucks workers have voted to unionize at 360 stores since 2021. The corporation has refused to bargain any union contracts.

At the West Hartford store, shift supervisor Travis Glenney-Tegtmeier reported, “We are being told that business is growing by utilizing promotional events to draw in more and more customers. Simultaneously, we hear that Starbucks can’t afford to put more workers on the schedule to adequately staff those events.”

“We are being lied to and taken for fools, and we’re sick of it.” he said. Workers demanded Starbucks turn off mobile ordering on promotion days. 

The workers were joined by allies from the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans and other organizations in a solidarity action the day before.

In Danbury, the Western Connecticut Area Labor Federation issued a call to join Starbucks Workers United at the Newtown Road store for the strike, “fighting against Starbucks unfair labor practices, and in the fight to force them to bargain in good faith. No justice, no coffee!”

In New Haven, students held a solidarity leaflet distribution at the Starbucks on Chapel Street to alert customers of the union busting practices of the coffee giant.

Last year Starbucks barista Salwa Mogaddedi was honored with the People's World Amistad Award.

This year's Amistad awardees include State Senator Gary Winfield, AFSCME Council 4 president Stacie Harris-Byrdsong and Luis Luna, Husky 4 Immigrants campaign manager. Themed “It's an Enough is Enough Moment – Time to Organize” the event will be held Saturday, December 9 at 4 pm at the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church at 425 College St in New Haven. Tickets are available here: Tickets and Information or email ct-pww@pobox.com

HUSKY 4 Immigrants Gears Up to Fight for Equitable Access to Healthcare for All

It is past time for Connecticut to cover all children with HUSKY healthcare regardless of immigration status says the Husky 4 Immigrants coalition. And they are organizing to win just that as part of the larger fight for equitable health care access in Connecticut, according to coalition manager Luis Luna.

Their first victory was won in 2021 when the state legislature voted to open HUSKY to children regardless of immigration status aged 8 and younger. The following year the age was raised to 12.

In 2023 the hope was to expand coverage to age 25, similar to the Affordable Care Act. Scores of testimonies were presented to show the need and community benefit.

Instead the legislature just raised the age to 15. As of July 1, 2024 children 15 and younger can enroll and keep coverage through age 19.

While this incremental progress was greeted, Husky 4 Immigrants underscored that it is unacceptable to leave any young people without health care.

“Increasing the age of HUSKY eligibility for immigrants from 12 to only 15 years old disregards the needs of our immigrant young people,” said Luna.

Implementation of HUSKY expansion went into effect January 2023. As of the end of August over 10.000 children have registered, showing that the need is urgent.

Husky 4 Immigrants has been busy since summer with assessments, outreach, and leadership development, including a first ever state-wide coalition retreat as part of developing a long term strategic plan to win HUSKY for everyone.

“Our goal is to be prepared for the 2024 Legislative Session,” said Luna

On December 9, Luna will be honored with the People's World Amistad Award for his “leadership and dedication for the rights of immigrants,” and “inspiring ordinary people to take collective action on their own behalf.”

Other 2023 awardees are State Sen. Gary Winfield and Stacie Harris Byrdsong, president of AFSCME Council 4.

Themed “It's an Enough is Enough Moment – Time to Organize” the event will be held Saturday, December 9 at 4 pm at the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church at 425 College St in New Haven. Spanish language interpretation will be available. Tickets and greeting book information are available here: Tickets and Information or email ct-pww@pobox.com

Need for Winter Energy Assistance Outpaces Fundin

As temperatures drop the need for winter protections is confronting more and more families. Operation Fuel estimates that about 400,000 families in Connecticut can't afford their energy bills.

Several weeks ago Operation Fuel gave the shocking announcement that it had run out of funds and was forced to end the application period for summer/fall one month early. They will begin accepting applications for winter/spring on January 2, 2024.

The crisis is attributed to rising prices, rising need, and ending of federal pandemic funds. In response have come public calls for use of emergency state funds and demands for more federal funding.

Despite rising need, with applications up 20%,, Congress did not increase funding for the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program,m while at the same time increasing military spending to $1 trillion.

Home heating help is , however, available through the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP)., run by the Department of Social Services.

“The Energy Assistance Program is open and applications are being taken. And we want to make sure that everyone has their heating needs, and stays warm and safe this winter.” says the agency.

“CEAP is a vital program that helps ensure Connecticut residents don’t have to choose between heating their homes and other essential expenses.”.

CEAP is currently accepting applications for the 2023-24 winter period. Connecticut residents can apply for assistance through May 31. Information and applications are available at each town's Community Action Agency. Applications can also be done online at ct.gov/heatinghelp.

Rising electricity prices causing more families to seek help, were accompanied by record company profits announced by Avangrid and Eversource earlier this year. Avangrid, parent company of United Illuminating increased profits 25% while Eversource reported record profits in excess of $1.4 billion for 2022.

The number of people applying for help has risen every year for the last three years. Assistance was approved for 107,000 last year and it is expected that number will be higher this year.

“The need in our state has grown to a tremendous degree,” said Gannon Long, chief programs officer for Operation Fuel. “In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a huge increase in demand across the board.”

Last year, Operation Fuel approved around 3,900 applications during its Summer/Fall application period, practically double the number of families from the previous year which was 2,000.