Lori J. Pelletier, President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, made the following statement in response to Tuesday’s election results:
“I am so proud of the work of our hundreds of volunteers who gave up their nights and weekends to help elect candidates that stand up for all working people in the state.
“Despite CBIA, Walmart, and the Koch brothers putting in nearly a million dollars in an attempt to buy our local elections, pro-worker candidates prevailed in many races across Connecticut. This includes four union members or their immediate family members being newly elected to the legislature for a total of 26 union members now serving as legislators.
“While business groups and their anti-worker allies predictably relied on spending a massive amount of money, the labor movement put boots on the ground to knock on thousands of doors, make thousands of phone calls, and mail tens of thousands of mail pieces. These volunteers made the difference in keeping the state legislature from falling into anti-working family control.
“What voters across Connecticut and the country really said yesterday was we need an economy that works for working people, not just the extremely wealthy. They are tired of politics as usual. Voters are angry about the last budget adjustment, which was ironically supported by CBIA and opposed by labor. Yet CBIA wants to double down on austerity for the workers and their families and prolong taxpayer funded giveaways to corporate CEOs and hedge fund managers. Workers did not vote to have their pay cut, their benefits slashed, and their bargaining rights diminished.
“And the state legislative races do not tell the whole story. We are proud to have one of the strongest federal delegations in the country fighting for working people. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Congressman John Larson, Congressman Joe Courtney, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty all had resounding victories. This is a clear indication the voters in Connecticut appreciate all the work they do on behalf of workers day-in and day-out.”
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