Unity Rally for a Fully Funded City: When We Fight We Win

Over 1,000 rallied on the hottest day of the year at Scantlebury Park in New Haven, organized by New Haven Rising and Unite Here unions to call for racial and economic justice at a time when billionaires and billionaire institutions have increased their wealth while working people struggle to stay in their homes. Excerpts from a few of the powerful remarks are below.

“I've been a member of 217 for 20 years, I’m a college food service worker, Vice President of our union and I also believe one job should be enough,” said Stephan Alderman, Vice President of Local 217–UNITE HERE, “But as a single father of four with seven grandchildren, I'm finding it increasingly hard to make ends meet. For the first time in my life, I had to apply for energy assistance because of this failing economy.”

New Haven Rising Organizer, Abigail Feldman called for a city that provides opportunities for all, “Just a few years ago we came together in our city and we pushed Yale to contribute $52 million more to the city. That wasn’t a gift. That was our power of coming together and refusing to be quiet. That’s the money we are owed. That’s the taxpayer money that has subsidized Yale for years! Now is the time to fight for the people’s endowment! If Yale made different decisions, our city could be fully funded. We could have world class schools here alongside other cities of Connecticut.”

Wilbur Cross High School student, Jonaily Colón, argued, “Our zip code should not determine the quality of education we receive. The color of our skin should never determine our destiny. Students of New Haven schools deserve top education like every single student in this country.” She and Tabitha Sookdeo, leader of Connecticut Students for a Dream, called out ICE for detaining a Wilbur Cross student and noted that the resources dedicated to deporting our residents could be allocated to education and generating opportunity. New Haven Rising Director, Rev. Scott Marks, joined the students in the call to stop deportations and focus on providing economic opportunity for all residents.

Citing similarities of working-class struggle in her Kentucky hometown, Norah Laughter, who is running for Alder of Ward 1, took inspiration from the ways that working people in New Haven have long fought back. She said, “Our wins come from organizing to leverage our strength in numbers as the working class. My message tonight is simple: students must be part of the fight for race and class justice because when we fight together, we win.”

CT Demands: End ICE Dep;ortations, Boycott Avelo

 

In the wake of stepped up kidnappings of immigrants by masked ICE agents with no warrants, the community, city and state officials are demanding an end to this racist violence. Last week when New Haven Wilbur Cross High School student Esdras R was taken during a workplace raid his classmates, teachers and city officials stepped forward, funds raised and a lawyer retained. Esdras had been removed to Louisiana for deported to Guatemala when his lawyer located him and succeeded in his return to a facility in New England while his case is argued.

In the next days six people were abducted in New Britain, where organizing for their defense is underway.

This is a story about racism and profits for the private prison industry. It is a story about robbing communities of $170 billion for jobs, housing, healthcare and education in order to fund mass deportations, wars, and enormous tax cuts for the wealthiest few.

In its drive for profits, Avelo Airlines, based in New Haven, contracted with the Department of Homeland Security to transport immigrants without due process to other countries. In April when this became known the New Haven Immigrants coalition launched a boycott which is now nationwide.

A post from Our Revolution reports: “Public pressure works. After a major backlash over secret ICE contracts, Avelo Airlines is abandoning all West Coast routes. A grassroots campaign in Burbank. California forced their retreat—and the movement is spreading. Over 100 protesters just rallied near BWI airport to expose Avelo’s role in ICE deportations. No state should do business with airlines that profit off immigrant detention and deportation.”

This City of New Haven has banned use of any public funds for Avelo Airlines flights, marketing, branding, advertising or promotion. “Travel should be about bringing people together, not tearing families apart,” said Mayor Justin Elicker. “Avelo Airlines' continued participation in and profiteering from the Trump Administration’s inhumane and often illegal immigration policies and ICE’s deplorable tactics is antithetical to our values as a city, and not something we will support with city funds or taxpayer dollars.

Sign the pledge, “We Won't Fly Avelo,” at https://www.change.org/p/we-won-t-fly-avelo-until-they-stop-ice-flights-no-volaremos-con-avelo

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CT Rallies for Families Over Billionaires

 

150 union workers, students, immigrant rights and community activists gathered with Connecticut for All outside New Haven's Brennan Rogers School, closing due to lack of funds, with a clear message: the Governor and Legislature must stand up for working families now.

The national day of action to put Families First over Billionaires was initiated by Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The massive cut to human needs wee accompanied by huge increases in funds for mass deporations and wars.

