Save HUSKY-A! Don’t balance the budget on the backs of CT’s poor & working families!

We need our legislators to stand up and defend HUSKY health care.
Act now, tell your legislators:

• Health Reform is supposed to be about more people getting better health care, NOT about people losing benefits or becoming uninsured. 
• Ask them to support the Appropriations budget that includes funding for HUSKY parents.
• Don’t cut HUSKY parents!

TAKE ACTION NOW:
1) Rally & meet with legislators at the Capitol (training & materials provided)

Wednesday, May 22
12:00 p.m.
Legislative Office Building, Room 2D
(300 Capitol Ave, Hartford – free parking in garage at rear of
building)

2) Call your legislators TODAY

ASK YOUR LEGISLATORS TO MAKE SURE THEIR LEADERS SUPPORT THE APPROPRIATIONS BUDGET THAT INCLUDES FUNDING FOR HUSKY PARENTS. Decisions about the state budget are being made NOW. Find your legislators and how to reach them go to: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp

House Democrats 1-800-842-8267, House Republicans 1-800-842-8270
Senate Democrats 1-800-842-1420, Senate Republicans 1-800-842-1421
Governor’s Office 1-800-406-1527

Remember: We’re all better off when more of us have good coverage to keep us healthy.

Thank you!

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MORE INFO:

The Governor’s proposal will leave HUSKY parents to seek coverage from private insurance companies on the new health care exchange – and many will wind up uninsured. HUSKY families live on very limited budgets, juggling jobs, education and caring for children.  They can’t afford private insurance -even with subsidies offered
through the Affordable Care Act!

Studies say at least 25% of HUSKY parents will wind up uninsured.  Those who DO enroll in private insurance will face new, significant co-pays and deductibles that will keep many them from getting the care they need. HUSKY parents will lose crucial benefits they rely on, such as mental health care, dental and vision care, and
transportation to medical appointments. Children get better health
care when their parents are on the same plan.

* for more information, and to see who’s at risk, go to: http://www.larcc.org/husky

Does your family depend on HUSKY A?  37,500 working parents are at risk of losing health care! Are you one of them?

If you rely on HUSKY and this is your household income then YOU might be at risk of losing your health care:

May 1st is International Workers’ Day or “May Day”!

May Day is a time for hope and change. May Day is a demand for Solidarity.

This May Day there is an urgent need to press for change: comprehensive immigration reform. To learn more about CCNE’s views on immigration reform, click here or go to the “Campaigns” drop-down menu and click on “Immigrant Rights & Immigration Reform.”

Join CCNE and our allies for a mass march & rally for Immigrant Rights,  Good Jobs, and Peaceful Communities:

When: Wednesday, May 1st (music at 5:00, Speakers at 5:45, March at 6:30pm)

Where: New Haven Green, corner of College & Elm Streets

RSVP & Spread the word on Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/300138593450490/

Contact CCNE for more information: 203-710-1084 or jaime@ctneweconomy.org

Full schedule of May Day Festival events: http://www.maydaynewhaven.org/.  And the festivities continue on May 5th with the People’s World annual rally & dinner, featuring CCNE co-founder Rev. Scott Marks:  http://peoplescenter.blogspot.com/

CCNE is delighted to report that a Community Benefits Agreement has been reached between Achievement First and the Newhallville community!

On December 17, after two months of negotiations, Achievement First and Newhallville leaders proudly stood together as partners in a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). Achievement First is a non-profit charter school management organization that operates 22 schools in Connecticut and New York.

This CBA pertains to the construction of a new high school building at the site of the former Martin Luther King, Jr. High School at 580 Dixwell Avenue. Achievement First Amistad High School is a high-performing school that will serve 550 students by 2015. The project will revitalize a crucial plot of land in Newhallville.

This past summer, Achievement First reached out to Alderwomen Foskey-Cyrus (D-21) and Clyburn (D-20) to begin discussions about construction of the high school. The Alderwomen promptly sought input from the neighborhood during Management Team meetings, and facilitated a number of other open community meetings.

Some key components of the Community Benefits Agreement include:

• Access to space in the newly constructed school for Newhallville community engagement.
• Access to the 9th grade for students who did not attend an Achievement First “feeder school.”
• Access for New Haven residents to good jobs through a partnership between Achievement First and the Board of Aldermen-led Jobs Pipeline Initiative (“New Haven Works”).
• Art that pays tribute to civil rights leaders as the former MLK site does.
• Resources for Newhallville youth programming.

“A brand new high school and a Community Benefits Agreement represent a win-win-win for our neighborhood, New Haven parents and children, and Achievement First,” said Ward 21 Alderwoman Brenda Foskey-Cyrus. “Achievement First and Newhallville are showing our city how development can benefit everyone.” 

