The Connecticut AFL-CIO, based in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, is one of approximately 500 state and local labor councils of the American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest organization of labor unions in the United States. The Connecticut branch is a federation of local unions that claims to represent more than 220,000 active union members. The federation organizes its members to advance left-of-center social and economic policies to achieve “social and economic justice” and “vanquish oppression.” ¹

Structure

The Connecticut AFL-CIO is divided into the Eastern and Western Connecticut Area Labor Federations, each of which has four regional chapters. The western federation includes the cities of Danbury, Fairfield, and New Haven, as well as the Western Connecticut Central Labor Coalition, which represents the remainder of the region. The eastern federation includes the cities of Hartford and Bristol, as well as central and south-eastern regional chapters. ²

The Connecticut AFL-CIO shares an office with the Connecticut United Labor Agency (CTULA), which provides community services to AFL-CIO members across the state. ³⁴ These include assistance with securing employment benefits, an apprenticeship program, and rehabilitation programs. ⁵ CTULA also offers immigration advocacy and assistance, including tutoring sessions for the United States citizenship exam and resources for union members to “defend themselves” from immigration law enforcement efforts. The agency’s immigrant program is funded by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, a left-of-center grant-making organization. ⁶

Initiatives

The Connecticut AFL-CIO is active in promoting union activity in the state, as well as pushing for pro-union and left-of-center policies and political candidates.

Unionization

The federation maintains lists of stores, vehicle dealerships, and hospitality services whose employees are members of an AFL-CIO affiliated union. ⁷ They also instruct workers on how to form a union in their workplace and on their rights to engage in union activity. ⁸

Political Advocacy

The federation endorses political candidates who support labor unions and push for legislation that benefits union members. It also runs a statewide get-out-the-vote effort. ⁹ In September 2020, the federation released a list of nearly 100 endorsed candidates for Congress and the Connecticut General Assembly. Many of the candidates were current or retired AFL-CIO members, and most of them ran as Democrats. ¹⁰

In response to the Black Lives Matter protests and riots during the summer of 2020, the federation issued a statement denouncing the “four-hundred year old paradigm of systemic racism” that it claimed existed in the United States. The statement also claimed that “opportunistic, far right organizations” were “attempting to hijack this moment to attack collective bargaining rights,” but did not specify the groups in question. ¹¹

Leadership

Salvatore Luciano is the president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. He previously served as the federation’s executive vice president. He also previously served as a council president for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), an AFL-CIO member union which represents public-sector employees and actively promotes left-of-center policies on healthcare, abortion, and immigration. ¹²

Long-time union representatives Jan Hochadel, Keri Hoehne, and David Roche serve as executive vice president, first vice president, and general vice president, respectively. ¹³

Tiana Ocasio is the executive secretary of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. She also works for a local chapter of the International Union of Operating Engineers and sits on several state labor organization boards, including the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund and Puerto Ricans United. ¹⁴

Peggy Buchanan serves as campaign manager, David C. Dal Zin as communications director, Jennifer Berigan as legislative and political director, and Rich Benham as legislative and political coordinator. ¹⁵

Finances

Between 2015 and 2018, the Connecticut AFL-CIO averaged between $1.4 and $1.5 million a year in total revenue with the exception of 2016, when the federation brought in just over $680,000. During that four-year period, between 60 and 80 percent of the federation’s revenue went to salaries, benefits, and other compensation. “Other expenses” made up most of the remainder. ¹⁶¹⁷

1.    About Us, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/about-us
2.             Area Labor Federations, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/area-labor-federations
3.              Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org
4.        Connecticut Union Labor Agency. Accessed December 16, 2020. http://ctula.org
5.          Connecticut Union Labor Agency. Accessed December 16, 2020. http://ctula.org
6.     Immigration Advocacy and Assistance, Connecticut Union Labor Agency. Accessed December 16, 2020. http://ctula.org/index.php/immigration-advocacy-assistance/
7.       Labor 411, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/labor-411
8.    4 Steps to Form a Union, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/4-steps-form-union
9.        Legislation & Politics, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/legislation-politics
10. David C. Dal Zin, “Endorsements from the Connecticut AFL-CIO Political Convention,” Connecticut AFL-CIO, September 4, 2020. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/press-room/endorsements-connecticut-afl-cio-political-convention
11.           “Resolution on Police Accountability and Systemic Racism,” Connecticut AFL-CIO, June 19, 2020. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/news/resolution-police-accountability-and-systemic-racism
12. Sal Luciano, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/leadership/sal-luciano
13.   Leadership, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/leadership
14.      Tiana Ocasio, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/leadership/tiana-ocasio
15.            Staff, Connecticut AFL-CIO. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.ctaflcio.org/staff
16.         Connecticut State AFL-CIO Form 990, Internal Revenue Service, 2016. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/060303260_201612_990O_2017072014576538.pdf
17.        Connecticut State AFL-CIO Form 990, Internal Revenue Service, 2018. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/060303260_201812_990O_2020011717044020.pdf