“We choose families not corporations. We will not be divided, and We Will not Back Down,” said emcee Seth Freeman president of SEIU Local 1973 – 4C's, calling on the legislature and governor to hold a speciall session “to stand up and protect Connecticut residents from death and destruction coming from the Trump administration. and increase taxes on the ultra wealthy by implementing the Finance Committee’s progressive revenue proposals.”

Healthcare workes, students and immigrant youth spoke passionately of the harms these cuts will bring to them and their communities.

“Hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents will be directly harmed by these cuts, but ultimately every resident in our state will be harmed, because gutting and shredding the social safety net hurts all of us,” said Freeman.

“Our message to every legislator in our state, is that if you are not in favor of raising revenue – raising state taxes on the same individuals that Trump just gave a tax break to - then you are supporting Donald Trump’s agenda.” he said to loud applause.

“Our message is that if you are not going to stand up now – while ICE is terrorizing our communities, abducting mothers in front of their children – then when are you going to stand up?

'Our message is that if you not going to stand up now – while Yale New Haven and CT Children’s Hospital announced cutting youth gender-affirming care - then when are you going to stand up?”

Families First rallies were held in ten Connecticut towns.

Demands Grow: Bring Esdras Home. ICE Out of CT

 

Last week 18 year old Wilbur Cross High School student and Students for a Dream activist Esdras R. became the latest victim of ICE abduction in New Haven, taken by masked men in unmarked uniforms and cars. Fellow students, educators and city officials are taking legal action and organizing a movement to Bring Esdras Home.

In each abduction case, no required court order has been shown, as the individuals have been “disappeared” to the horror of their family and community.

Esdras was abducted by federal immigration agents while at work. It took days for his principal to discover that he was taken to a detention facility in Massachusetts, then moved to New Hampshire and was not possible to find again until he had been removed to Louisiana.

City officials, Unidad Latina en Accion and Connecticut Students for a Dream are organizing legal support, letters from teachers, and more. The students held a rally outside Wilbur Cross High School, with the support of the principal.

Speakers included his classmates, teachers, State Sen Gary Winfield, and clergy. All had tne same message: Esdras should be in school, not in a detention center far from home. A common commitment was made to stay together in unity until Esdras is returned home and all those detained are released, to uphold New Haven as a welcoming city, and remove ICE from New Haven and Connecticut. Contributions to a legal defense fund can be made at https://giving.classy.org/campaign/710739/donate

Mayor Justin Elicker and School Superintendent Negrón called the detention of Edras by ICE “unconscionable” describing him as a ​“hard working student and a fine young man.”

Edras submitted testimony to the state legislature to expand Husky health coverage, saying ​“This matters to me since I am an immigrant and I am one of the many people who do not have health insurance. We all deserve to live with well-being and without unnecessary suffering, and access to medical care is crucial for this.”

Last month in New Haven, masked ICE agents in unmarked cars seized mother and factory worker Nancy Martinez from her car while she was giving her children a ride to school. Her daughter spoke at a press conference saying “I need my mother,” as the demand was clearly placed “We don't want ICE in New Haven. ICE out of New Haven.”

After weeks in dentention, Martinez was flown in shackles and removed to Mexico, separated from her family.

In response to this expanding tactic by ICE, funded by he Billionaire Budget Betrayal, twenty four state senators sent a letter to the Connecticut Congressional delegation urging support for the “No Masks for ICE Act,” a bill by New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez that would bar ICE agents from wearing face coverings in public and require uniforms displaying their name and agency affiliation.

“One month ago, while masked and without any identification, ICE agents detained multiple Danbury residents outside the Danbury Judicial District building, with the incident appearing to witnesses like dozens of kidnappings.,” said said State Senator Julie Kushner.

“Seeing masked men grabbing people on our streets is very terrorizing - not just for the people being detained, but for the general public as well. It’s reminiscent of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. In my opinion, Congress cannot pass this bill soon enough.”

A companion bill introduced into the US Senate by Senators Alex Padilla and Corey Booker with 12 co-sponsors including Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

The same illegal tactics are being deployed in towns across the country. People's World article, “ICE agents arrest Oregon doctor as he drops off kid at preschool,” reports a similar case at Guidepost Montessori school in Beaverton, Oregon .

“Dr. Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, 38, a chiropractor, was driving to drop off his kid at Guidepost Montessori, a kindergarten daycare program. “

“Witnesses described seeing ICE agents wearing vests and face coverings pulling up in unmarked vehicles.

