HB 5164 encourages strikes by offering strikers unemployment benefits. To be eligible for unemployment benefits in Connecticut, an individual must demonstrate that they are unemployed through no fault of their own and are actively seeking another job. 

Through the deliberate act of striking, an individual violates both of these conditions. 

Strikes will become more likely if unionized workers can fall back on unemployment benefits, leading to delays on construction projects and raising the costs for municipalities and the state.  

Every state except New York excludes striking workers from unemployment benefits, and New York has some of the highest construction costs in the country. Given that SB 938 offers no recommendation to raise revenue for the unemployment insurance trust fund with an anticipated greater demand for benefits, the unemployment insurance trust fund becomes less stable. This risks more deserving recipients of benefits being left with less during an economic recession. 

Read Frank Ricci’s testimony to the Labor and Public Employees Committee. 

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