“On behalf of the 550 students who will be served by this new, state-of-the-art, college-preparatory high school, Achievement First is pleased with this outcome,” said Reshma Singh, vice president of external relations for Achievement First. “This agreement provides an unprecedented level of community benefits, not the least of which are the $1.5 million purchase price for the property and the $35 million construction project to raze the existing building and construct a new facility. We look forward to working with this coalition of New Haven’s elected leaders and community groups to improve the lives of children growing up in New Haven, and to build a better city for all residents.”

The Community Benefits Agreement includes a provision that CCNE will review the agreement annually and provide a written report to the parties, the Board of Aldermen, and the City of New Haven.

Press coverage:

12/18/12 “It’s A Deal —& A Sale“

12/18/12 “Accord on new Achievement First school in New Haven OK’d“

Yale Herald, September 21, 2012

The story of New Haven in the last decade is a tale of two cities. Most visibly, and especially since the recession took hold, there has been high unemployment. New Haven’s rate has hovered between three and five percentage points above the national average, and by the latest counts, 6,400 New Haven residents are actively seeking work. And then there are unemployment’s attendant consequences: low school achievement, spiraling levels of poverty, spikes in crime and violence. In 2011, there were 34 murders; it was the city’s highest tally in 20 years.

Yet at the same time, New Haven’s job market is actually growing. In April, while Connecticut as a state dropped 4,100 jobs, the New Haven labor market expanded by 1,700 posts. “There are two very different stories going on in our city right now,” said Laurie Kennington, president of the Local 34, the union representing Yale’s clerical and technical employees. “One is about the economic downturn and joblessness and violence; the other is about the revitalization of downtown and the expansion of the economy here.” What the jobs pipeline aims to do, then, is merge these two parallel chapters into a single narrative.

FULL ARTICLE: http://yaleherald.com/news-and-features/piping-up/

Read more on CCNE’s work in pushing for a “pipeline” -or comprehensive jobs training and local hiring initiative-  here:   http://www.ctneweconomy.org/2012/08/jobs-pipeline-program-connecting-un-and-under-employed-residents-to-good-jobs-advances/

(Scroll to the bottom to check out previous articles on the progress towards a Pipeline in New Haven).

What do we want? Good Jobs! During CCNE’s December 3, 2011 City-Wide Community Leaders meeting, a jobs funnel or “pipeline” that connects New Haven residents to good jobs was identified as a top priority among the 300 participants.Thank you everyone for sharing feedback and pushing to make our collective vision for a grassroots transformation of New Haven a reality!

What will it take? For a jobs pipeline to succeed at addressing the problems of unemployment, underemployment and violence in New Haven it must do more than provide training and support services. It must also connect people to actual jobs -good, sustainable jobs. This will take a vocal, organized community.  We’ve reached a turning point in our city’s history and we’re excited to report that the work we’ve done together to win the BIG changes our communities need is paying off! We have the vision, we have solutions and we’re fighting to make inclusive prosperity for all a reality. . .starting this year.

Progress towards the creation of a Jobs Pipeline:

In the streets: On April 25th, 2,000 people came together for the “Let’s get to work” march & rally in support of the Jobs Pipeline, youth opportunities, and good contracts for workers at Yale University and other area companies. Read more on that here.

In our workplaces: In June our labor allies in UNITE HERE Local 34 & Local 35 won an outstanding contract with Yale University. The contract includes Jobs Pipeline provisions that will connect out-of-work New Haveners to sustainable jobs at the University. This historic accomplishment not only opens Yale jobs to local residents, but also paves the way toward expanding the Pipeline to other employers beyond Yale.

In the halls of government: In January 2012 the Board of Aldermen unanimously adopted a legislative agenda that includes the jobs pipeline. They then established a working group – made up of community leaders, employers, city officials, foundations and other key stakeholders – to develop a pipeline that meets the needs of residents, employers, and taxpayers while helping to address New Haven’s most pressing problems. At a packed April Public Hearing community leaders described the Jobs Pipeline as a public safety and crime-reduction strategy.

In September the Board voted unanimously on the working group’s plan to create a comprehensive jobs pipeline program (“New Haven Works”). One key point of the plan is coordinating existing initiatives, rather than duplicating services.

In early December “New Haven Works” officially incorporated, hired an interim chief, established by-laws, and set up a physical main office location. These unglamorous but essential steps mark significant progress toward the realization of our vision of inclusive prosperity for New Haven.