“A parent of another child at the school, said: 'Our principal came outside and asked for identification, badges, a warrant, that information, and they did not provide any identification or any of that other information, and then proceeded to put hands on our principal.' ” 

“Khanbabazadeh reportedly went through all the hoops of the U.S. immigration system only to end up detained by ICE agents with face masks and unmarked vehicles who refused to provide badges, identification, or a warrant. Rather than taking Khanbabazadeh to the nearby Portland ICE facility, they instead sent him 150 miles away to the Tacoma, Wash., detention center, making it harder for family and attorneys to gain access to him.

The letter to Congress from Connecticut's State Senators urges: “It is of the utmost importance to our democracy, to the future of this country and to the welfare of our citizens, that this unprecedented use of intimidation tactics be severely curtailed immediately.”

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.. 

Demand Grows: ICE Out Of CT

ICE deportation police have been active in Connecticut, abducting children and parents from the street in unmarked vehicles. The communities where they live are calling for ICE to get out.

In Meriden, Kevin, age 15, was detained just before his graduation and flown to Texas. His family and classmates responded to the horror by organizing a walk in solidarity with him.

In New Haven a mother taking her two children to school was forcibly removed from her car and taken away leaving her children in panic. At a rally at the Federal Building later that week her daughter courageously spoke. “I need my mother,” she said, flanked by Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center and Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers. Mayor Justin Elicker shared his outrage, thinking about his own children of the same age and pledging New Haven will always remain a welcoming city.

In Southington four workers were snatched away from their job at a carwash and arrested. At that moment in Hartford union and immigrant organizations were holding an emergency rally at the State Capitol. It was one of dozens held around the country called by Service Employees International Union demanding the release of their California president David Huerta who was arrested while observing an ICE raid of his workers in Los Angeles. Huerta was released later that day and now faces federal charges of interference.

The rally at the New Haven Federal Building was joined by 150 community leaders, immigrant rights organizations, and allies to denounce this wave of unjust detentions, as well as to oppose attacks on social activists and the growing criminalization of social protest and migrant communities across the United States.

The crowd chanted along with Kica Matos, “We are a city of immigrants. ICE stay out of our city.”

Demands included: An end to ICE raids and the military’s involvement in immigration enforcement; Accountability for all agencies and officials; Protection for the right to protest; ICE out of CT; End Deportations NOW!

Peoples Center Re-opens Jobs and Unemployed Committee

 

Even before the threatened MAGA billionaire budget's massive cuts, as many as 40 percent of people in Connecticut have been living on the edge, struggling with food, housing and financial insecurity. A report from Data Haven shows the emergency need for more funding for basic needs, not less.

Addressing this crisis, the Peoples Center has re-opened its Jobs and Unemployed Committee. During the pandemic the Committee prepared and publicized information about increased federal funding that was available. Now, the information being amplified is where to go as funds are cut.

A Know Your Rights flier issued this week asks, “Worried about cuts to human needs funding? Looking for resources that can help? Turn fear into power. Know your rights. Organize.”

Information about how to “Make Your Voice Heard” features an appeal to call Connecticut Senators Blumenthal and Murphy to demand that everything be done to stop the people-hurting budget now before the US Senate.

The flier lists Resources for housing, food security, healthcare access, immigrant rights and diversity-equity-inclusion. Recognizing that the agencies and organizations attempting to bridge the gap have limited capacity, the Committee is pledged to help navigate resources with those in need as possible.

At the same time the Committee is geared to bring people together to demand fully funded state and cities by taxing the rich and cutting military and deportation funds.

Listed emergency Resources include:

CTLawHelp.org which provides self-help materials on housing, your rights, and how to file a Fair Rent Commission complaint in your town: Call 1-800-453-4420

Connecticut Food Share which has information about local food pantries and community kitchens and applying for SNAP Call 203-469-5000

The Office of the Health Care Advocate assists with accessing affordable health insurance or services, including Medicare, Husky, Access Health CT, Employer-Sponsored Insurance, and TRICARE. Call 866-466-4446

CT Immigrant Rights Community Resources has know your rights videos, legal resources, family preparedness, resources for schools, public events calendar. On-line at https://sites.google.com/view/ctimmigrantcommunityresources/home

State of Connecticut Judiciary Branch has information about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion rights. 1-800-833-8134

Contact the Peoples Center Jobs and Unemployed Committee at 203 624-8664.

Students and Teachers Demand Fully Funded Schools

 

New Haven Public School teachers, paraprofessionals, librarians, art educators, union leaders, parents, and students turned out in force to Monday night’s Board of Education hearing to use their voices, and powerful moments of silence, to show opposition to the devastating teacher cuts being proposed for next school year.

