Early Voting is On the Ballot in Connecticut

As voters in many states battle erosion of their voting rights, here in Connecticut expansion of voting rights is moving forward. A question about early voting will be on the ballot on November 8 which reads: “Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting?”

Connecticut is one of only four states without in-person early voting. In Connecticut, election laws are part of the state constitution..

The General Assembly voted to place this question on the ballot four years ago but due to confusing language the ballot measure failed. This year there is a concerted effort to alert voters that a “yes” vote supports the expansion of voting rights to allow for early voting.

Early voting will give voters more opportunities than the 14 hours on election day to cast their ballots. It takes into account that due to work, travel and family schedules there are those who cannot make it to the polls between 8 am and 8 pm on election day.

If the Early Voting question is passed, the legislature will be required to put it in place in time for the 2024 election.

Last year, several other voting rights advances were won in the state legislature including automatic voter registration, restoring voting freedom for people on parole, and no-excuse absentee ballots for 2022.

“At this exact moment in America, state legislatures across the country are actively curbing the right to vote, putting laws in place in the dead of night to undermine democratic rights and attempting to shred the very fabric of our democracy,” said Cheri Quickmire director of Common Cause Connecticut.

“Here in Connecticut,” she said, “we took not just a smart step, but a bold one to move voting rights forward. Automatic voter registration will modernize our voting systems. Restoring voting rights for residents on parole will help ensure that Connecticut turns the page on the policies of the past.”

Last year's session also banned the 230 year practice of “prison gerrymandering,”which gave more power to rural, largely white communities where most prisons are located by counting those in prison, disproportionately Black, as part of the community where the prison is located instead of counting those imprisoned as part of their home communities.

Nursing Home Caregivers Join “Unions For All” Nationwide Women's Day of Action

Nursing home caregivers, members of SEIU 1199NE, gathered at Hamden High School last weekend for a press conference to demand an end to critically short-staffed nursing home conditions. Then, they spent the day canvassing voters in Hamden. The health care jobs are publicly funded and the union members wanted to alert voters to the fact that long-term care funding and high-quality standards are established by the people who are elected to office.”

“Certified nursing assistants are exhausted. Nurses are exhausted. We are in the middle of the worst staffing crisis that I’ve ever seen in the nursing home industry in my organizing experience,” said Rob Baril, president of SEIU 1199NE.

“Workers and residents should be able to count on a full slate of staff members who can provide direct care” said Baril. “Cutting more services for residents is not an option because there’s nothing left to cut.”

“When we work short it’s hard for the staff, but it’s really hard for the residents. Because that’s their home and everything falls out of place,” said Stephanie Hill, a certified nursing assistant with 22 years of experience serving residents at Advanced Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation in New Haven.

SEIU 1199 New England’s nursing home day of action was part of a national day of action. Thousands of workers took to the streets to raise their voices and demand unions for all.

“Working people are exercising power like never before: striking, bargaining strong contracts, winning unions and demanding a seat at the table with employers in states and cities across the nation,” said the union. “This latest wave of activity by service and care workers is part of a national movement of workers rising up across industries demanding to be respected, protected, and paid living wages.”

The SEIU 1199NE release connected their demands to the November elections saying, “As the midterms approach, working people are escalating demands on elected officials to take action to unrig our economy and build a government that works for all of us. And come November, we’ll vote out those who have failed to lift up working families.”

SEIU District 1199, the New England Health Care Employees Union, represents over 25,000 caregivers in Connecticut and some 4,000 in Rhode Island.

Cuban Ambassador to United Nations Tours Connecticut

 A big Connecticut welcome was extended to the Cuban ambassador to the United Nations Mr. Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta, along with three other members of the Cuban mission on Sept 9-10..

The visit was historic because the State Department designates Cuba as a terrorist state and their representatives are not permitted to leave Manhattan. However, after both the Hartford and New Haven city councils voted to call upon the federal government end the blockade against Cuba for the benefit of both nations, an invitation from State Rep. Edwin Vargas allowed the trip to take place.

Visits were held at Quinnipiac University, at the Hartford City Council, in Middletown and Willimantic, and finally in New Haven for a lecture at the New Haven Free Public Library.

The program room at the Library was packed as the audience eagerly listened and enjoyed a lecture by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta The event was co-sponsored with the New Haven Free Public Library by the City of New Haven Peace Commission, Unidad Latina en Accion, New Haven Peoples Center, Greater New Haven Peace Council

Pedroso Cuesta explained to the crowd the problems the Cuban people are facing due to the US blockade for over 60 years, and how deeply it affects the Cuban people. The need to remove Cuba from the terrorism list was also raised.

In response to questions from the floor, the Ambassador called for building strong relationships between our peoples and consideration of sister cities. When a student asked what young people could do, the Ambassador suggested that reaching out to Connecticut youth to visit Cuba for educational opportunities. He said that despite not having lived through the revolution, young people are supportive of the socialist government.

The lecture ended with a sincere gratitude for the Hartford and New Haven cities and their representatives for their support to stand in solidarity to end the blockade..

The visit ended with a lovely dinner held at the New Haven Peoples Center, where the Cuban Ambassadors were greeted with gifts and solidarity from the intimate group of people. Included were photos of Fidel Castro in 1959 at New Haven's Union Station on a stopover from New York to Boston.

Labor Day Message: “Unions are the Rising Tide that Lifts All Boats”

A diverse group of over 200 union members crowded into the Operating Engineers Local 478 hall in Hamden for the annual Connecticut AFL-CIO labor breakfast, enthusiastic for new organizing underway and ready to get out the vote for pro-worker champions in November.

Democratic candidates for state-wide, legislative and federal offices got standing ovations for supporting workers' right to organize, the right to vote, and abortion rights.

“Don't let people get away without being held accountable,” said Rep Jahana Hayes, a target for defeat by the national Republican party in the 5^th Congressional District. Referring to her voting record to not leave anyone behind, she urged, “Check out the receipts. I am proud of mine.”

Remarks by Ed Hawthorne, Connecticut AFL-CIO president, are excerpted below:

“This is an exciting time for the labor movement. We are in the midst of an historical upswing in organizing. Over 43,000 workers have organized themselves into unions in just the first half of this year alone.

“Working people are coming together to fight for better wages, safer workplaces, and dignity and respect on the job. Just take a look at the workers at the rest stops on I-95, baristas at Starbucks in Vernon and West Hartford, warehouse workers at Amazon, and thousands of others.

This surge in union organizing should inspire us all.

“Connecticut Voices for Children's report on the “State of Working Connecticut” has significant findings about unions.

“One was that public sector jobs are essential for reducing Connecticut’s high level of wage inequality. One of the reasons for that isn’t just because they’re public sector jobs, but because the public sector has high union density compared to the private sector. About 69% of public sector workers are unionized compared to 9% of private sector workers.

“This led to the second finding that union membership is essential for reducing Connecticut’s high level of wage inequality. So when they looked at the construction industry which has the highest union density in the private sector, they found the lowest level of wage inequality.

“Bottom line: When union density is high, wage inequality is low. It even benefits non-union workers. Union membership is really the rising tide that will lift all boats.”