North Hartford Public Safety Summit Builds Community

In response to recent acts of police violence and a growing call for accountability and community driven solutions in Hartford's North End, the North Hartford Public Safety Coalition hosted a North Hartford Public Safety Summit of 150 residents, clergy and community leaders to develop a community-led summer safety plan to build community power.

Leading up to the summit, residents have successfully pushed for a citywide town hall and administrative action.

“This moment has shown us that when our community organizes, our voices can lead to real outcomes,” said Rev. AJ Johnson, Director of Neighborhood Organizing at the Center for Leadership and Justice and leader in the North Hartford Public Safety Coalition. “Now we must move from pressure to power by building the systems, relationships, and strategies that create lasting safety in our neighborhoods.”

The summit built on several years of organizing.

A panel of nine speakers.discussed collaboration and holding the city, state, and federal government accountable for the funds needed in the community.  While the focus was violence prevention, the discussion focused on building community and power. 

"There is energy in organizing; there is power in organizing. We knocked on doors, we listened, and we learned.” said community organizer Kelvin Lovejoy, asking “why did the federal government shut down the Federal Department of Violence Prevention while taking this country to war?”

Discussion included a call to strengthen the Police Accountability Review Board, and police training in mental health care .

Constanza Segovia who leads Hartford Departation Defense, called separating families a kind of violence that creates fear and trauma in children and affects all communities. 

“Community power is our destination, our collective voice. Real power leads to lasting change. “ said neighborhood leader Melinda Johnson.

Building that power is reflected in The Summer Safety Plan emerging from the summit including  expanding youth opportunities for employment, leadership development, and daily structured programming; addressing trauma and mental health. supporting families needs for jobs, childcare, and wraparound services, and activating safe spaces, including schools, churches, and community hubs. Opportunities for residents to get involved will be organized in the coming weeks.

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Workers Tell Gov. Lamont: Tax the Rich to Fund Connecticut

“Tax the rich to fund Connecticut” was the message at the State Capitol on April 15 Tax Day as over 1500 postcards from voters in towns across the state were delivered to Governor Lamont with hand written messages demanding a fairer tax system put forward in the Stand Up CT Agenda..

A march to the Governor's office led by billionaire impersonaters in top hats, followed the press conference and public action on the State Capitol front lawn. Led by the Connecticut for All coalition, the action included healthcare workers, union members, students, small business owners and teachers who came together to bring their message to the Governor and State Legislative leaders. 

Alicia Hernandez Strong, a fourth grade teacher from New Britain, expressed frustration with a system that does not allocate enough money for schools while the ultra wealthy pay a much smaller percentage of their income in taxes than she does, starving community needs.

A new report released today by Connecticut for All Coalition and Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) shows that the collective fortune of Connecticut’s 17 billionaires has grown by $24.7 billion, or 34%. Connecticut has one of the most regressive tax systems in New England. Last week Maine passed a millionaires tax, and Rhode Island is expected to pass one later this year. Massachusetts has had a millionaires tax in effect since 2024.

“This year all but the richest people in Connecticut will pay higher taxes and receive fewer services for their hard-earned tax dollars because Donald Trump and Republicans put billionaires over families – and because CT state leaders choose to protect the bank accounts of a few ultra wealthy individuals and corporations at the expense of everyone else,” said CT Working Families Power State Director and Connecticut For All Legislative Co-Chair Sarah Ganong.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” she said. “We can choose a fairer tax system, guaranteeing that the richest one percent will pay more to fund our public schools, colleges, roads, bridges, and public transit – without the other 99% having to pay a penny more. We need Governor Lamont and Connecticut leaders to make that choice, loudly and publicly, right now.” .

Amir, a working class student shared his story of trying to meet expenses while studying at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) wihile experiencing rising prices and low wages.

“Connecticut can have a better system. Let me put that another way: Governor Lamont and Connecticut leaders can choose a fairer tax system,” said SEIU 4C’s president Seth Freeman. “We can choose a Connecticut where everyone is guaranteed the basics: a home you can afford, health care you can rely on, low cost childcare when and where you need it, quality public schools in every neighborhood, and much more.”.

But here’s the good news,” said Freeman. “There are way more of us than there are of them. When ordinary people like us unite across our differences, we’re unstoppable. We can win a Connecticut that works for all of us.”