Trump's sweeping elimination of social programs and massive cuts to the Department of Education are making their direct impact on New Haven.  The national cuts, and Connecticut Governor Lamont's resistance to releasing the state's "rainy day" funds into educational spending, are leaving New Haven with a $16.5 million deficit for its school budget in the 2025-2026 academic year.  

New Haven's Superintendent of Schools made it known this past April that 129 teaching and coaching positions are at risk of being eliminated in the fall of 2025.  This would include 29 art teachers, 25 literacy and math coaches, 25 school librarians, 19 paraprofessionals, 4 clerical staff, and 27 other teachers.  Many of these positions, including all 25 school librarians in the district, have already been proposed for elimination.  

One teacher, who has served New Haven for 31 years, explained that between New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport, these three districts serve 49 percent of all Black and Brown students in the state, and all three of these districts have proposed librarian and reading coach layoffs.  “It is a question of equity,” she said in her powerful testimony.  New Haven Federation of Teachers Executive Vice President Jenny Graves emphasized that "management has not faced cuts to their wages or positions, while our student-facing teachers are in this unimaginable situation."  She also explained that a number of buildings that are not in use could be officially closed to save costs and save teachers' jobs.  

The New Haven paraprofessionals union, AFSCME Local 3429, took a particularly moving series of actions  during the hearing.  Union members signed up to testify, and whenever one of the local’s members was called up to speak, their entire union delegation approached the podium and stood in silence for the full three minutes of allotted time, holding up signs that said: “We Support Every Child.”  Their action was repeated at least 8 times during the hearing.

High school senior, student member of New Haven's Board of Education, and organizing leader Juan Carlos Serana Musser was given a standing ovation for his leadership in the battle to protect funding for New Haven’s Schools.  Juan Carlos and other high school students have organized hundreds of their peers in the last four months to testify at the capitol (March 19th), turn out to union and May Day rallies (May 1st and May 3rd), face arrest in civil disobedience (May 21st), and participate in coordinated school walkouts (May 30th), demanding the funding that they deserve for their education and supporting their teachers. 

Other students testified on Monday night about the profound impact that their teachers have had on their lives, and how angry they feel that their teachers are being targeted by the budget cuts.  The students' efforts have gotten legislators' attention, and have demonstrated their mature solidarity with the labor movement.  

The bottom line?  As Trump and his billionaire friends continue to completely devastate our country's resources for every day working families, the people continue to fight back.  New Haven's Public Schools and community are standing strong and unified in the face of unprecedented attacks. 

Gov. Lamont: Which Side Are You On?

 

A top legislative priority of the Connecticut Afl-CIO this session is SB 8 to allow Unemployment Insurance for striking workers after two weeks. The Senate and House passed the bill, but Governor Lamont says he plans to veto.

Union members and advocates have been asking the Governor, “which side are you on?” In a statement Connecticdut AFLCIO president Ed Hawthorne said,

“The passage of this bill in both chambers with a bipartisan vote marks a critical victory for working people in our state. For too long, working families have had to choose between exercising their legal right to strike for fair treatment and putting food on the table.

“All Senate Bill 8 would do is provide a basic safety net to ensure that working people can stand up for fair wages and job security without the risk of complete financial ruin.

“What really scares corporations is that this legislation would prevent employers from using the financial hardship of workers as a bargaining tool. And it would help create a more level playing field between working people and large corporations.

“Once again, we’d like to remind Gov. Lamont that RTX, Electric Boat and other large corporations are not his constituents. The thousands of hardworking people who work there are.

June 14 - Defeat the MAGA Billionaire Budget

 

The State Capitol grounds is a state focal point for the national No Kinds National Day of Definace on June 14, expected to attract huge crowds. The Hartford rally starts at 11 am.

A key demand will be to defeat the MAGA Billionaire Budget in the U.S. Senate. This is the moment to make our voices heard. There are rallies in other Connecticut towns as well inlcuding Glastonbury, New London, Bethel, Waterbury, Westport, Cornwall, Enfield, Stamford, Torrington, Willimantic, East Lyme and New Haven.

A wide array of organizations are co-sponsoring the rallies, building on May Day and other rallies in April.

Union Calls for Declaration of a Fiscal Emergency

 

Gov Lamont and House members were welcomed to the Capitol the last Saturday of the legislative session demanding funds for needed programs. The 200 CSEA SEIU Local 2001 union members called for taking down the fiscal guardrails that are siphoning away funding. 

