Connecticut workers testified Thursday in support of legislation from Senate Democrats intended to create protections for employees of large warehouses and provide unemployment benefits for striking workers after two weeks on the picket line.
The bill, Senate Bill 8, received a public hearing in the legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee last week. Workers across a variety of industries testified overwhelmingly in favor of the bill.
Mark Nati, a jet engine technician and member of the International Association of Machinists Union Local 700, told the committee that the bill’s extension of unemployment benefits to striking workers would help level a playing field currently tilted in favor of employers in labor disputes. That advantage enables employers to make bad faith offers, knowing many workers can not afford to strike, he said.
“It is a ‘this is what we’re offering, take it or leave it,’ attitude,” Nati said. “There is no good faith bargaining going on. The company feels it has all the leverage. They know most workers live paycheck-to-paycheck and can not afford to strike and they use this. A strike puts great financial hardship on striking workers.”
During the hearing, Senate President Martin Looney said extending unemployment benefits to striking workers after two weeks would mirror similar policies adopted by New York and New Jersey.
“I think it’s fair for government to look at that and step in and relieve that hardship at a certain point,” Looney said.
Meanwhile, several warehouse workers testified in support of new protections in the bill like provisions designed to crack down on unreasonable quotas by requiring employers to give their employees a written description of the quotas they must meet, and any adverse employment actions they may face for failing to do so.
Jashua Garcia, a warehouse worker and member of Teamsters Local 671, said the protections were needed as a result of unfair practices from warehouse operators.
“The conditions in our warehouse have been challenging to say the least with long hours and minimal breaks all in order to meet an ever increasing quota every month,” Garcia said. “Despite our requests for better working conditions our pleas have fallen on deaf ears and only resulted in further retaliation from the company when they took away the previously approved holiday of Memorial Day at the last minute.”
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff also testified before the committee, saying the legislation was intended to help working families as the federal government seemed to be prioritizing the interest of the country’s richest individuals.
“What we’ve seen in Washington right now where we have a lot of billionaires running around, calling the shots, we see a great income inequality gap in this country and I think what we’ll see over the next four years is really just erosions for working people across this country,” Duff said. “We have to help our own here in the state of Connecticut and that’s why this bill is so important.”