The Stand Up CT Agenda includes “a fairer tax system by making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, a state budget that uses funds to protect families and public services from Trump cuts, protections against ICE violence, and adopting a basic public health plan option.

“Governor Lamont and Connecticut leadership have the power to pass a fairer system this year,” said Lauren Anderson, a small business owner in New Haven. “It’s on the table, they just need to vote for it. So I’m here telling them: on behalf of small business owners across the state, we need you to show up for us now. You invoke our names in your press conferences. You say you stand with us. Now’s the time to show it. If everyone paid their fair share — including the biggest corporations and the wealthiest people in Connecticut — we could invest in the foundation that small businesses depend on: healthy workers, strong communities, and customers who can afford to spend. Right now, it feels like the system rewards size and power, not hard work. That’s not good for small businesses. And it’s not good for Connecticut.”

State Representative Jason Doucette who represents Manchester and Glastonbury, also shared remarks as the chair of the Tax Equity Caucus.

The press conference also featured members and Leaders from the Connecticut For All coalition, including: Connecticut Working Families Power, CT Students for a Dream, Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans, SEIU Local 1973 The 4Cs, Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance, Hartford Federation of Teachers, Husky for Immigrants Coalition, UCONN and CSU American Association of University Professors, AFT Connecticut, Comunidades Sin Fronteras, New Haven Federation of Teachers, New Britain Racial Justice Coalition, New Haven Peoples Center and more.

May Day Rallies to Build Working Class Unity

Organizing is underway by labor, community, immigrant rights and peace organizations for powerful actions on May Day on Friday May 1 in New Haven in the afternoon and Hartford in the morning demanding “workers over billionaires” and “ICE out” Some will participate in the “No School, No Work, No Shopping” movement inspired by the resistance to ICE in Minnesota earlier this year.

Then, on Saturday May 2 the CT People's World will host its annual May Day Celebration and Rally featuring a slide show of May Day Around the World showing how workers are rising up for equality and peace across the globe on International Workers Day. Themed “Working Class Unity – from the streets to the polls” it will be held at 267 Chapel Street at 6 pm with refreshments provided. Contributions will be accepted for the People's World fund drive.

Leading up to the May Day rallies, a major all union Unite Here “We Can't Keep Up” contract rally will be held on April 23 at 5 pm starting at 425 College Street in support of Locals 34 and 35 at Yale in contract negotiations with Yale University. With a $4 billion endowment that earns more every minute, the claims of the University that they are in hard economic times ring hollow, while workers rent, mortgage, food and gas prices continue to rise.

The call to the May Day rallies in New Haven and Hartford on May 1 focuses on “Connecticut's billionaire class” and the demands of labor and community at the state legislature to protect against ICE, protect the rights to housing, health care and public education, and in New Haven to make Yale pay their fair share. As well, opposition to Trump's wars and robbing funds for military instead of human needs will be highlighted.

“The state budget crisis, the contract fight, the decimation of Medicaid and SNAP, the housing crisis, and the raids on immigrant workers are not different problems,” says the call to the rallies. “That's ONE billionaire class keeping workers divided, underpaid, overwhelmed, and scared in order to grow their power and wealth.”

Fast-Food Service Plaza Workers Ratify Landmark Union Contract

MILFORD, Conn. - Last Friday morning, 32BJ SEIU announced that food service workers across Connecticut’s 23 service plazas voted overwhelmingly in favor of their first-ever union contract, which will include strong wages, improved time-off and scheduling, and other enhanced benefits. The contract will cover food service workers from various franchises on Route 15, I-95, and I-39. It is one of the first agreements of its kind in the fast-food industry – marking a historic milestone for the labor movement nationwide.  

“This is a watershed moment for everyone involved – from the workers, to our staff, to Connecticut workers and the labor movement as a whole,” said Rochelle Palache, Vice President and Connecticut State Director. “Over half a decade after starting this campaign, it feels so rewarding to finally see this through and achieve these guaranteed rights and benefits for the people who keep our highways serviced and fed. We couldn’t have accomplished this without the tenacity and hard work that our workers gave in keeping this campaign going for so long – this win, most of all, is from them and for them.” 