“With the second largest surplus in our state’s history projected, we should not be fighting over crumbs,” they said. They called on the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and adjust the archaic fiscal guardrails to allow for critical investment in core programs that will meet immediate needs and improve economic stability. 

“It is morally unjust and fiscally irresponsible to sit on billions in surplus while core programs are woefully underfunded. We can do better - we can’t afford not to.,” their statement declared.

In his remarks, president Travis Woodward emphasized,“Too many people in this state are scraping by while billionaires hoard more and more. Our communities are shortchanged by broken budget rules and a political system too afraid to tax the wealthy,”

“We need affordable health care, paid time off, and stability. We can’t keep holding the system up while we’re being crushed underneath it,” added Maria Reyes, President of the SCEA Childcare Council.

“This is personal. It’s about whether students like my son AJ have the support they need. Whether paras like me can stay in this profession. Whether this state is going to stand up and do the right thing—or keep hiding behind roadblocks and excuses,” said Vicky Celyan, a Danbury Public School Paraeducator declaring, “Connecticut has the money.”

“What happens when you stack this kind of uncertainty—on top of an effective pay cut come July 1st, on top of grants being canceled, on top of federal attacks on immigrants and science? You lose the next generation of public service workers,” explained Meghan Cahill, an Agricultural Research Technician, “This is a turning point. An inflection point. Our state can either commit to the values and people that make Connecticut strong—or it can abandon us the same way the federal government has.”

Avelo Boycott National Protest Demands End to Deportation Flights

 

New Haven was joined by 25 cities in a national day of protest on May 31. as the boycott of Avelo Airlines grows. demanding they end their contract with ICE for deportation flights.

During the seven hour vigil at Tweed Airport protesters lined the entrance gates “to mourn and stay in solidarity with those who have been and will be removed without due process,” said the Community Engagement Team of the New Haven Immigrants Coalition that organized the action.

Participants wore black funeral garb, brought flowers and images of those who have beem unlawfully removed.

Anger erupted in April when the deportation flights became known. Protests drew members of the immigrant community, clergy, state and local elected officials, and others who oppose the unprecedented mass deportation policies of the Trump administration being challenged in court.

A petition pledging to boycott the airlines until they stop the flights has garnered 38,000 signatures.

"This business decision of deporting using commercial planes contradicts New Haven's values, especially for a company that markets itself as 'New Haven's hometown airline,” said Mayor Justin Elicker. “Travel should connect people, not separate families."

The deportation flights have operated began on May 12 from the Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona where protests have been held.

When Connecticut Attorney General William Tong requested information on the DHS contract and the flights, the company arrogantly directed him to make a “Freedom of Information Act” request. Tong also asked the airline to confirm that it won’t operate deportation flights from any Connecticut airport and that it will never operate flights with shackled children.

Reacting to the corporation's non-response Tong said, “It is clear all they intend to do is take state support and make money off other people’s suffering.” Avelo, which established operations in New Haven in November 2021, as its East Coast hub, enjoys an aviation fuel tax break from the State of Connecticut.

The national day of protest came two days after New Haven and five other Connecticut cities appeared on a DHS list of ​“sanctuary jurisdictions” that the Trump administration ordered to ​“immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens.”

East Haven, Hamden, Hartford, New London, and Windham wee also on the list. 

Last December New Haven City government began working with immigrant rights groups and community allies to build relationships and prepare for whatever actions the federal administration would take against this City, a welcoming city since 2007. New Haven Immigrants Coalition, with a strong component of youth leaders, holds weekly know-your-rights trainings and has helped the city create a list of resources.

The city has joined San Francisco and several other municipalities suing the Trump administration in federal court arguing that withholding funds from municipalities that limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement is unconstitutional.

At a press conference called by Mayor Justin Elicker in response to the DHS list, he affirmed that New Haven is following the law and is proud to be a welcoming city.

“We are not afriad, they want us to be afraid, but we are going to come together,” said Ambar Santiago-Rojas a high school student and leader of the New Haven Immigrants Coalition, who had just helped lead a walkout of 300 students for school funding. “The undocumented community, and the Black community, and women, lgbtq+ and students must come together and we will come together,” she aid.

Rev. Scott Marks, director of New Haven Rising, the community organization related with Unite Here condemned the attack on the city saying, “Imagine the workers who make this city work, who are undocumented, the nervousness that they may have. We want to fight to make sure that this city remains safe.”

During the national day of protest against Avelo in New Hampshire, where Avelo Airlines flies routes out of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, proesters stood along I-293 exit in Manchester leading to the airport. Among them was State Rep. Seth Miller from Dover New Hampshire who purchased two billboards near Tweed New Haven Airport that read: “Does your vacation support their deportation? Just say AvelNO!” When the billboard company took down the ads Miller went to court suing Avelo on Firt Amendment grounds.

