Senate Approves UI Benefits for Striking Workers

The state Senate approved controversial legislation May 28 that allows striking workers to collect unemployment benefits.

SB 8 passed the Senate on a 24-11 party line vote after a five-hour debate, with Sen. Norm Needleman (D-Essex) absent.

Language imposing a slew of restrictions on warehouse distribution centers was removed from the bill—a top priority this session for organized labor and Senate Democratic leadership—prior to the vote.

Connecticut employers are the sole revenue source for the state’s unemployment system, which has undergone a series of recent reforms designed to restore its long-term solvency.

Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed vaguely worded legislation last year that created a $3 million, taxpayer-funded “Connecticut families and workers account” intended to support strikers.

Speaking as the Senate debated SB 8, Lamont told reporters the bill “sends a terrible signal. I’m not going to support it and I guess that means I’ll veto it.”

‘Dangerous Precedent’

CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima called the legislation “terrible public policy that sets a dangerous precedent.”

“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,” he said.

“That balance is critical. While workers have the right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike, those rights should not be subsidized by employers—nor, as in the case of a similar bill that the governor vetoed last year, by taxpayers.”

Under federal law, individuals must be able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

This bill is terrible public policy. While workers have the right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike, those rights should not be subsidized by employers—nor, as in the case of a similar bill that the governor vetoed last year, by taxpayers. https://t.co/Alt3spB3XK

— Chris DiPentima (@ChrisDipentima) May 29, 2025

In addition, U.S. Department of Labor data shows Connecticut’s trust fund balance is significantly below the 1.0 Average High Cost Model level guidance.

Paying unemployment compensation to those on strike increases the risk the fund will become insolvent—leading to a dramatic increase in federal unemployment taxes for employers of all sizes.

“Using the state’s trust fund to provide unemployment compensation to individuals on strike puts our entire UI system in jeopardy and will inevitably lead to future tax increases,” said CBIA’s Paul Amarone.

“The trust should be preserved for the thousands of Connecticut residents who are involuntarily unemployed, able and willing to work, and are actively looking for work.”

Business Climate

Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) defended the bill, saying “this is not putting a thumb on the scale to over-balance the scale for workers.”

“This is to at least reduce the tipping of the scale in the other direction, by at least a bit,” he said.

Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) said the measure represented “government saying we want one side over another.”

In a letter to House members, @RTX_News warned legislation allowing striking workers to collect #unemployment benefits has long-term economic implications—"ultimately putting at risk the very people whom this legislation is ostensibly intended to protect." https://t.co/9JJP1lTxe5

— CBIA (@CBIANews) May 29, 2025

“We already have an extremely anti-business climate here. I don’t need to tell anybody that,” he said.

“We know that already we have some of the highest taxes in the country, some of the highest electric rates in the country, some of the most burdensome regulatory climate in the country.”

SB 8 now awaits action in the House. The legislative session adjourns June 4.

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For more information, contact CBIA’s Paul Amarone (860.244.1978).