Echoes of massive labor protests in Wisconsin are hitting New Haven, as union leaders team up with church and student groups to take part in what they call a nationwide movement focused on jobs for the middle-class and poor.
Bobby Proto, head of the greater New Haven Central Labor Council, said a number of New Haven unions have joined together with clergy and student groups at local high schools and at Yale University to form a new coalition called “We Are One.” Members of the coalition sat down Tuesday with reporters at the Portsea Street offices of Radio Amor, a Christian radio station in the Hill.
The group’s first big event is a rally planned for March 30 at 5:30 p.m. on the Upper New Haven Green.
Unlike a recent demonstration on the Green, the rally isn’t targeting the labor dispute at City Hall.
“This one isn’t a reaction to anyone’s budget proposal,” said Henry Morris, a Lutheran minister involved in the group. “This is an action,” he said, of unity and hope.
The point of the rally is to pull together various groups concerned about poverty, unemployment, and how to create new jobs, said Proto (pictured). He said labor unions have previously made the mistake of reaching out for help only when their own jobs or benefits are under threat. The aim of this coalition is to have a collaboration in place ahead of time, before specific crises arise.
The labor-community coalitions have found success in New Haven before, such as in organizing around Yale’s cancer center. The latest effort was inspired in part by an attack on labor in Wisconsin that galvanized tremendous support.
“Wisconsin has been like the wick” that got the movement going, Proto said.
From Left: Lee, Robinson-Sweet and Hernandez.
Along with the Connecticut Coalition for a New Economy (CCNE), coalition members have been knocking on doors in advance of the rally. Door-knockers include Isaiah Lee, a junior at Wilbur Cross High School, who’s rallying student troops; Yale undergraduate Anna Robinson-Sweet; and Fair Haven preacher Abraham Hernandez, who’s spreading the word in the Latino Community.
They said they expect 2,000 people to show up next week.
Good idea, however, support for this project will be severely limited as long as the following continue to hold true:
If the Union leadership actually cared about the poor of our city, they actually would be fighting for a reduction in property taxes through further cuts to benefit packages. This would allow property owners to reduce rents, rehab/reduce the number of vacant properties (which are crime magnets), and increase the supply of affordable housing.