Union Retirees Honor Activists On the Front Lines

 

“Organize, mobilize, agitate” was the watchword from Alliance for Retired Americans director Rich Fiesta at the packed awards luncheon of Connecticut ARA.

The room was filled with retirees active to protect social security, medicare, medicaid and all hard won rights. A special celebration hailed three years of organizing, initiated by CT ARA, that won repeal of WEP/GPO. No longer would public sector workers be denied full Social Security benefits if they held second jobs. President Joe Biden was introduced at the signing ceremony by CT ARA president Bette Marafino. Appreciation was shown to the leaders of the grass roots campaign at the luncheon. CT AFL-CIO president Ed Hawthorne praised the retirees as the backbone of the labor movement.

Accepting the Charlene Block Award, State Rep Jan Hochadel , also president of AFT Connecticut, reaffirmed her fight for and with seniors and working people.

The Kevin Lynch award was presented to Tom Connolly for his years of leadership in the labor movement. Excerpts of his inspiring call to action follow:

Tom Connolly: Unite, Fight, Win

Dr. Martin Luther King warned us of the possibility of a “native form of fascism in America.” And that is what the Trump/MAGA agenda is attempting

to do.

As we sit here today, someone — somewhere — is being zip tied and taken away by heavily armed masked ICE agents with no due process and shipped off to prison. We have deep cuts coming to SNAP food stamps and Medicaid — so the rich can get richer.

They’re firing and stripping labor contracts from our union sisters and brothers at the federal level, dismantling the NLRB, and threatening the 2026 elections through gerrymandering, voter suppression, and using military force in our cities.

Project 2025, funded by millionaires and billionaires, is designed to hold power — at any cost. Lying, cheating, stripping rights, blocking democracy — it’s all part of their plan.

One thing we know for sure: If we roll over and do nothing — they will roll right over us. We are not going to let that happen. We are going to fight. We are going to unite. And we are going to win.

We’ve already seen what unity can do. On October 18th, over 7 million people took part in the NO KINGS Rally, joined by millions more around the globe. We are not alone.

Look at this tremendous ARA victory — winning the fight to repeal WEP / GPO impacting the lives of hundreds or thousands of people. Many thought it was impossible — but it happened through organizing. When ARA won — they didn’t quit. They reorganized now to protect income security.

Another example is my retiree union, CSEA Retirees Council 400, where I had the honor of serving as Vice President of our 12,000-member organization and now chair our Legislative Action Committee. What holds us together is what keeps us alive — our pensions, our healthcare, and Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

But we also have to look beyond just one contract or one campaign. On the national level, the Trump/MAGA fascist agenda continues. SNAP, food stamps cuts, go into effect next month. That’s why groups like the CT for All Coalition matter. It brings together labor, community, and faith organizations to fight for taxing wealth to meet the needs of multi-racial working-class and disenfranchised — and linking our local fights to the larger national struggle.

We have to come together because if every working person’s boat isn’t lifted, those left behind become easy targets for Trump’s lies — that he cares about them, and unions don’t. We know that’s not true. But we have to show it’s not true — by standing and fighting with others.

There is an even broader fight. Capitalism works for billionaires but it disenfranchises us. If we learned anything from Project 2025 it’s that this system is for the few—it’s not for the many. We the many can win big changes for our rights and future if we organize, and stand in solidarity, we can even put socialism on the agenda.

Back in the 1970s I joined the anti-poverty movement, and stayed in it for the rest of my life. Someone invited me to New Haven to hear a candidate running for Congress on the Communist Party USA ticket — Joelle Fishman. She spoke softly but with conviction: “We have to tax the rich, cut the military budget, meet community needs, protect labor rights, and end racism and other forms of discrimination.” When she finished, I said, where do I sign? That vision — that hope — gives me the strength to see the light at the end of the tunnel to solve some major problems.

I accept this award not just for myself, but for all of us — for everyone who fights, organizes, and believes that we can create a world with true liberty and justice for all. Thank you and let’s continue to take care of each other and go out and MAKE GOOD TROUBLE!

Tenants of Alpha Capital Unite Across Town

 

New London, CT — Alpha Capital Funds, a CT-based investment-landlord firm owned by Tyler Smith, recently purchased five residential buildings in New London: 6 Redden Ave, 36 Nathan Hale St, 461 Williams St, and 105 & 111 Broad St. Since the acquisition of these properties, totaling 61 renters’ homes, Alpha Capital has issued 14 notices to quit, with more notices expected for additional tenants through August 2026. Notices to quit are the first step in the process of evicting tenants—in this case for no fault.

