Posts tagged rainy-day fund

    Sesame Street Workers Say, “U Is for Union”

    May 20, 2025 // While many of the puppeteers, actors, and crew members on the show have long been represented by entertainment unions, the new union covers the employees who bring Elmo and friends to life: artists, early-childhood experts, fundraisers, and more. Organizers see their campaign for dignity and respect at work as a natural continuation of Sesame’s mission to teach children to grow “smarter, stronger, and kinder.” “Workers at Sesame are deeply committed to doing things that are kind and fair,”

    CONNECTICUT: State Employee Union Cries Recession is Coming to Save Temporary Jobs

    November 26, 2024 // One of Connecticut’s largest unions, AFSCME Council 4, is pressuring Gov. Ned Lamont, along with Sen. Paul Cicarella (R-North Haven) and Rep. Mary Mushinsky (D-Wallingford), to intervene in stopping the planned layoffs of 49 federally funded, temporary employees at the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL). In a call to action posted on AFSCME’s website on Oct. 15, the union argued that “these layoffs are NOT due to a shortage of work,” claiming that these workers are still essential as job growth has “severely declined nationally.” AFSCME also painted a grim picture, warning that “a recession is anticipated soon” and suggesting that Connecticut’s government is ill-equipped to handle an economic downturn when it materializes.

    Government Unions Target Fiscal Sanity in Connecticut

    February 14, 2024 // Now, state unions under the umbrella of the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition are clamoring for the removal of the fiscal guardrails that were constructed to prevent the same unions from driving taxpayers over the cliff. The staggering state debt of more than $80 billion, including unfunded pension debt from the state workers’ and teachers’ pension funds, bonded debt, and health-care liabilities, was the result of years of irresponsibility and political horse-trading with state unions that were all too eager to negotiate benefits without a sustainable funding plan.