Court Victory Protects Captive Audience Law

A major court victory for workers was won last week upholding Connecticut's “captive audience” law that protects workers against employer intimidation when organizing into unions. A federal district court judge dismissed the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) and U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s challenge to the law.

“This federal court decision is a major victory for working people across Connecticut” said Connecticut AFL-CIO president Ed Hawthorne.

“This law ensures that workers can make their own decisions about forming a union without fear of employer intimidation and harassment. Far too often, when workers attempt to form a union, management used to be able to force workers to attend closed-door captive audience meetings where they would frequently threaten business closures, wage cuts, layoffs, and more,” he said, adding “No employer should be able to force a worker to attend a meeting to coerce their opinions on religion, politics, or union organizing. And no worker should fear retaliation simply for exercising their right to join a union.

Hawthorne appreciated the work of Attorney General William Tong “for standing up to powerful business interests and defending workers from being forced into captive audience meetings. As worker protections are eroded at the federal level, it's critical to have a champion for working people.”

After years of organizing by the labor movement, in 2022 the State Legislature enacted the bill giving workers the right to leave employer mandated meetings and return to work when the subject is about an employer’s politics, religion or union organizing.

CBIA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a federal lawsuit challenging the statute.

U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley dismissed the case last week, finding that CBIA's First Amendment rights to speak to its employees are not impacted by the law.

“Workers should not be forced to listen to their employer’s religious or political views—including anti-union rhetoric. Connecticut’s captive audience statute is both lawful and necessary, and the Office of the Attorney General will continue to defend the state’s ability to protect workers’ rights,” said Tong, greeting the decision.

"A train wreck for public higher education”: Students and workers demand Connecticut fund its colleges

Students, faculty, and campus workers gathered at the state Capitol this week under the banner of Fund Our Dreams, calling on lawmakers to reject Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed higher education budget and make real investments in Connecticut’s public colleges and universities.

In a press conference at the Legislative Office Building as lawmakers begin deliberations this session, speakers were flanked by supporters holding signs “Gov. Lamont Failing Our Students – Fund Higher Education.”

Speaker after speaker warned that years of underfunding have created a crisis across the state’s higher education system — from community colleges to state universities and UConn — harming students, workers, and the broader economy.

Lisa Calabrese. the campus enrollment supervisor at Connecticut State Naugatuck Valley, and leader in the 4Cs union, said “Governor Lamont is a train wreck for our public higher education institutions: Connecticut colleges, Charter Oak State College, our four state universities, UConn, and UConn Health.”

“There has been a ripple effect on our workforce, our economy, and our state,” she added. “Faculty, staff, and students oppose Governor Lamont’s proposed budget for CSCU, UConn, and UConn Health because it fails to make the necessary investments in our institutions, our students, and our state.”

Students described campuses pushed past capacity, where lack of funding is happening while enrollment is rising, harming educational quality and student well-being.

Heritha Subramanian. Student body vice president at the University of Connecticut, Storrs said. “It is no secret that education in Connecticut is overwhelmed and underfunded.”

As state and federal funding has declined, she explained, UConn has increased enrollment and recruitment to compensate. “Unfortunately, our school does not have the resources to meet the needs of our students.”

“I often hear from students who have never met with their advisor because it is difficult to get a hold of them,” she said. “At UConn, advisors have caseloads of up to 655 students per advisor, while the national average for four-year institutions is 286.”

The consequences affect classroom learning. “Higher enrollment levels have led tolarger class sizes, and it is clear this is burdensome for everyone involved,” Subramanian said. “Faculty are being asked to do too much with too little time and too little assistance, while students fade and disengage — becoming one of hundreds rather than being supported to succeed.”

Cynthia Stretch, a union leader and professor at Southern Connecticut State University, said "endless cuts" to part-time faculty have resulted in slashing the course options available to students.

Organizers testified that Connecticut’s higher education crisis is not inevitable, calling it the result of political decisions that prioritize tax breaks and austerity over public investment.

“Public higher education is a public good,” speakers said. “When we underfund it, we deepen inequality, weaken our workforce, and undermine democracy itself.”