“I'm under no delusion that Avelo stopping these flights means these flights stop,” he said. “But it makes it a little harder, makes it a little more expensive. It means other people have to do it. And once that's done, we'll go after the next ones.” said Miller.

 

Lakeland is one of three cities in Florida that held actions on the national day of protest, along with Palm Beach, Fort Myers and Sarasota.. "Avelo is a financially struggling company, poorly managed, poorly financed and by their own admission is taking the ICE contract in order to maintain their bottom line and to profit," said Matthew Boulay at a press conference called by the Stop Avelo campaign in Lakeland. "It’s profit over people. It’s blood money. It’s shameful." he said.

 

A protest in Houston, Texas was held outside Avelo Airlines national headquarters on Greenway Plaza. In Rochester, New York protesters held signs and banners on the Brooks Avenue overpass at I-390 near the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport opposing Avelo's collaboration with ICE deportation flights. 

 

Protests were held in three Oregon cities including at the Eugene Airport, Mahlon Sweet Field, from which Avelo operates weekly flights directly to the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Los Angeles. where a protest was also held. Organized by Indivisible the call said:. “Let’s stand together against fascism, family separation, and corporate complicity. No more silence. No more flights. #StopAvelo.” .

 

California's US Senator Alex Padilla said in a news release “Given the Trump Administration’s mission to indiscriminately deport our nation’s immigrants – without due process, in violation of the Constitution and federal immigration law, and, in some cases, in defiance of court orders – it is deeply disturbing that Avelo has determined that its partnership with ICE is ‘too valuable not to pursue.” 

 

Protests were also held in Albany, New York; Arcata, Santa Clarita and Sonoma California; Chicago, Detroit; Kalispell, Montana; Las Vegas; McLean, Virtinia; Medford and Salem Oregon; Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington North Carolina; Traverse City, Michigan and Wilmington, Delaware

 

Connecticut Families at Risk: Congressional Billionaire Budget Heads to the US Senate.

 

A huge fight is shaping up in Connecticut and across the country demanding the US Seante defeat the life-threatening billionaire budget bill debated in the dead of night and passed by the US House. It is the largest transfer of wealth from people's needs to billionaires in history and would cause irreparable harm to all but the top one percent.

Called the “big beautiful bill” by Trump, it has been denounced as a “betrayal to the working people of this country” by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and scores of union, community and faith leaders.

“It will throw millions of children, seniors and families off their health care, gut funding for nursing homes and rural hospitals with devastating effects for care jobs, cut investments in jobs of the future and push food assistance out of reach—all to give the rich and big corporations another tax cut,” she declared.

The key features include a 10-year $4.5 trillion tax cut for corporations and the rich, alongside a $715 billion cut in Medicaid depriving 15 million people of health care, elimination of SNAP food aid to 42 million people, plus ending all aid for pregnant women, infants and toddlers alongside an increase in military spending to at least $1 trillion.

Hidden measures include prohibiting Judges from use of contempt of court, and allowing the IRS to unilaterally declare any non-profit organization, including unions and universities, as “terrorist” groups, losing tax-exemption

“Connecticut families are at risk,” warns Connecticut Voices for Children.in their analysis of how the bill would affect the people of this state. “If enacted,” they say, the policies within the Act would dramatically cut funding for essential programs Connecticut residents rely on, making it harder to access health care, afford food and pursue higher education, while delivering massive tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy and corporate interests.”

A giant national “No Kings Day” action in every state being planned for Saturday June 14, is scheduled for 11 am at the state capitol in Hartford. The protests will build unity and momentum to force the US Senate to vote the bill down. Calls to Congress and visits to the offices of US Senators are underway. 

 

Rev William Barber announced that the Moral Mondays movement he leads is joining with Indivisble to mobilize nationally for “No Kings Day” and oppose the immoral budget, “not only to resist autocracy and mean-spirited policy, but also to build the kind of coalition we need to help this nation become the America we’ve never yet been.” 

 

The measure needs 51 votes to pass the Senate. Of the 53 Republican senators, several are undecided including Murkowski (AL), Collins (ME), Johnson (WI), Paul (KY), Tullis (NC), Hawley (MO). If all Democrats and four Republicans vote no the bill will be defeated.

“Congressional House Republicans have approved the largest cuts in American history to Medicaid and SNAP.  In doing so, they’re breaking their promises to lower costs for families and help people on the margins of the economy,” said Emily Byrne, Executive Director of Connecticut Voices for Children. 

