Legislators, Unions Urge Yale: Stand up to Trump

State representatives, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have a message for Yale: Stand up against Trump, and we will stand with you. On May 14, Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that it found Yale discriminated against Asian and white applicants to the Yale School of Medicine, and threatened to extend these allegations to law school and undergraduate admissions as well. These dubious “findings” are part of the Trump administration’s long battle against academic freedom with the intention of inducing a chilling effect on campus speech. In response to these threats of litigation, Yale has the choice to stand up and use its $44 billion endowment to fight for academic freedom, or seek a surrender settlement in response to Trump’s shakedown.

According to a letter from eight State Lawmakers, including New Haven representatives Pat Dillon, Roland Lemar, and Steve Winter, the allegations made by the DOJ are unfounded and need to be challenged. “...capitulating now would constitute a serious abandonment of Yale’s values, be a severe strategic miscalculation, and could jeopardize Yale’s relationship with the State of Connecticut — including state-granted privileges the University has long taken for granted,” reads the letter, which clarifies that such privileges include the university’s special tax-exempt status that could potentially be eliminated.

While Yale leadership could pursue a settlement to get the Trump administration off their back temporarily, surrendering would only provide additional ammunition for Trump to pursue more concessions from higher education, at Yale and beyond. As noted in the lawmakers’ letter, settlements at other universities, including Columbia, have only served as a “springboard for new demands.” Additionally, the AAUP has asserted that a potential Yale settlement would endanger institutions of higher education throughout the state, especially those who lack the financial power to fight the administration in court. The AAUP is prepared to legally challenge the settlement if it occurs.

The national AFT and AFT Connecticut also joined the AAUP in calling on Yale to reject a settlement. While the DOJ claims the allegations against Yale are only about admissions, it represents a continuation of Trump’s intention to limit academic freedom in educational institutions across the country. In a letter issued by the AAUP and AFT, such a settlement would also give the federal government continued leverage over “hiring, curriculum, research, medical practice, campus speech, student discipline, or faculty governance.” As the letter from the CT state lawmakers also noted, “settlements have consistently placed universities — and their leaders and employees personally — in a worse legal position than they occupied under existing law, not a better one.”

If Yale University shows that mere threats of litigation over unproven allegations will lead to preemptive compliance, it would only encourage the Trump administration to continue his anti-education agenda using such threats as a bargaining chip. Trump, in addition to being firmly anti-science, has threatened to abolish the Department of Education. Federal funding has been withdrawn from programs that include crucial medical and climate change research. The administration has also attacked Historically Black Colleges and Universities throughout the country, inflicting them with severe funding cuts and undermining federal student loan programs.

"Even at smaller colleges like Smith, we are paying close attention to the actions by the Yale administration in the face of Trump's escalating threats. Yale's refusal to buckle to illegal demands from the Trump Administration is one all colleges and universities have stakes in supporting. We stand in solidarity with the college communities of workers and students like Yale who have the courage to fight judicial overreach and bullying to want to steal hard-won basic rights, equality and access to educational resources,” Elisabeth Armstrong, the Sydenham Parsons Clark Professor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Smith College and AAUP member, told the People’s World.

If Yale chooses to stand with its own academic community to fight back against Trump’s demands, it would be using its financial resources and status to not only protect its own students, faculty, and workers, but also the entire system of higher education in the US. When Harvard University joined the AAUP in litigation against the federal government, billions of dollars in frozen funding was restored. State lawmakers have asserted that if Yale would fight as Harvard did, it would almost certainly win. Yale would have the support of the AAUP, the AFT, and CT state lawmakers behind it, should it choose to defend its own principles of academic freedom and institutional independence.

Court protects CT voter lists from Trump

“Big win for Connecticut voters,” said Attorney General William Tong this week. “A federal judge dismissed the Trump Administration's lawsuit seeking to force Connecticut to hand over its statewide voter registration list.”

In January, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Connecticut for its refusal to hand over voter registration lists. It filed similar suits against 22 other states. Connecticut maintained it complies with all federal election laws while protecting sensitive voter information and that the Civil Rights Act of 1960 does not authorize DOJ’s demand.

“This lawsuit was an illegal attempt to disenfranchise Connecticut voters and today, the court shut it down. The Constitution is clear: the President does not control our elections and has no right to manipulate Connecticut voter rolls,” said Tong.

“Connecticut follows federal law and takes its obligations under federal law very seriously. We will not be bullied into handing over sensitive voter information just because Trump demands it.”

Motions to dismiss the lawsuit were also filed by the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut and Common Cause, SEIU District 1199NE, the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans, Connecticut Citizen Action Group and Stephanie Thomas the Secretary of State.

In the decision, U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley dismissed the action, concluding DOJ has no authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to require Connecticut to produce its statewide voter registration list. The court held that the list falls outside the statute because it is created by the Secretary of State.

“This administration has used the courts to push their agenda. They tried to gain access to our state’s voter data, putting our residents’ privacy at risk,” said Dan Barrett, Legal Director for the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut.