"Connecticut has the resources to do better. What we need is the political will." said Valerie Duffy, a professor at UConn and president of Uconn-AAUP. "The strain on higher education is not a failure of our students or our faculty and staff. It is a result of policy choices,"

The Fund Our Dreams coalition is calling on legislators to: increase base funding for public higher education, stop tuition and fee hikes, restore faculty and staff positions and invest in advising, mental health, and student support services

As budget negotiations continue at the Capitol, organizers made clear they are not backing down.

“This is about our future,” one speaker said. “And we are here to demand that Connecticut fund our dreams — not dismantle them.”

The demand to “Fund Our Dream” is part of the Stand Up Connecticut legislative agenda of the Connecticut for All coalition. At a February 7 press conference, The 4 C's community college union president Seth Freeman said, “We are here to demand that Governor Lamont and every elected state legislator STAND-UP, meet the moment, and protect the residents and families of Connecticut. We are here to demand that elected leaders fight for working-class families and fight against the Trump billionaire agenda.”

Expand Just Cause Eviction Protections

Leaders from Connecticut’s tenant movement including 44 organizations, and the co-chairs of the state legislature's Housing Committee Sen. Martha Marx and Rep. Antonio Felipe, launched a campaign to expand Just Cause eviction protection at a Capitol press conference. The message was clear: we want Just Cause now. 

Speakers described their experiences, data on the state’s housing crisis, the potential impact of Just Cause on mitigating that crisis, the content of this year’s bill, and the political conditions shaping the campaign. 

Just Cause requires landlords to provide a justification for an eviction — grounds for which are listed in state law — and protects tenants without a lease or who are month-to-month from being asked to move out or evicted for no reason. 

For over 40 years, Connecticut has had Just Cause eviction protections for tenants who are 62 and over or who are disabled and live in complexes with five or more units. However, most renters are not covered, and landlords can refusing to renew a lease or file an eviction without justification, even if the tenant pays rent on time and does everything “right.”

The existing law has provided greater housing stability for the most vulnerable populations, and tenants are asking the state to expand those protections. 

The problems facing tenants in Connecticut are dire: over 15,759 Connecticut households have been evicted without cause between 2017 and 2024.  One in 20 renter households now face eviction, and Connecticut has some of the highest eviction rates in the country, disproportionately impacting Black and Latino tenants.

Expanding Just Cause would prevent an estimated 11% of eviction filings and countless forced moves. Just Cause does not impact other for-cause grounds for eviction including, for example, nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or nuisance. Just Cause protects tenants from landlords who use no-fault evictions to gentrify complexes — eroding existing affordable housing — or to intimidate, retaliate, or discriminate against tenants. It is a cost-free, effective solution to help create safe, stable, and affordable housing by preventing displacement and housing insecurity, said the coalition.

'Health Justice NOW' Demand Amid Federal Cuts

The Health Justice NOW Campaign held a press conference calling on the State Legislature and Governor to protect health coverage, extend access to affordable care, and ensure all Connecticut residents can get the quality car they need without fear or barriers.

The statewide organizations said they came together “as federal cuts to Medicaid have harmed immigrant and working-class families, stripping health coverage from thousands and driving up health care costs for everyone.” 

Led by Connecticut Citizen Action Group, Universal Health Care Foundation of CT, HUSKY 4 Immigrants coalition, Health Equity Solutions, and Connecticut for All, the campaign demanded state leaders “step up and ensure every one of us has access to quality, affordable health care.”

Demands include that premium and other out of pocket costs meet affordability standards, controlled provider rates, minimizing the risk of medical debt, insurance coverage of essential health benefits, and raising revenue to support these goals.

Tom Swan, CCAG director said the campaign is “dedicated to having Connecticut meet this moment and guarantee everyone access to quality affordable healthcare.” He emphasized that Trump's HR 1 bill “has created turmoil with more havoc to come. Medicare cuts alone put over 180,000 Connecticut residents at risk of losing coverage.”

He added that, “thousands of healthcare workers could potentially lose their jobs and healthcare facilities are at risk of closure particularly in rural communities.”

Betty Buras, a student at the Yale School of Medicine and the law clinic said, “During this political climate, immigrants’ rights and health care are being attacked. When people don’t have access to healthcare, there are worse outcomes. We have to make sure everyone has access to healthcare.”

“The amount of Medicare taxes undocumented immigrants pay is more than the top 55 corporations in America,” said State Senator Saud Anwar,”. The corporations are getting a free ride while the undocumented immigrants are being taxed.”

