Yale Postdocs, Allies Rally for Union Recognition

 

NEW HAVEN, CT — Hundreds of Yale Postdoctoral Scholars, joined by Local 33, 34, and 35 union members, students, and community allies, rallied before Thanksgiving to call on Yale University to immediately address the growing job insecurity and lack of vital workplace protections facing its Postdoctoral Scholars.

A majority of Yale postdocs have signed union cards and union leaders emphasized the need for Yale commit to a fair and neutral process for union recognition. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Connecticut State Senate President Martin Looney, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, and President of the New Haven Board of Alders Tyisha Walker-Myers voiced support for the organizing campaign.  

 

The demonstration, which closed College Street near Yale’s Cross Campus, highlighted the high stakes of postdoctoral research at Yale, citing issues of job precarity, high cost of living, and the need for basic workplace rights. 

 

Claire Laxton, a postdoc in Immunobiology, contrasted Yale’s wealth with the job insecurity she and her coworkers face: "Just a few weeks ago, Yale announced its endowment has grown to over 44 billion dollars. However, instead of using its massive wealth to bridge funding gaps and support all workers during this time, with skyrocketing living costs and federal funding cuts, postdocs are losing their jobs, as if we are disposable. But… We are not disposable!” 

 

Postdoctoral Scholars spoke powerfully about the critical need for workplace protections to provide stability against the backdrop of shifting federal funding and rising costs.  

 

The rally underscored the current two-tiered system on campus, where graduate workers represented by Local 33 have contract protections that postdocs who often work side-by-side with them, lack. 

 

The rally closed with a commitment from all academic workers to stand together and insist that the University value their essential labor. 

 

Adam Waters, President of Local 33, summarized the unified demands: “Just like grad workers, postdocs deserve health and safety protections, job security, fair treatment language, and a grievance procedure to deal with workplace issues. As postdocs and grad workers, we are also standing together in this moment to push back against unprecedented attacks on universities, on science, and on truth.” 

CT AFL-CIO says Stand Up, Fight Back

The labor movement in Connecticut left fired up from the 16th Biennial Connecticut AFL-CIO convention, ready to “Stand Up, Fight Back” against the assault on unions and toward the common goal of a better life for all workers and communities.

“The message was clear,” said one AFSCME member, “We're up for the fight we're in right now and we're up for the fight to come because when workers fight, we win “

The convention included open discussions, workshops, prominent guest speakers, election of leadership, and strategizing for the hard work ahead of all organized labor.

Keynote speaker Attorney General William Tong opened the convention itemizing ten lawsuits his office brought against the Trump administration, winning reinstatement of funding and infrastructure jobs withdrawn when Connecticut upheld it's immigration protections.

“We are not powerless.” said Tong. “We WILL win this battle… we will NOT be bullied and we will NOT be intimidated!”

Tong praised the role of the labor movement in preserving democracy saying “What gives me hope for the future of the country is you here now.”

A plenary panel “Blame the Boss not the Immigrants: Immigrants as Workers” included presentations by two immigration lawyers, Connecticut Students For a Dream, Make the Road and SEIU 32 BJ deputy political director Jose Miranda.

Miranda emphasized language won in union contracts to protect immigrant members including maintaining seniority during a status case and know your rights trainings for both employers and workers.

“If immigrants are unprotected and powerless only the employers win,” said moderator Eric Cruz Lopez. “This fight is all our fight.”

In their reports president Ed Hawthorne and secretary-treasurer Shellye Davis congratulated the unions who have won strikes this year including the Machinists at Pratt and Whitney winning job security in a historic three week work stoppage,

Jescraft in Oxford on strike for six-and-a-half weeks to win their union, Unite Here 217 at the Hyatt, the Omni and Sodexo, CWA 1298 at Frontier, AFT nurses at Backus Hospital, UAW at Electric Boat and members of SEIU 1199.

“Every one of these strikes or near-strikes demonstrates that the power of solidarity is absolute. We must lean on each other when times are tough,” said Hawthorne.

“But our solidarity cannot stop at the picket line. We must stand with workers everywhere—documented and undocumented—because the struggle for workers' rights is inseparable from the fight for human rights.”

Hawthorne announced that, “Through the Yale Law School Worker & Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic, we are planning to file a Freedom of Information request to uncover every workplace in the nation that has been raided by ICE. And we are prepared to take this administration to Federal Court if they fail to comply. “

In her remarks Davis said, “Bosses think we are weak. We are willing to fight for each and every worker being exploited by billionaires. We have no choice but to win. We are committed to elevate economic, racial and social justice for all working people.”