 

“The cost of massive tax cuts for the richest people and most powerful corporations in America are being paid for by low- and middle-income children and families who will now have a harder time paying for healthcare, food, and household essentials,” she said.

 

Calling on policymakers “to oppose the Congressional House budget plan, which increases the national deficit by $3.8 trillion and provides the largest tax giveaway to people who don’t need financial help at the expense of children and families who do,” Connecticut Voices for Children issued a study highlighting the greatest financial impact on Connecticut families and the state budget.

 

“Drastic, proposed funding cuts and structural changes to Medicaid, SNAP, and other core economic security programs will put more children and families at risk of poverty and without food, housing, and healthcare.”  

 

A $715 billion cut to Medicaid over nine years impacts 15 million US residents. The State would be responsible for closing a fiscal reduction to Connecticut of at least $476 million per year. In addition co-pays would increase for those covered by Medicaid expansion.  

 

A $300 billion cut to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) over nine years impasts 40 million US residents and all non-citizens. This means a fiscal reduction to Connecticut of $44 million up to #222 million per year.

 

“Unprecedented proposed changes to higher education and budget increases to enforce a mass deportation agenda.”

Eliminates PELL Grants for students enrolled in college less than half-time. Eliminates subsidized student loans

Adds $150 billion in new money for the Defense Department and national security. Increases to the Department of Homeland Security of $51 billion for a border wall, $45 billion for ICE to build family detention camps plus, and $27 billion for agents.

Eliminates access to the child tax credit from 4.5 million citizen children who reside within immigrant family households.

“Massive, proposed tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and powerful corporate interests who don’t need tax giveaways while irresponsibly increasing the deficit”

More than $5 trillion in tax cuts, including a permanent extension of tax cuts to wealthy and increases the estate tax exemption to $15 million. Increases to state and local tax deduction caps (SALT) from $10,000 to $40,000 for incumes under $500,000 a year. A 100 percent tax credit for donations to private school voucher groups.

Eliminates the child tax credit for 20 million citizen children in low income working families. Ends green-energy tax cedits by 2028. Increases the US federal deficit by $3.8 trillion.

Connecticut's Congressional delegation voted unanimously in the US House against the bill, and Senators Blumenthal and Murphy are campaigning for defeat of the bill in the US Senate. A massive public outcry is critical to defeat the bill they say.

1199 workers win funding, avert strike

8,000 nursing home workers and group home workers, members of SEIU 1199 NE began preparing to strike if they had to five months ago. It was a daunting situation, with wages so low that most of the workers were forced to hold two or three jobs, with some unable to afford rentals living in their cars. Most were one check away from losing everything. These caregivers carry out heroic work and lost members to COVID during the pandemic.

Without adequate Medicare funding allocatted from the state of Connecticut, there was no ability to bargain with nursing home owners for an increase in wages and benefits. The workers shared their stories with community allies and members of the state legislature and won their support. But the fund were not forthcoming.

Finally, on May 1^st, they delivered a strike notice to the Governor. Preparations were made for the workers to report to the Capitol grounds for a massive picket line on May 27. On Friday befoe the Memorial Day weekend, negotiations reopened and enough funds were allocated for the workers to win wage increases from $22 to $26 by 2028. The committee voted to take the offer from the Governor and withdraw the strike notice.

Gov. Lamont agreed to Medicaid reimbursement increases of $164 million over three years for nursing home workers, with the goal of $30 an hour. Group home workers got $149 million in increases over two years that should increase pay from the current $18 an hour to above $20 an hour.

Union members voted “overwhelmingly” to approve the new funding package and call off the strike said president Rob Baril. “The agreement provides for substantial funding increases in both group homes and nursing homes, and makes important and meaningful progress toward livable wages in both sectors.”

Now, in phase two the caregivers, who work at 51 nursing homes and 173 group homes, will be bargaining with dozens of employers to get contracts that deliver on their wage increases to meet the rising cost of living.

As well, they are facing an attack from threatened federal cuts to Medicaid which covers the work of most of the members, and could cause job losses and even closures of agencies and nursing homes.

Demand Grows to End Fiscal Guardrails

 

For years, legislation to meet urgent needs of public education, health care and housing have been denied by the state legislature and Governor on the basis of artifically established “fiscal guardrails” that place protected funds off-limits.

This week two legal memos question the constitutionality of these “fiscal guardrails,” even as economic and racial inequities increase and attacks from the Trump administration put federal funding into question.

