Strikers’ Unemployment Benefits Bill Draws Veto Call

A coalition of Connecticut business leaders and organizations today called for Gov. Ned Lamont to veto legislation allowing striking workers to collect unemployment benefits.

CBIA joined a group of nearly two dozen companies, organizations, and chambers of commerce urging the governor to use his veto power on Public Act No. 25-64, adopted by the legislature during the 2025 session.

“Public Act No. 25-64 sends a terrible message to employers,” the business leaders wrote in a letter to the governor.

“It undermines Connecticut’s economic competitiveness by unfairly tipping the balance between employee and employer.”

The letter notes that long-standing state and federal law already provide the proper balance between the unemployment system’s policy goals and collective bargaining rights. And under federal law, individuals must be able to work, be available to work, and be actively seeking work to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Connecticut employers are the sole revenue source for the state’s unemployment system—paying unemployment compensation to striking workers increases the risk the fund will become insolvent, leading to a dramatic increase in federal unemployment taxes for employers of all sizes.

Last year, the governor vetoed vaguely worded legislation that created a $3 million, taxpayer-funded “Connecticut families and workers account” intended to support strikers.

“While workers have the right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike, those rights should not be subsidized by employers—nor by taxpayers,” the business leaders note.

CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with thousands of member companies, small and large, representing a diverse range of industries from every part of the state. For more information, please contact Scott Beaulieu (860.244.1929).