A week after his office described him as neutral on the issue, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday he was “skeptical” about the Connecticut AFL-CIO’s top priority — a measure that would provide jobless benefits to striking workers.
“I’m a strong supporter of labor and the right to organize and making sure that people have fair representation,” Lamont said. “And I’m also somebody that supports small business. And I don’t want to put my thumb on that scale.”
Lamont’s previous silence on the strikers’ benefits bill was intended to give a labor coalition the opportunity to make the case to skeptical members of the House Democratic majority without gubernatorial interference.
The governor said he was not trying to undermine labor’s lobbying on strikers’ benefits but only was responding to a reporter’s question: “You asked me what my first instinct is, and I told you.”
Lamont spoke to reporters after an event with Lord Mayor of the City of London Michael Mainelli announcing the formalization of a partnership between the United Kingdom, Connecticut and Hartford in promoting their insurance and financial tech sectors.
An aggressive labor agenda in a short legislative session is testing unions’ relationship with Lamont, a Democrat intent on establishing his administration as business-friendly while supporting unions on some key issues.
Wages for restaurant workers
On Tuesday, the co-chairs of the Labor and Public Employees Unions stood with advocates who are campaigning for passage of a bill that would end the lower minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers.
The restaurant industry and labor activists clashed at a public hearing over whether legislation aimed at more than doubling Connecticut’s minimum wage for tipped workers ultimately would benefit or harm the intended beneficiaries.
The hourly minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers was left untouched at $6.38 when Lamont and legislators agreed in 2019 on a law that raised the minimum for others in increments, reaching $15.69 this year.
The omission was deliberate, an element of a deal that won the votes necessary for passage of a law that increased the state’s $10.10 minimum wage by one third over four years.
“It was a political move, strictly strategic,” said Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, co-chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee.
Now, the lawmakers and activists who pushed for a higher minimum wage are asking Lamont and the General Assembly to phase out the lower wages for tipped workers by July 1, 2027.
A similar bill did not get a vote in either chamber last year. It is vehemently opposed by the Connecticut Restaurant Association, whose leadership developed a close working relationship with Lamont during the COVID-19 pandemic.
All but seven states exempt tipped restaurant workers from their standard minimum wage, so long as the tips at least bring it up to the minimum wage. With tips, restaurants say wait staff can make more than $30 an hour.
Lamont has discussed the bill with Scott Dolch, the head of the restaurant association. He said, “Scott makes a pretty strong case that the vast majority of servers get a lot more with tips than they do with just a guaranteed minimum wage.”
The governor said he will be meeting with advocates of the bill, who say tips should be income that restaurant workers get on top of the $15.69 minimum wage.
Not only do the bill’s advocates have to overcome the industry’s opposition, they are in an informal competition with the rest of the labor agenda: In a short session, there tends to be limited capacity for taking up controversial issues.
“I just hope everybody knows, and this is true of every committee, you’ve got to pick one or two big things,” said House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford.
In even-numbered years, the legislature meets for three months, with the first 60 days dedicated to bills going through the committee process and a final month for the House and Senate to take floor votes.
“In the short session, when you have basically 30 days to pass bills, it does put the chairs and the committees in a tough spot,” Ritter said.
Ritter said the House leadership of the labor committee has told him their top priority was a bill that would expand Connecticut’s limited paid-sick days requirement to virtually all private employers.
The current law exempts manufacturers, some non-profits and any employer with fewer than 50 employees. It places no added burden on companies that already offer at least 40 hours in paid time off over the year, regardless of whether it is considered vacation, personal days or sick time.
The Senate passed an expansion bill two years ago, but Ritter never called it for a vote, sensing opposition in his caucus.
Ritter said Rep. Manny Sanchez, D-New Britain, the Labor co-chair, has since worked on gaining support for the measure in the House.
Lamont supported the paid-sick days bill two years ago and is urging its passage this year.
“Look, I’m a strong believer in labor and the right to organize and making sure we don’t put any impediments in front of that,” Lamont said, bemoaning the limited success of labor in organizing private-sector service industries. “The middle class has been eviscerated.”
He said his support for an expansion of the paid sick-days mandate is influenced by the struggles non-unionized service workers experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When it comes to paid sick days, I’m sort of informed by three years ago and through COVID hell,” Lamont said. “And I want to make sure nobody feels like they have to show up [to work] at the diner sick, because they worry that they won’t be able to take care of their kids.”