The memos released by Yale Law School’s Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) validate the real-world harm caused, and confirm that the “fiscal guardrail” restrictions are also constitutionally unsound.

Their finding is that years of disinvestment were not only damaging but unnecessary and unjustified.

“The power granted to me and my colleagues by our constituents is considerably hampered by the restraints of our fiscal guardrails,” said State Rep. Josh Elliott. “Elected officials must be able to exercise decision making authority that current times call for, without the self imposed burden of an unconstitutional bond lock”

The crisis for public education is so severe that a civil disobedience sit in in front of the Governor's office denanded release of funds for under funded school districts so that all students, including Black and brown students, can have a world class education.

“This week I joined nine other teachers, students and community members who were arrested at the Capitol to escalate our concerns about the fiscal roadblocks,” said Leslie Blatteau, New Haven Federation of Teachers President, “Now to see that these arbitrary constraints aren’t even operational or constitutional, is an insult to every parent, student and community member who has been told, we don't have the money.” 

“The effect of years of underinvestment in public education and other critical public services will be felt in our communities for generations,” said Maya Shepard, Executive Director of Hearing Youth Voices, “Students in New London and other towns across the state, have missed out from the benefits of fully funded schools: adequately staffed classrooms, arts and sports and safe buildings – all in the name of “protecting” these unconstitutional roadblocks.”

Machinists Win New Contract After Three Week Strike

 

by Joelle Fishman

EAST HARTFORD, CONN. – The spirit on the picket line remained strong for all 23 days of the strike by members of IAM Locals 1743 at Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford and 700 in Middletown. “I am very proud of the strength and resolve of our members. I am very proud of the strength and resolve that everyone has shown on the line,” said 1746 president Wayne McCarthy.

This strength and unity of the workers combined with widespread solidarity from the state labor movement, local communities and elected officials at all levels brought the billionaire Pratt & Whitney / RTX corporation back to the bargaining table with an improved offer addressing some of the major concerns.

Their profits, in the billions, and last quarter were 41% higher than last year.

At the Oakdale Theater copies of the proposed agreement were available for members to review. The negotiating committee recommended that the workers accept. By a vote of 1608 to 562 the new contract was ratified with 74% of the vote.

Significant gains were made from TRX, Partt & Whitney's parent company, which has opened a new plant in North Carolina that is not unionized. The contract secures that the jobs in Connecticut will stay here in the company's home state throught the life of the contract in 2029.

“We held strong and we got adjustments made to the areas we were most concerned about. Overall sticking together got us to a better place than where we were,” said Michael Lamourex, chair of Local 700 strike committee.

“The big one for us was job security. They didn't talk at all about job security in the last proposal. In this one they are talking about keeping work in Middletown and East Hartford and their plans to expand. We got an extra year in the pension and an increase to the people in the 401K plan. The general wage increase was moved from 4% to 6:% in the first year.”

Wage increases in the next three years are 3.5% (2026), 3% (2027), and 3% (2028)..

Increased employer contributions to retirement were also secured.

“Our committee worked tirelessly to ensure our members’ priorities were heard, and this agreement is a direct result of that determination,” said IAM Union District 26 Directing Business Representative Jeff Santini. “We are proud of what was achieved at the table and even prouder of the solidarity shown by our membership throughout this process.”

“Pratt & Whitney is a leader in the aerospace industry because of the dedication and skill of our members,” said IAM Union Eastern Territory General Vice President David Sullivan. “The voice of the membership was heard loud and clear — and this new agreement reflects the value they bring to Pratt & Whitney. I commend this committee for reflecting the will of the membership.”

“Our members stood together with strength and resolve,” said IAM Local 700 President Wayne McCarthy. “This agreement includes real gains for our members and proves what we can accomplish when we stick together.”

“We went into these negotiations with clear goals, and thanks to the support and unity of our membership, we’ve delivered results,” said IAM Local 1746 President Howie Huestis. “This contract puts our members in a stronger position for the future, and we’re proud of the work that went into making it happen.”

Pratt & Whitney agreed to come back to the bargaining table immediately after 2300 Marine Draftsmen at Electric Boat represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 571won a new contract proposal, dramatically offered minutes before their strike deadline. The recommendation of the union bargaining committee to accept was ratified this week including at 30% pay raise over the five year contract among other gains.

Throughout their strike, the IAM workers understood that what they would be able to win would raise the starard for all workers in Connecticut and nationally.

IAM (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) represents 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, shipbuilding, railroad, transit, healthcare, automotive industries across the United States and Canada.