Striking Workers Unemployment Bill Draws Veto Call

Connecticut business leaders and organizations today called for Gov. Ned Lamont to veto controversial legislation designed to provide unemployment benefits to striking workers.

HB 5431, originally drafted as a review of General Fund appropriations, was amended on the House floor in the waning days of the 2024 to incorporate the intent of HB 5164, which allowed striking workers to claim unemployment benefits.

The vaguely worded bill creates a $3 million “Connecticut families and workers account” administered by the state Comptroller “for the purposes of assisting low-income workers.”

It passed the House on a 90-59 vote May 3, with seven Democrats—Hector Arzeno (D-Greenwich), Jill Barry (D-Glastonbury), Lucy Dathan (D-New Canaan), Jamie Foster (D-Ellington), Rachel Khanna (D-Greenwich), Jennifer Leeper (D-Fairfield), and Christopher Poulos (D-Southington)—joining all Republicans present in opposition.

The Senate approved the bill May 8 on a 23-12 party line vote—Sen. Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury) did not vote—with eight minutes left as the clock ran out on the 2024 legislative session.

‘Terrible Message’

In a letter to Lamont, CBIA, employers, and business organizations urged him to veto the bill, “based both on policy grounds and the process surrounding its adoption.” 

“Long-standing employee protections under state and federal law already achieve the proper balance between the unemployment system’s policy goals and collective bargaining rights,” CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima noted in the letter.

“That balance is critical. While workers have the right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike, those rights should not be subsidized by taxpayers.”

.@RTX_News shared its "serious concerns" over a bill giving unemployment benefits to striking workers with @CTSenateDems, @CTSenateGOP. "It would further erode Connecticut’s #business climate, rendering other states more viable options for future work." https://t.co/nPNHQpmQiU

— Chris DiPentima (@ChrisDipentima) May 6, 2024

DiPentima added that the last-minute legislative maneuvering to adopt HB 5431 “undermines public confidence in the normal democratic process.”

“As a matter of process, the bill sends the wrong message about Connecticut’s commitment to transparency and meaningful debate,” he wrote.  

“As a matter of policy, HB 5431 sends a terrible message to businesses and undermines Connecticut’s economic competitiveness by unfairly tipping the balance between employee and employer.”

Veto Call

CBIA-veto-letter-051424

The letter was signed by the following businesses and organizations:

• Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce
• Connecticut Lodging Association
• Connecticut Tooling & Machining Association
• Danbury Regional Chamber of Commerce
• General Dynamics Electric Boat
• Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce
• Hobson & Motzer
• ManufactureCT
• Manufacture Education and Training Alliance
• Middlesex Chamber of Commerce
• National Federation of Independent Business
• New England Spring & Stamping Association
• Schwerdtle Inc.
• Smaller Manufacturers Association
• Southington Chamber of Commerce
• Windham Region Chamber of Commerce
• Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce