“Simply
put: the Governor’s status quo approach to state budgets is not
enough,” said leaders of the Recovery for All Coalition which
represents 55 community, labor, and
faith organizations united in a long-term mission to reduce and
eliminate systemic racial, economic, and gender inequities in
Connecticut..
Along
with the Connecticut AFL-CIO and SEIU 1199, they are calling for
major public investment in human needs and essential workers at a
time of crisis, as the legislative session begins and Governor Lamont
issued his budget proposal.
“Connecticut
faces a budget surplus of more than $2 billion and has a Rainy Day
Fund of more than $3 billion. Yet hundreds of thousands of working
people—especially working people of color—are suffering from the
biggest crisis of unmet need in a century. We must take bold action
that will finally reduce and eliminate the extreme racial, economic,
and gender inequities that have plagued our state and limited
economic growth for decades,” said the Recovery for All statement.
They
call for “historic public investments in education, health care,
housing, and social services; pandemic pay for all
essential
workers in the public and private sectors who have risked their lives
over the last two years; and reforms to make our tax structure more
equitable, transparent, and sustainable.”
Ed
Hawthorne, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO called on the
Governor to invest in state, municipal and private sector essential
workers. “It is easy to forget that early in the pandemic,
essential workers didn’t have regular access to N95s. Vaccines were
still a distant dream. But Governor Lamont deemed them essential with
the stroke of a pen. And yet they showed up to work every day despite
their fear,” said Hawthorne.
“Now,
as Connecticut is flush with federal grants and a robust Rainy Day
Fund, it is time to show up for them by providing pandemic hazard
pay. Will this be it enough to show our appreciation for their
sacrifice? Absolutely not. But it is far more respectful than
ignoring the role essential workers played in caring for our
communities and keeping the economy running,” Howthorne concluded.
“Essential
workers across the state are disappointed with Gov. Lamont’s
refusal to include pandemic hazard pay for municipal and private
sector workers in the budget,” underscored Shellye Davis, Executive
Vice President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO.
“Our
state’s essential workers – nurses, fire fighters, grocery store
workers, bus drivers, nursing home workers and many others – went
to work every day despite the risk to their health and the health of
their loved ones. Many died. Even more got sick and were
hospitalized. All because they were unable to work from home,” she
said.
“Yet
Gov. Lamont still doesn’t find it necessary to provide them with
hazard pay. If he thought they were essential enough to require they
show up to work without adequate personal protective equipment then
they should be essential enough to make it into his budget. Our
essential workers deserve better.” concluded Davis.
Healthcare
workers are also demanding the budget prioritize worker and community
needs. Brian
Williams, SEIU 1199NE member and addictions counselor at Connecticut
Valley Hospital, responded
to the Govern'rs budget proposal by sharing his story.
“Connecticut
is experiencing a crisis in mental health care, and my colleagues and
I have watched with horror as the state’s failure to fill hundreds
of staff vacancies and sufficiently fund mental health services has
compromised our ability to provide lifesaving care for people who
need it. We have seen an overwhelming surge in people seeking mental
health services, including among Connecticut’s children. Without
access to specialized treatment services - some of which have been
shut down due to understaffing - people have nowhere to turn,” said
Williams.
“There’s
a human cost when elected leaders decide to defund and deprioritize
care—including overdoses, homelessness, jail time and even
death—and the most serious consequences are borne by young people,
working class and poor communities, white, Black and Brown. That’s
why we’re calling on Governor Lamont and the legislature to invest
in rebuilding our fractured care infrastructure, starting by
immediately filling 1700 open state healthcare positions, committing
to fill the 1500 potential vacancies from retirements, and allocating
additional funds to meet our communities’ healthcare needs. Our
state can afford to do it. As a provider, I know we can’t afford
not to.”
Home
care providers with SEIU 1199NE, supported by community leaders
including Reverend Josh Pawalack, are preparing to engage in civil
disobedience in front of the Capitol and risk arrest to demand
Governor Lamont allocate funding for livable wages and basic benefits
they don’t currently have like health insurance and paid sick days.
In
Connecticut, 10,000 home care providers work under a contract with
the state, paid by state and federal Medicaid funds, to provide
in-home support to individuals with physical and intellectual
disabilities. However, a January 2022 survey found that due to the
state’s low wages, 50% of home care providers have taken unpaid
days off in the last six months due to illness or quarantine, 26%
have unpaid medical debt, and 32% have been behind on rent or
mortgage payments in the last year. Even as the state is
clearly undervaluing home care providers, demand for their services
has skyrocketed. In the last decade alone, the workforce has nearly
doubled.
During
the action, home care providers who are without health insurance and
some of whom are homeless will share their stories. They provide
essential services to support Connecticut’s older residents and
people with disabilities who remain in their homes, yet the state
doesn’t provide basic necessities like health care and paid sick
leave. As Omicron rages, many are facing impossible choices between
safely quarantining while sick and paying their bills.
Home
care providers have made enormous sacrifices throughout the pandemic
while being underpaid and undervalued by the state. Less than a week
after the opening of the legislative session, they are calling on the
Governor to demonstrate his support for their work and fund critical
improvements including paid sick leave, access to health insurance,
retirement plans, and a path to $20 per hour.
