Labor and Community Call for Workers Rights and Equity in State Budget

“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.