“As Connecticut’s primaries are only weeks away, with the midterm elections soon after, this ruling comes when election integrity matters most. This decision reaffirms what has already been true for years: Connecticut’s elections are safe and secure. In this state, every voter has the right to cast their ballot and know that their privacy will be respected in the process.” he said.

Machinists Call for Worker Solidarity at Connecticut AFL-CIO Convention

IAM Union International President Brian Bryant joined labor leaders in New Haven for the Connecticut AFL-CIO’s 16th Biennial Political Convention, delivering a powerful keynote address focused on solidarity, organizing, and building worker power in the face of growing attacks on working families.

The convention, themed “Strong Unions, Stronger Democracy,” also featured a keynote address by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, and its agenda centered on organizing, political action, economic justice, and the protection of workers’ rights.

Bryant followed Shuler, thanking Connecticut AFL-CIO President Ed Hawthorne and the state’s labor movement for their unwavering support during the 2025 IAM District 26 strike at Pratt & Whitney.

“We did not win that strike alone,” Bryant said. “We won because of the solidarity of the labor movement in this state. We won because Connecticut union members understood that the fight at Pratt & Whitney wasn’t just about Pratt & Whitney. It was about every worker in Connecticut.”

Bryant credited the union members of Connecticut for walking picket lines, delivering supplies, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with striking IAM Union Local 1746 and Local 700 members, calling their victory proof that solidarity remains labor’s greatest strength.

Throughout his speech, Bryant challenged corporate greed and attacks on collective bargaining while emphasizing the IAM Union’s commitment to organizing and fighting for working people.

“The labor movement is under attack. Workers are under attack. And unions are under attack,” said Bryant. “But the labor movement has seen this playbook before. And we are not going backward. Not now. Not ever.”

Bryant also highlighted the IAM Union’s Workers vs. Billionaires campaign, urging delegates to recognize that the struggle facing working families transcends political divisions.

“This is not Democrat versus Republican. This is not Left versus Right,” said Bryant. “This is workers versus the people profiting while workers struggle to survive. It is workers versus corporate greed. Workers versus union busting.”

He concluded by calling on delegates to continue organizing new workers and standing united against efforts to weaken unions.

“Together we stand. Together we fight. Together we organize. And together we will build an economy that works for workers—not just billionaires.”

Earlier in the convention, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler urged delegates to continue organizing workers and building political power, arguing that working people must shape an economy that prioritizes the workers who drive it over shareholders and profits.

“That economic pain won’t end until we take on an entire system that has left working people behind, and we put in place an economy that values real work,” said Shuler. “It starts with three words that everyone in this room knows well: Organize, organize, organize. That’s how we change what’s possible in this country.”

Shuler stressed that protecting workers’ rights requires mobilization beyond the workplace and into legislatures. “Organizing in the workplace won’t be successful if it isn’t paired with political organizing. Because the rules matter. Who writes them matters. Who enforces them matters,” said Shuler.

The convention brought together union delegates from across Connecticut to discuss organizing strategies, political action, legislative priorities, and strengthening worker power ahead of the 2026 elections.

Labor 2026 program to Get Out the Vote

The convention endorsed a slate of pro-worker candidates prior to the August 11 primary who in interviews committed to protecting workers' rights and advancing policies that strengthen working families, with the goal of making the Democratic majority General Assembly “more worker friendly.” including 24 candidates for State Senate and 83 candidates for State House of Representatives.

The delegates adopted several resolutions including Resolution One Committing Full Support to the Labor 2026 Program. The labor-to-labor political program is designed to mobilize union members to speak to co-workiers and their families about the elections, based upon mutual trust.

The resolution emphasized that the political progrm “has proven to be effective in mobilizing union households to vote in such large numbers as to equal at least 20% of the total votes cast.”

The mobilization has helped elect dozens of union members to the state legislature and local office, “who are committed to supporting working people,” said the Resolution emphasizing that full resources will be put into the “Labor 2026 plan to elect pro-worker, pro-union candidates.”

The plan includes canvassing by visiting co-workers at home, speaking on the phone, and member-to-member communications with worksite leaflets, mailings, newsletters, emails, text and social media.

The program also includes registering members to vote and educating members about the option to vote early and by absentee ballot.”

The Resolution commits to “hold labor's endorsed candidates accountabnle after the election.”

One of several workshops. “Challenging Authoritarianism Through People Power” presented by New Haven Federation of Teachers president Leslie Blatteau, was geared to engage larger numbers of union members prepared to resist and organize large peaceful protests in the event of attempts to steal the election or other policies that threaten democratic rights.

The training is being held across the country by American Federation of Teachers locals and other union organizations.

CT Rallies Demand Justice for Migrants

Rallies across Connecticut, in response to cold blooded killings of immigrants by ICE in Texas and Maine, denounced the growing violence, demanding accountability, dignity, and due process for all.

Immigrant rights organizations Make the Road, Hartford Deportation Defense and Unidad Latina en Accion (ULA) are in the lead, joined by community, faith and union members.

In New Haven at the Federal Building ULA said, “It is time to speak out., stand together, reject fear, defend human rights, and affirm that every person deserves dignity, safety, and due process regardless of immigration status.”