Celebrating the wave of organizing underway in the state, the convention presented awards to 16 unions that brought in new locals this year.

Hawthorne and Davis were unanimously re-elected, along with returning and new members to executive board positions. Appreciation was expressed for the pair's role championing dignity, fairness, and power and building solidarity for a stronger Connecticut for all workers.

Delegates adopted a wide range of resolutions including establishing a veterans council, organizing for affordable longterm care, banning private equity ownership of health care facilities.

The final two resolutions which concluded the convention inspired delegates for the struggles ahead.

Many delegates spoke in favor of a resolution against school vouchers emphasizing that public education is essential for democracy and calling for public funding of public schools that are universally accessible and where all are welcome.

The final resolution calling for a Union Day of Solidarity was inspired by the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and presented by the Racial Justice Committee of the CT AFL CIO among others.

“This is what we're all about, standing together and rallying together,” said Carl Chisholm. Win Heimer recalled the seven million in the streets for No Kings Day II and emphasized that an initiative led by labor with allies is needed to stop the attacks on the working class and build for the future”

The convention hosted a fund raiser for the Connecticut for All coalition of 60 labor, community and faith organizations committed to winning tax policies that end the huge economic and racial disparities in the state.

Norma Martinez-Hosang, executive director, told the delegates, “I believe in the power of community and labor, overcoming the divide between workers in the public sector and public awareness,” inviting each union to join in the fight for equity and justice.

Higher Ed Week of Action: Full Funding, Fair Contracts

A Higher Ed Week of Action is uniting community college campuses across Connecticut to fight for the future of public higher education including fair contracts and fully funded colleges.

Sponsored by the higher education unions AFT Connecticut, AFSCME and the 4C's, demands include full funding for community colleges and the CSCU system, fair contracts and better working conditions, and more full time faculty and staff to support student success.

The kickoff rally, “Our Education, Our Future,” was held at Capital Community College in Hartford on the second day of the Special Legislative Session. Following pre-rally pizza, students, staff and faculty members talked about Funding Our Future, More Full-Time Staffing, and Fair Contracts for Workers. The rally was co-sponsored by the Student Government Association.

Rallies will be held on Tuesday November 18 at 1 pm at Manchester Community College (CT State Manchester) and on Thursday November 20 at 2:30 pm at Gateway Community College (CT State Gateway) in New Haven.

Connecticut’s public colleges are vital to workforce development and community opportunity, but they cannot thrive without stable funding and fair contracts that ensure full-time attention for students. 

“However. decades of underfunding have left our community college struggling to provide the same essential supports offered at every college, such as advising and tutoring to mental health services. Our students are more likely to be first-generation, come from underfunded K-12 school districts, and be working parents trying to build better lives. We’re rallying to demand the stable funding and fair contracts our colleges need because when our students succeed, our communities and our state thrive.” said the faculty.

Currently 75% of community college teaching faculty are part-time, with no health care benefits. Students deserve access to full-time faculty and staff to best educate them. Faculty deserve full-time jobs with good health care and benefits. “We are fighting to end this exploitation of our teaching faculty and ensure our community college students have access to full-time faculty inside and outside of the classroom."

Union Retirees Honor Activists On the Front Lines

 

“Organize, mobilize, agitate” was the watchword from Alliance for Retired Americans director Rich Fiesta at the packed awards luncheon of Connecticut ARA.

The room was filled with retirees active to protect social security, medicare, medicaid and all hard won rights. A special celebration hailed three years of organizing, initiated by CT ARA, that won repeal of WEP/GPO. No longer would public sector workers be denied full Social Security benefits if they held second jobs. President Joe Biden was introduced at the signing ceremony by CT ARA president Bette Marafino. Appreciation was shown to the leaders of the grass roots campaign at the luncheon. CT AFL-CIO president Ed Hawthorne praised the retirees as the backbone of the labor movement.

Accepting the Charlene Block Award, State Rep Jan Hochadel , also president of AFT Connecticut, reaffirmed her fight for and with seniors and working people.

The Kevin Lynch award was presented to Tom Connolly for his years of leadership in the labor movement. Excerpts of his inspiring call to action follow:

Tom Connolly: Unite, Fight, Win

Dr. Martin Luther King warned us of the possibility of a “native form of fascism in America.” And that is what the Trump/MAGA agenda is attempting

to do.

As we sit here today, someone — somewhere — is being zip tied and taken away by heavily armed masked ICE agents with no due process and shipped off to prison. We have deep cuts coming to SNAP food stamps and Medicaid — so the rich can get richer.