Tenants decided to rapidly unionize, join forces with already-unionized Alpha Capital tenants in Niantic, affiliate as a chapter of the Connecticut Tenants Union, and demand that Tyler Smith of Alpha Capital Funds meet them at the bargaining table to negotiate terms to remain securely housed. Tenants include senior and disabled tenants living on limited, fixed incomes, as well as working people and families with children—many of whom are already rent-burdened.

“My monthly disability income is $967. My monthly rent is $950. I’m already struggling every month to pay my other bills on top of the rent. If I get forced out of this apartment, what will I do then? My neighbors and I have literally no choice but to fight this. Tyler Smith, just come to the table and talk to us. Negotiate a new lease. That’s all we want. ” said Michael Duffy, tenant and union leader.

At New London City Hall, tenant union leaders announced the formation of their union and their demand for a fair deal that prevents their displacement. New London Mayor Michael Passero, State Senator Martha Marx, and Representative Anthony Nolan all voiced their support for the union’s demands and committed to reiterate those demands to Tyler Smith directly.

This press conference marked the expansion of tenant unions in southeastern Connecticut, as Niantic and New London tenants joined forces to combat the predatory landlording practices of Alpha Capital Funds in their communities and to fight back against no-fault evictions and unaffordable rents. Their cross-town solidarity represents a significant step up in scale of the region’s tenant movement.

 

OPINION: In CT, no one should lose healthcare, no one should starve

by Tom Swan

Last week 360,000 SNAP recipients were being told their cards will not be replenished in November.  About 158,000 other people have been receiving notices that they will see their healthcare costs rise exponentially – far beyond their ability to pay.

Connecticut is one of the richest states in one of the world’s richest countries.  We now face the very real prospect of tens of thousands of people unable to eat and losing health care. The cruelty of HR1, President Donald Trump’s big ugly bill, and his government shutdown, are taking hold in Connecticut.  Massive numbers of people are at risk to be without food and/or healthcare.

Despite an extraordinary court order that the federal government use contingency funds to keep the feed assistance coming, the threat still exists in the face of Congressional inaction.

We, in Connecticut, must act.

HR1 and the shutdown are just the latest cruel actions by Trump and Republicans that reward billionaires and corporations and at the expense of working people. Even if Congress does restore these cuts, Connecticut must be prepared to step up and make sure children do not starve and that all people have healthcare.

Unfortunately, our leaders appear to be negotiating Connecticut’s response in terms of budget limits instead of determining what it takes to meet the needs of Connecticut residents. We finished the 2024 fiscal year with a $1.9 billion surplus, which can and should be used to meet urgent needs now.

Gov. Ned Lamont, Speaker Matt Ritter, Senator Martin Looney — we have an emergency.  We cannot food bank our way out of this. Children will go hungry and health care will be at risk for everyone, unless you act.

Connecticut has the capacity to address these cuts. At the moment we have a record surplus and the wealthiest among us are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in tax cuts as part of Trump’s big ugly Bill.

It is good that the legislature and the governor are planning a special session to address the looming crisis and cruelty about to be unleashed in Connecticut. But we need to step up, go outside the current budget framework and develop both a short term response and longer term solutions to what we are about to withstand over the next couple years

Immediate steps include:

• Ensure no one loses coverage as a result of the One Ugly Bill and Trump’s inaction.  This includes people seeking reproductive health care, Legally Present Immigrants and people receiving Enhanced Premium Tax Credit to purchase insurance on the exchange.  We know some of these items will be costly, but we should consider reforms that would lessen the costs, particularly around the tax credits.  An example is to clamp down on the profiteering by insurers through vertical integration and their self -dealing through both mandatory disclosure and caps.

• Prepare for the looming mess the bill creates for Medicaid and SNAP.  DSS has acknowledged the problems with their call centers with some recent announcements. However these steps will not come close to solving the problem and DSS should have to meet the same standards they demand for contractors in terms of customer service.  In addition, we need to significantly increase our investment in community health works to help people navigate the new bureaucratic hurdles in the bill and to do the traditional health and wellness functions CHWs perform.  This will save money on uncompensated care and by keeping people healthier.

• Make sure people have food.  The fact that Trump is playing political games with food is no excuse for Connecticut to not act here.  It is a lot of money, but if the idea of our neighbors going to bed hungry isn’t enough of a reason to act, the impact on grocers, small businesses, and farmers should make this a no brainer for the governor and legislature should be.

Some people are arguing Connecticut can’t afford to address the needs.  We argue Connecticut can’t afford not to.  We have a record budget surplus that the legislature can redirect to cover this. 

In addition, the wealthiest amongst us are receiving huge tax cuts from the ugly bill.  Do the Governor and the legislature really think these people should be able to cash these tax cuts while others starve and/or lose health care? 

We find that hard to believe because in Connecticut NO ONE SHOULD STARVE OR LOSE THEIR HEALTH CARE.

Tom Swan is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group.