McDonald’s and other major fast food companies at the service plazas subcontract with Project Services, LLC, which has been acquired by Applegreen and contracts directly with the State of Connecticut to operate on state-owned land.

Over decades, despite their billions in sales, McDonald’s and the other fast food companies have not followed Connecticut law regarding paid sick time and the standard wage. The combination of low wages and lack of sick time forced workers to come to work sick so as to not fall deeper into poverty.

During the pandemic, many workers who had been organizing with 32BJ SEIU for better working conditions lost their jobs. Cooks and cashiers who continued working reported a lack of adequate protection, and the absence of any disinfection of the stores where workers have become sick.

The long battle for union rights included many solidarity expressions of public support for the food service workers including rallies at the highway rest stops, pressure on Governor Lamont, and a car caravan during the pandemic when the companies were not resp;responsive to workers' healthcare needs.

In 2023 Attorney General William Tong sued Project Service for $2.7 million in back wages, owed to the workers, many of whom are immigrant workers. The court case was won and in November, 2025 the owner was ordered to pay workers $1.5 million in owed wages. When hundreds of workers at 23 service plazas on I-95, I-395 and Route 14 voted to join the union in December, 2025 the company agreed to negotiate a contract.

Governor Ned Lamont hailed the historic contract recognizing that “service plaza workers work hard to provide for their families, contribute to their communities, and are always there for those traveling our highways. They deserve good pay and benefits. This first contract, which recognizes the important work they provide.” 

On the evening of Thursday, March 12, 32BJ SEIU reached an agreement with Applegreen USA Travel Plazas Central Services, the main service plaza employer in Connecticut, on the inaugural contract covering hundreds of food service employees across the state’s 23 food service plazas. The contract will span from April 1, 2026 to March 1, 2031. 

Under the terms of their contract, service plaza workers will have: predictable schedules and consistent hours, just cause and grievance and arbitration process, strong vacation accruals, improved training opportunities, strong wages under the Connecticut Standard Wage Law 

In November of last year, 32BJ SEIU and the main service plaza reached an agreement—over six years after the initial kick-off of their campaign—to grant workers a fair path to unionization, which they voted overwhelmingly to do in December. Bargaining committee members from 32BJ, comprised of workers from various franchises across the service plazas, began negotiations with Applegreen in late January of this year. 

Beginning in 2019, many service plaza workers brought forward complaints against several employers outlining a pattern of noncompliance, including allegations of wages below the legal standard, unsafe working conditions, and failure to provide adequate benefits. Applegreen agreed to pay workers the standard wage in Connecticut in their November settlement with the State Attorney General’s office and agreement with the union, resulting in higher pay, which has been reflected in their paychecks since. 

“It’s been a long time coming for food service workers to get the respect and the treatment we deserve,” said Nika Hyde, a bargaining committee member and employee at Auntie Anne’s at the Madison Southbound service plaza. “It is an honor to help my fellow Connecticut food service employees, who work so hard, have a dignified standard of living without constant struggle.” 

No Kings Protesters Choose Human Needs Not War!

The crowds in Connecticut for No Kings III were larger and more diverse. More families and young people came out, wanting to have a voice against the illegal war on Iran, ICE raids and soaring billionaire profits while families struggle to make ends meet.

At the No Kings III rally on the New Haven Green the Greater New Haven Peace Council placed a banner on two tables with a large bar graph showing where this administration has allocated tax dollars. The bar for war and weapons towered above all the others.

Each person who came by the table was asked to put their initials in the column where they would like their money to be spent. A stream of people were eager to sign. Given an opportunity to tell their Congressmembers where they want their taxes to go they chose YES to Health. Education. Agriculture. Clean Water. And NO to War and Weapons.

The chart showed the 2026 US federal budget. The bars indicated the amounts of money federal government departments get. Each person was asked to write their initials above three departments where they’d like their taxes to go. A petition to stop the wars and stop funding the wars was made available addressed to the Connecticut Congressional delegation.

There was plenty of discussion at that table. The very diverse crowd preferred to put their taxes into • Agriculture, • Commerce, Justice and Science, • Energy and Clean Water, • Interior and Environment, • Health, Education and Labor, and • Transporation, Housing and Urban Development by an infinite amount over the Weapons and War of the Pentagon (zero votes).

When the march through New Haven began, the bar chart became a banner in the march.