They’re firing and stripping labor contracts from our union sisters and brothers at the federal level, dismantling the NLRB, and threatening the 2026 elections through gerrymandering, voter suppression, and using military force in our cities.

Project 2025, funded by millionaires and billionaires, is designed to hold power — at any cost. Lying, cheating, stripping rights, blocking democracy — it’s all part of their plan.

One thing we know for sure: If we roll over and do nothing — they will roll right over us. We are not going to let that happen. We are going to fight. We are going to unite. And we are going to win.

We’ve already seen what unity can do. On October 18th, over 7 million people took part in the NO KINGS Rally, joined by millions more around the globe. We are not alone.

Look at this tremendous ARA victory — winning the fight to repeal WEP / GPO impacting the lives of hundreds or thousands of people. Many thought it was impossible — but it happened through organizing. When ARA won — they didn’t quit. They reorganized now to protect income security.

Another example is my retiree union, CSEA Retirees Council 400, where I had the honor of serving as Vice President of our 12,000-member organization and now chair our Legislative Action Committee. What holds us together is what keeps us alive — our pensions, our healthcare, and Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

But we also have to look beyond just one contract or one campaign. On the national level, the Trump/MAGA fascist agenda continues. SNAP, food stamps cuts, go into effect next month. That’s why groups like the CT for All Coalition matter. It brings together labor, community, and faith organizations to fight for taxing wealth to meet the needs of multi-racial working-class and disenfranchised — and linking our local fights to the larger national struggle.

We have to come together because if every working person’s boat isn’t lifted, those left behind become easy targets for Trump’s lies — that he cares about them, and unions don’t. We know that’s not true. But we have to show it’s not true — by standing and fighting with others.

There is an even broader fight. Capitalism works for billionaires but it disenfranchises us. If we learned anything from Project 2025 it’s that this system is for the few—it’s not for the many. We the many can win big changes for our rights and future if we organize, and stand in solidarity, we can even put socialism on the agenda.

Back in the 1970s I joined the anti-poverty movement, and stayed in it for the rest of my life. Someone invited me to New Haven to hear a candidate running for Congress on the Communist Party USA ticket — Joelle Fishman. She spoke softly but with conviction: “We have to tax the rich, cut the military budget, meet community needs, protect labor rights, and end racism and other forms of discrimination.” When she finished, I said, where do I sign? That vision — that hope — gives me the strength to see the light at the end of the tunnel to solve some major problems.

I accept this award not just for myself, but for all of us — for everyone who fights, organizes, and believes that we can create a world with true liberty and justice for all. Thank you and let’s continue to take care of each other and go out and MAKE GOOD TROUBLE!

Tenants of Alpha Capital Unite Across Town

 

New London, CT — Alpha Capital Funds, a CT-based investment-landlord firm owned by Tyler Smith, recently purchased five residential buildings in New London: 6 Redden Ave, 36 Nathan Hale St, 461 Williams St, and 105 & 111 Broad St. Since the acquisition of these properties, totaling 61 renters’ homes, Alpha Capital has issued 14 notices to quit, with more notices expected for additional tenants through August 2026. Notices to quit are the first step in the process of evicting tenants—in this case for no fault.

Tenants decided to rapidly unionize, join forces with already-unionized Alpha Capital tenants in Niantic, affiliate as a chapter of the Connecticut Tenants Union, and demand that Tyler Smith of Alpha Capital Funds meet them at the bargaining table to negotiate terms to remain securely housed. Tenants include senior and disabled tenants living on limited, fixed incomes, as well as working people and families with children—many of whom are already rent-burdened.

“My monthly disability income is $967. My monthly rent is $950. I’m already struggling every month to pay my other bills on top of the rent. If I get forced out of this apartment, what will I do then? My neighbors and I have literally no choice but to fight this. Tyler Smith, just come to the table and talk to us. Negotiate a new lease. That’s all we want. ” said Michael Duffy, tenant and union leader.

At New London City Hall, tenant union leaders announced the formation of their union and their demand for a fair deal that prevents their displacement. New London Mayor Michael Passero, State Senator Martha Marx, and Representative Anthony Nolan all voiced their support for the union’s demands and committed to reiterate those demands to Tyler Smith directly.

This press conference marked the expansion of tenant unions in southeastern Connecticut, as Niantic and New London tenants joined forces to combat the predatory landlording practices of Alpha Capital Funds in their communities and to fight back against no-fault evictions and unaffordable rents. Their cross-town solidarity represents a significant step up in scale of the region’s tenant movement.