“What was the "crime" committed by many of these victims? Simply driving while being immigrants,” said ULA. “Instead of due process, many people face racial profiling, aggressive enforcement, and a system that appears focused on hunting down anyone perceived to be an immigrant.”

On July 7 in Houston, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican citizen who lived in the U.S. for 35 years, was intercepted and killed by ICE en route to a construction job site.

Six days later, a 26-year-old Colombian man, Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who worked as a delivery driver, was shot and killed by ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine.

In Connecticut in June, a member of ULA was violently apprehended by ICE agents. Without medical care he was taken with a broken wrist to an immigration detention center and not released for several days.

In West Hartford in June ICE agents kidnapped Seyo Cecunjanin, a restauranteur on his way to work. The community rallied immediately and with the support of Rep John Larson and Sen. Richard Blumenthal in several days he was released. In all these cases the person was not who ICE was looking for.

“Connecticut has stronger protections than many other states because of more than two decades of organizing and advocacy by immigrant rights organizations and their allies in labor and community. Those gains were not freely given—they were won through collective struggle. But those protections cannot be taken for granted. Remaining silent in the face of abuse only allows injustice to continue.” said ULA.

Connecticut Unions Pledge Solidarity and Voter Turnout

“Connecticut is on the move!” exclaimed Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO to applause as she greeted union members at the Connecticut AFL-CIO Biennial Political Convention in New Haven. “I wanted to come to say thank you.”

The convention, themed “Strong Unions, Stronger Democracy,” was held at the Omni Hotel where Unite Here Local 217 workers successfully went on strike last year demanding respect, wage increases and job security.

“We need solidarity now more than ever,” Shuler emphasized. “The Omni makes billions while the workers can't afford rent.”

Other struggles in Connecticut last year that Shuler highlighted as “paving the way” for the country, included the strike by Machinists at Pratt and Whitney and new union organizing for workers in higher education, food service, healthcare, hospitality and more. As well, legislative victories for immigrant rights and workers rights were recognized in the context of standing up to the attacks by the Trump administration.

Focusing on the biggest contract fight now underway by Unite Here Locals 34 and 35 at Yale University, Shuler electrified the delegates when she said to applause, “I want you to know that all 15 million union members of the AFL CIO across the country have your backs.”

“Yale's $44 billion endowment is bigger than countries, while workers can't afford the cost of living,” she said.

More details came to the convention floor later that day when Lisa Stevens, president of Unite Here Local 34 clerical and technical workers, addressed the delegates.

Introduced by Jess Corbett, president of the Western Area Labor Federation, as his first co-worker when he got a job at Yale, Stevens said her union has been in contract negotiations with Yale University for ten months for fair wages, job security and the ability to retire in dignity.

However, she said, the union's proposals have been “shot down.” Instead, the administration has put takeaways on the table. “We are fighting for what we deserve. They don't care that people are hurting. Shame on Yale,” she declared as the delegates picked up the chant.

“Without our work the University would not be what it is today,” said Stevens. “It's a hard fight, but when we fight we win.”

Also keynoting the convention was Brian Bryant, international president of the Machinists Union. He thanked the delegates for their solidarity during the successful month long strike at Pratt and Whitney last year.

“We're not going to allow corporate greed to determine the future of workers,” he said to applause. “We won for every working family in the state of Connecticut and the country,” he added. “When workers strike and win everybody benefits.”

Both Bryant and Shuler, along with CT AFL CIO president Ed Hawthorne, issued resounding calls for every member to be engaged in the upcoming elections.

Warning against attempts to divide workers against each other by race, nationality or other means, Bryant declared that “when we stand together it changes everything.”

Emphasizing the significance of workers standing up for workers under attack, he said,

“We all have immigrant members in our union, and are disgusted how they are being treated.” As he acknowledged the strong union commitment of many undocumented members, Bryant received a standing ovation.

“There is no fight that we cannot win when we fight together,” he concluded.

The AFL CIO has set high goals nationally to organize two million unorganized workers, engage 15 million members in the midterm elections to change control of the US House and Senate, and 50,000 members trained as election protectors against threats to illegally interfere in the election.

The convention centered around endorsements of pro-worker candidates for federal and state office. Candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller and Attorney General addressed the convention followed by brief question and answer sessions. Candidates for State Senate and State House were interviewed in advance of the convention. Endorsement recommendations were brought to the floor with the goal of increasing the number of worker friendly members of the General Assembly.

Leading up to the August 11 primary, and continuing to the November 3 general election, the Labor 2026 program will include knocking on the doors of fellow union members and their families to discuss the issues and how the candidates compare. Phone calls and worksite leaflets will also be done.

A special recognition was given to State Senator Martin Looney upon his retirement. Fifteen unions presented him with honorary memberships for his lifelong leadership on issues concerning working people and union rights.

The convention included resolutions, panels, workshops and reports around the convention theme of increasing worker power to secure and expand democracy.

Many speakers addressed the demand that workers must be at the table when decisions about the new AI economy are made in order to protect jobs and workers' rights.