The Connecticut AFL-CIO will prioritize its work to pass legislation:
Authorizing striking workers to access unemployment benefits.
Amending the state’s restrictive "fiscal roadblocks" to (1) make state taxes more equitable; and (2) use existing budget surpluses to make critical investments in public education, higher education, affordable housing, childcare, long-term care, expanded healthcare access, state agency staffing levels and other vital services upon which Connecticut residents depend.
The Connecticut AFL-CIO will stand ready to support affiliates in their efforts to:
Pass collective bargaining agreements, arbitration awards and memoranda of understanding delivered to the General Assembly.
Block all attempts to undermine collective bargaining rights, binding arbitration, prevailing wage standards and project labor agreements and enhance the State Labor Relations Act as needed.
Enact measures to protect the integrity of the state’s registered apprenticeship programs, including preserving existing apprenticeship to journeyperson ratios.
Expand the use of project labor agreements on housing construction projects by matching public dollars with investments from union pensions funds and/or other sources.
Defeat efforts to weaken occupational licensing standards.
Combat wage theft by hiring dozens of new wage and hour inspectors at the Department of Labor.
Authorize the State Comptroller to withhold payment to contractors and subcontractors who violate wage and workplace standards on public construction projects.
Authorize the Department of Consumer Protection to enforce stop work orders for occupational license violations.
Amend the adult recreational cannabis statute to clarify that all employees must be paid at least the full minimum wage.
Allow temporary state employees to be included in the appropriate state bargaining units upon the request of an exclusive representative of a bargaining unit.
Establish standards and limits for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and include the voices of impacted workers in those processes.
Establish a permanent funding source and formula for public institutions of higher education and an expanded PACT program that also includes costs to fully fund legacy fringe costs, negotiated wage increases and a substantial increase in the hiring of full-time staff to reduce the overreliance on part-time contingency staff.
Reconfigure the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS) management structure to ensure it is effectively managed to meet the needs of students and workforce demands.
Improve paraeducator hiring and retention by:
Enacting a living wage;
Providing secure retirement options;
Renewing funding to maintain and expand the delivery of professional development;
Renewing funding to maintain and expand health insurance subsidies; and
Prohibiting the privatization of paraeducator recruitment and hiring.
Expand funding for special education and set class size limits and/or establish staffing guidelines for special educators and staff.
Prohibit the disclosure of public employees’ home addresses under the Freedom of Information Act.
Amend the Certificate of Need (CON) process to ensure hospital sales are completed in a timely manner and to protect vital services.
Require municipalities to provide a defined benefit pension that meets or exceeds the benefits provided by Connecticut Municipal Employee Retirement System (CMERS) to all police officers and firefighters.
Expand the scope of qualifying circumstances for worker post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI) to be covered by workers' compensation.
Prohibit the privatization of state prisons.
Expand the State Contracting Standards Board’s authority to include review of quasi-public agencies, UConn, and the UConn Health Center Finance Corporation.
Expand the Connecticut Retirement Security Program to include Personal Care Attendants (PCAs).
Establish timelines for repair of utility poles to protect bargaining unit work.
Monitor efforts to establish protections for gig economy workers.
The Connecticut AFL-CIO will support allies in their efforts to:
Support the protection of tenants' rights and the establishment of tenants' unions and the passage of legislation enacting just cause eviction protections.
Prohibit non-compete agreements.
Limit and regulate "on-call" scheduling practices in the retail and hospitality industries by passing “Fair Workweek” legislation.
Oppose efforts of the "earned wage advances" industry to exempt themselves from small loan acts and interest rate caps which would allow them to prey on low-wage workers and trap them into the need for numerous advances/payday loans.
Support legislation to implement "no-excuse absentee voting" in a way that expands voter participation.