“The federal government is subsidizing the healthcare for these largest corporations,” he said. Those who say resources have been taken by the immigrants is far from the truth. They are wrong.”

Connecticut Tenants Union launches boycott of real estate giant

By Louis Henry

The Connecticut Tenants Union and its working-class allies have launched a boycott of Alpha Capital. In a petition to support the boycott, the Tenants Union is calling on all people to refuse to engage in business with Alpha Capital.  Refuse to rent apartments, refuse to buy condos, refuse to sell or buy properties with this horrible landlord, they say. 

Over the last year, tenant unions in Southeast Connecticut have gone public, demanding that their landlord, Alpha Capital Funds, come to the table to negotiate fair leases and address tenant needs.  In response, Alpha is trying to bust organized, multi-racial, and multi-generational communities.

Tenant Union representatives from New London and East Lyme assembled alongside their working-class allies to announce the boycott and to explain why this next stage of struggle is necessary. 

Landlord wants $318,000 from each tenant

The Bay Point Tenant Union called on all people to boycott Alpha Capital because that landlord won’t recognize their union, and their homes are at risk of being bought out from under them.

Tonya, a disabled member of the Bay Point Tenant Union, explained that after her tenant union went public over the summer, Alpha Capital responded by trying to convert the apartments to condominiums.  Alpha Capital told the residents they would have to pay $318,000 to keep their home, or their unit would be sold off.

Chris, an 82-year-old member of the Bay Point Tenant Union, said he is cold at night because the building is in disrepair and Alpha won’t make repairs. 

Judy, a retiree who’s lived in the building for 23 years, told the assembly that “We’re not going to put up with it, we’re being gouged.” She said her union is going to stick together and fight until Alpha Capital CEO Tyler Smith comes to the table to negotiate fair and equitable leases.

The New London Tenant Unions called on all people to boycott Alpha Capital because that landlord will not recognize their union and will not stop trying to evict union members. 

Daz, speaking on behalf of the New London tenants, explained that the union was able to protect their members from eviction.  When Alpha Capital bought their building, the new landlord immediately sent eviction notices to all of the tenants—half of whom are elderly and disabled.  The tenants quickly mobilized to form a union and asserted Connecticut’s law that shields the elderly and disabled from no-fault eviction. 

In response to organizing, Alpha violated state law by retaliating against the union members with a demand for 40% rent increases.  Again, the union mobilized and filed complaints with the New London Fair Rent Commission.  The Fair Rent Commission asserted that tenant organizing is a protected act and Alpha Capital violated the law by retaliating.  The Commission ordered rents frozen for the next six months and ordered Alpha to give the tenants new leases.

Community support

Rev. Perry of Mount Olive Church in New London explained that his community is in crisis.  The temperature was below freezing, and children and seniors were homeless and suffering on our streets.  He said it was important for all moral people to support housing as a human right and to put people before profit.

New London City Councilwoman Shineika Fareus explained that the eviction and homelessness crisis in Connecticut is not an accident.  She said mega-landlords like Alpha Capital are violating our human rights by treating housing as a commodity.

Commenting on Alpha’s behavior, she said, “Eviction is not a development tool, it’s displacement.”  She said working-class power exists. She called on working people to join the boycott and that collective bargaining is a form of racial and disability justice.

State Representative Nick Gauthier spoke in solidarity with the Connecticut Tenants Union and joining the boycott against Alpha Capital.  He said private equity firms harm humanity.  He called for a ban on private equity in housing and healthcare.

State Representative Dan Gaiewski also spoke in support of joining the boycott and supporting the Union.  He said it was his job to support tenant organizing by passing Just Cause legislation that would protect all tenants from arbitrary eviction.

In her closing remarks, CT Tenants Union President Hannah Srajer held up ten feet of paper bearing hundreds of signatures of people who have already signed the petition to Boycott Alpha Capital.  She spoke into the cameras and said for the last six years the CT Tenants Union has been organizing to put people before corporate greed.  

“We pay the bills,” she said, explaining that Alpha Capital needs working people to pay their rents, to buy their condos, to do business with their company, in order to continue to service their predatory loans and mortgages.  If working people can put a dent in Alpha Capital’s income, they can bring Alpha Capital to its knees.  “The people will win, the boycott has begun!”