On Thursday, November 11th, striking workers rallied at Sunrise Inc. in Hartford to mark the end of the first month of the strike in demand of livable wages, affordable health care and a pension for group home and day program caregivers.

Union workers consolidated all strike lines in Hartford to be joined by community partners and elected officials. Most Sunrise workers are Black, brown and white working women currently making less than $17 an hour, with a family health insurance premium of more than $6,000 monthly and no pension for retirement after providing decades of service.

Newly elected leaders from the state’s AFL-CIO, Ed Hawthorne and Shellye Davis, President and Executive Vice President respectively, made their first official statements in Connecticut after their election to office at the end of October. Davis, who is also the President of the Hartford Federation of Paraprofessionals, AFT Local 2221, is the first Black woman elected as the second-highest ranking officer of the Connecticut AFL-CIO.

Group home and day program caregivers are demanding that Sunrise do the right thing as so many other employers have done already. Sunrise Inc. must come to the table and sign a new union contract that reflects the $184-million in additional funding won by the workers and approved by Governor Ned Lamont’s administration.

What:             Union Rally at Sunrise Inc. Marking End of First Month on Strike

When:            Thursday, November 11, at 10:00 AM 

Where:           Sunrise Inc. at 80 Whitney Street in Hartford                       

Who:               SEIU District 1199 New England union leaders and members,
                        AFL-CIO leaders and members