Tell Gov Lamont: Support Relief Fund for Striking Workers

 

When Gov. Ned Lamont threatened to veto aid for striking workers last week, the question became: which side are you on?

Corporations have a lot tactics to keep workers divided and profits up. When workers stick together and win the right to a union, they can improve wages and benefits and working conditions at contract time.

One corporate tactic to destroy unions and keep extracting maximum profits from workers' labor is to refuse to bargain in good faith and force workers out on strike for their jobs and their livelihood.

In this legislative session the Connecticut AFL CIO top priority was relief benefits for workers forced to strike, like in New York and New Jersey. It would pressure corporations to bargain in good faith, and if they don't, it would provide relief for courageous workers.

At the end of the day the Connecticut General Assembly took a major step toward leveling the playing field for working people by establishing a $3 million relief fund to support workers who have no choice but to go on strike.

“It will allow workers to exercise their right to strike without simultaneously facing foreclosures, evictions and repossessions,” said Ed Hawthorne president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, calling the bill “a vital step towards safeguarding the rights of workers who courageously stand up for better working conditions, fair wages, and dignified treatment in the workplace.”

Gov Ned Lamont is threatening to veto the bill and stand on the side of corporate giants like RTX, the biggest opponent of the bill. RTX (merged Raytheon and United Technologies) parent company of Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace claims workers are happy because they have not gone out on strike in recent years. They claim that strike relief would “render the business uncompetitive.”

“In an environment where bargaining power is tilted so far towards employers, the idea that the state is “putting its thumb on the scale of the side of labor” is just not accurate,” says Rob Baril, President of SEIU District 1199NE. “The truth is, the scales have been heavily skewed in favor of corporations for a long time.”

Supporters of the strike relief fund are urged to contact Gov Lamont and let him know it is time to stand with working people, not corporate CEO's!

UConn and Yale Urged to Drop Charges against Student Protesters

 

Professors and alumni of the University of Connecticut and Yale are calling on the presidents of their universities to drop legal charges against students arrested while opposing the war on Gaza and demanding divestment from military production.

At court cases in Vernon and New Haven on May 8, hearings were continued until June 26 for the UConn students and until July and August for the Yale students.

An outpouring of students in support of Palestinian rights have called on their academic institutions to divest endowment funds from military production being sent to Israel. The movement is reminiscent of student uprisings that led to ending apartheid in South Africa in the 1980's and to ending the war on Vietnam in the 1960's.

The students are calling for ceasefire and humanitarian aid as more than 35,000 civilians in Gaza, 40% of whom are children, have been killed and hospitals, universities, schools, mosques, churches and housing have been destroyed.

Over 1,000 letters have been sent to Yale president Peter Salovey demanding that Yale “drop the charges against its students and the community members who were arrested on April 22, April 29, and May 1 for peacefully protesting against this university’s complicity in Israel’s war on Gaza.

“By escalating violence against students exercising their right to protest, this university only stands to further ensure an unsafe environment for students—impacting their quality of life and education, and reflecting a prioritization of profits over people.”

The letters urge President Salovey to “heed their call for divestment from weapons, not penalize them for peacefully assembling and speaking out.”

Outside the courthouse in New Haven, Yale senior Craig Birkhead-Morton, who was arrested twice, said he considers it to be “deeply unfortunate that the university is taking this carceral approach to students.” The first arrests took place in the early morning hours during the encampment at Beinecke Plaza following a meeting of the Board of Trustees. The second arrest took place several days later as students marched through campus in the evening.

“We want to be able to focus on our roles as aspiring academics,” said Birkhead-Morton. “Yale is not functioning as an academic institution should.”

Letters of support for the UConn students can be sent to president Radenka Maric at: radenka.maric@uconn.edu. Letters to Yale's leadership to drop the charges can be sent at bit.ly/yaledropcharges.

Workers Rally On May Day and Workers Memorial Day

 

A May Day picket line so large it had to fill both sides of the street in front of New Haven's Omni Hotel sent a strong message to the bargaining table. Workers are negotiating a new contract, and they are demanding pay increases and a reversal of staffing cuts made during the pandemic.

"On this May Day workers at the Omni are calling for the hotel industry to "Respect Our Work"!” said Unite Here Local 217.

“We are fighting for a new contract and have the community with us all the way! We were joined by our allies in UNITE HERE Local 33, 34, and 35, New Haven Rising. When we fight we win!"

“If we don't get it, shut it down,” and other chants filled the air as drums kept the beat. The lively picket line lasted an hour on busy downtown New Haven Temple Street.

Unite Here hotel workers rallied in 18 cities on May Day as contract negotiations get underway with national chains.

Three days earlier on April 28 the Connecticut AFL CIO held its annual Workers Memorial Day ceremony at the state capitol honoring workers who have died or suffered illness or injuries on the job.

In Connecticut, 34 workers lost their lives to work-related injuries in 2022, the latest data available. An additional 35,700 workers suffered on-the-job injuries or illnesses.

According to the AFL-CIO’s annual report, Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect, 5,486 workers nationally were killed on the job and an estimated 120,000 workers died from occupational diseases in 2022. That means 344 workers died each day from job-related injuries and illnesses.

Each year on April 28 the sacrifices made by these workers and the families left behind are remembered and honored.

Connecticut AFL-CIO President Ed Hawthorne called on those assembled to take inspiration and work harder on behalf of all workers.

Remarks by Attorney General William Tong focused on his leadership with other Attorneys General in suing the Sackler family for their responsibility in the opiod crisis that had affected thousands of workers. Sen. Saud Anwar received the Health and Safety Legislative Award for his work in the General Assembly.

Four high school students presented their winning essays on health and safety on the job.

On Saturday, May 4 at 5 pm the Connecticut People's World annual May Day rally and celebration will be held at 37 Howe Street in New Haven themed "Unite and Fight" featuring greetings from the ongoing union struggles and victories.