By Neil Vigdor
May 23, 2016
The names of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson — scrubbed because of their ties to slavery — won’t be the only glaring void when Connecticut Democrats hold their annual fundraising dinner next week.
At least five of the largest state employee unions are boycotting the June 2 banquet in Hartford, in protest of ongoing layoffs under Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that have reached 1,000. That number is expected to grow to 2,000.
A strategic source of financial and grassroots support for the state’s majority party, the unions traditionally buy several tables at $1,850 each for what has been rebranded as the Connecticut Democratic Progress Dinner.
But not this year, coming off the standoff between Malloy and his labor base over salary reductions to close a $1 billion budget deficit. Union leaders had called for Malloy to raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents instead. Now, they’re planning to demonstrate outside the dinner.
“The decision was prompted by the governor’s Jekyll and Hyde behavior,” said Larry Dorman, a spokesman for Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “He was able to force through a budget that’s going to be devastating to the people of Connecticut and the values that we stand for, and it just made no sense to be a part of that (event) this year.”
Rift between party, labor
Malloy’s administration stood by the austerity measures and the $19.7 billion budget, which passed along mostly party lines in the Legislature earlier this month. It referred questions on the boycott to the Connecticut Democrats, who tried to downplay the tiff.
“The Connecticut Democratic Party continues to share many of the same values and goals as our friends in the labor movement,” said Leigh Appleby, a state party spokesman. “And we remain committed to working with our state’s labor unions to grow our economy from the middle out. It is unfortunate that some would attempt to undermine an event with the sole purpose of raising the resources to elect Democrats up and down the ticket, including Sen. (Richard) Blumenthal, but we expect the Progress Dinner to be a success with help from Democrats across the state, including friends in organized labor.”
The event, which is marking its 68th year and typically draws 1,000 people, was previously named the Jefferson Jackson Bailey dinner. This year’s keynote speaker is former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
In a move that garnered national attention — and some criticism for political correctness — Democrats voted last year to change the name. They cited Jefferson and Jackson’s ownership of slaves as a key factor in the decision, as well as Jackson’s role in the removal of Native Americans from the southeastern U.S. in what was known as the Trail of Tears.
The event’s third namesake, John Bailey, who led the state party and then the Democratic National Committee under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, was preserved in a new award for service to the party.
“We are not purchasing any tickets this year,” said Lori Pelletier, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. “We are going to be saving our money and investing it in our own political program.”
Making their point
Pelletier said the union, which represents 30,000 state employees, including 700 of those laid off, has instructed its members to withhold political contributions to both Democrats and Republicans. Each year, she said, those add up to $75,000 to $100,000. But the AFL-CIO only buys a table at the Democratic fundraising dinner, where Pelletier said union members will be passing out literature and asking attendees to contribute to a special fund for the employees affected by the layoffs.
“We are going to be out there raising awareness about our displeasure with the budget that governor signed,” Pelletier said. “We’re not going to be stopping people from going in ... just an educational thing.”
The 30,000-member American Federation of Teachers of Connecticut is planning to pull a no-show.
“Our members have made clear that they don’t want their limited political contributions being used to further devastate Connecticut’s quality of life,” said Jan Hochadel, the group’s president. “What they do want is for their pooled resources to support women and men who will fight for the services they provide the people of our state every day.”
Two arms of the Service Employees International Union — SEIU 1199 and CSEA SEIU Local 2001— are also joining the boycott.
“Affiliation with the Democratic Party simply does not guarantee that a politician supports working people,” said Ben Phillips, a spokesman for CSEA SEIU Local 2001.
This is not the first time unions have struck back at Malloy. Before last month’s Democratic presidential primary in Connecticut, several labor groups refused to knock on doors for Hillary Clinton despite their endorsement of the former secretary of state. They balked because of Malloy’s alliance with Clinton, who still won the primary over Bernie Sanders.
“The relationship with the Malloy administration has been damaged,” Phillips said.
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