Connecticut’s state House of Representatives is poised to vote on a bill giving striking workers unemployment benefits after two weeks out of work.
It doesn't have support from Republicans or Gov. Ned Lamont (D).
The bill passed the Senate along party lines on Wednesday. Democrats have a substantial majority in the chamber.
It’s been a priority for Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven). A similar bill failed last year, but he said the business climate has changed with the new administration, and the legislation is more important than ever.
“We think the need is even more urgent this year because of the change in the federal administration,” Looney said. “Last year, we still had a friendly president and a friendly NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), and that's not the case now.”
Local unions also support the bill.
“When corporate CEOs know that workers have a safety net, it will encourage both sides to engage in good faith bargaining and come to an agreement more quickly and potentially avoid strikes in the first place,” AFL-CIO President Ed Hawthorne said in a statement.
“If this legislation had been signed last year, we may have been able to avoid the IAM Union strike at Pratt & Whitney in the first place since management knew they wouldn’t be able to starve out their workers,” he continued.
But Republican leaders said the bill would make the state unfriendly for businesses, like Pratt & Whitney.
“We respect any union that believes they need, on behalf of their employees, to strike. But part of it is letting them do that independently, and the government not getting their fingers on the scale and tipping it towards one side,” Senate Majority Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) said.
Lamont also said he didn’t think it was the right move for his state.
“I support the right to organize. I'm going to oppose any efforts to interfere with that right coming out of Washington, DC,” Lamont said. “But if you want to make sure this is a state that grows and adds good-paying jobs for people, I don't think that a striking workers bill is the way to go.”
House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said he expected his chamber to vote on the bill on Friday.
“This is year three. It’s time to have that issue addressed one way or another,” Ritter said on Thursday morning.
“We’re gonna let it go on the board. It’s gonna be what it’s gonna be.”
