Legislation Would Address Unreasonable Production Quotas, Extend UI to Workers on Strike

(HARTFORD, Conn.) – Teamsters spearheaded a labor delegation at the Connecticut state capitol to demand lawmakers pass legislation that would enhance warehouse safety and provide unemployment insurance for striking workers.

“These bills are essential for protecting Connecticut workers, and our elected officials can send a strong message to working families that they are on their side by enacting them into law,” said Rocco Calo, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 1150 and Teamsters International Vice President for the Eastern Region. “State lawmakers already demonstrated they’re capable of sticking up for workers’ rights when they made Connecticut the first state in the country to outlaw mandatory attendance at anti-union propaganda sessions. There’s no reason they can’t do the same thing on these two measures.”

House Bill 6907 would allow workers on strike to collect unemployment insurance after two weeks, while House Bill 6904 would increase safety protections for warehouse workers in the state, including limits on production quotas to prevent stress-related injuries. Senate Bill 8, the companion legislation in the upper chamber, does both.

“This bill would send a message to abusive employers across the state that they cannot expect to continue the practice of exploiting their workforce or illegally stalling out workers in contract negotiations,” said Tony Lepore, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 671. “The more protections workers have, the more likely it is that workplace injuries and strikes can be avoided altogether.”

i-Health warehouse workers Lawrence Sanchez and Justin Donahue testified in favor of the legislation. After workers at the company organized in part because of the company’s abusive treatment and unsafe working conditions, they were illegally terminated for engaging in a strike that they were forced to undertake to fight back against the company’s unfair labor practices.

“Instead of hiring enough workers, the company chose to force excess overtime every week and forced everyone to come to work Memorial Day, which was a previously accepted holiday,” Donahue said. “While being forced to work excessive overtime, I injured my shoulder, and with all the excessive hours, I have little time to spend with my family — especially my son, who is about to turn four years old.”

“My hope is that these bills will help all warehouse workers, and the workers of Connecticut that may face the difficult choice of going out on strike against employers who act in bad faith — that they will be able to stand up to these multimillion-dollar corporations to get a better and safer working environment,” Sanchez said. “These bills will be a much-needed safety net that workers can point to and know Connecticut has their back.”

California, New York, Oregon, and Washington, have passed laws protecting warehouse workers from unreasonable production quotas. New York and Jersey both provide unemployment insurance to workers who are forced to go on strike.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

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