With the help of 5 college interns and 70 volunteers we surveyed and organized hundreds of residents in struggling neighborhoods and amplified the voice of inner city residents in the August primary.  This fall the CVP will continue getting people fired up to take action and change their communities.

2012 marks our fourth full-fledged Community Voter Project -and our second in Hartford. This time five college interns (including four who grew up in Hartford) harnessed their passion and creativity to lead the project. We  also partnered with the Greater Hartford NAACP and, together, found more ways to reach out to Hartford residents in neighborhoods with the lowest levels of voter and civic participation.

With volunteers recruited directly from the doors, as well as over 25 local community and labor organizations, we knocked on 3,177 doors, registered 231 people to vote, and surveyed 732 residents about their concerns. The issues residents cited most frequently were crime, jobs, and programs and opportunities for youth.

Our surveys are more than data collection, however.  CVP canvassers utilize surveys and voter registration as means of engaging residents in in-depth conversations about their concerns. Through these exchanges we aim to connect issues affecting inner-city residents with the need to build power and make change around these issues through voting -as well as additional means.  At its core the CVP is about political empowerment for underrepresented communities. We see voting as essential to making democracy work, but we also hope that through this work residents will get more involved in advocating for their communities over the long haul. To accomplish this, we recruit passionate residents to come out and volunteer with the CVP, then organize and mobilize with them to fight for the things our communities need: excellent public education, access to quality health care, affordable housing, and good jobs that sustain families and the economy.

The chart below details the final survey results:

To see more photos from our Summer CVP,  or to learn more about the project please visit our Facebook Page.

On November 6 we will help decide who becomes our next President, as well as who becomes CT’s next Senator. These will both be very close races;  the race for U.S. Senate race will be a deciding factor in which party controls the Senate. We must do our part to ensure that Hartford’s communities of color and low-income communities have a say in making these crucial decisions. Please don’t forget to vote . . . and remind your neighbors, co-workers, clients, family and friends to do the same! For more information on voting, or to find your polling place visit www.vote411.org.

by Christine Stuart | Jun 28, 2012 CT News Junkie

During a celebration of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Patient and Affordable Care Act, religious leaders and health care advocates called on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to embrace a public option.

Iman Kashif Abdul-Karim of the Islamic Center of Greater Hartford called on Malloy, who “during his campaign proclaimed his intention to expand access to healthcare,” to “please stop wasting time and start doing the work he was elected to do.”

The crowd gathered at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford Thursday afternoon cheered Adbul-Karim’s remarks.

Abdul-Karim and other advocates called on Malloy to go further than just implementing the Patient and Affordable Care Act. They called on him to create an “affordable public option” here in Connecticut.

On the campaign trail in 2009,  Malloy said he supported a public option, and he even stood side-by-side with religious leaders in calling for a public option just weeks before taking office. However, campaigning is different than governing and faced with a $3.6 billion budget deficit, Malloy backed off his support for a public option.

Click here to read the full article.

On Tuesday June 12^th

For those not present – why this action? Because the SustiNet Cabinet is where our aspirations for universal health care now lie. On June 12th the Cabinet’s business plan working group presented their recommendations on alternatives to private, for-profit insurance.  Over 120 activists from across the state participated in a prayer circle before entering the hearing room at the Legislative Office Building to give testimony and hear the Cabinet’s recommendations.

Advocates and the Secretary of State, Denise Merrill worked hard to overcome opposition and make sure these important, commonsense reforms passed amidst a wave of right-wing attacks on voting across the country.

The Connecticut General Assembly passed several important election and voting modernization reforms this year. Election Day Registration (EDR) and online voter registration are aimed at increasing voter participation and make registration and voting more accessible -particularly for low participation and disenfranchised groups like the poor, elderly and disabled residents, students and minorities.CCNE Board member Prof. Bilal Sekou spoke in favor of these proposed reforms at a press conference with Governor Malloy and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. Read Dr. Sekou’s compelling remarks from the press conference, along with reasons for supporting these important  reforms on his blog: http://www.racialdiscoursect.com/2012/01/preserving-voting-rights-and-expanding.html

A number of states already have Election Day Registration and online registration in place. These innovations have proven highly successful at increasing participation – in fact states with EDR have seen voter turnout increase by 12% – 15%! In 2008, states that allowed registration on Election day led the nation in voter turnout. The right to vote and the free and fair exercise of voting rights by all eligible voters are fundamental principles of our democracy.  In the past year and a half, however, we have witnessed a disturbing assault on the constitutional right to vote promoted by right-wing groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). “America hasn’t seen a coordinated attack on voting rights of this scale in over a hundred years,” said NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous. Legislation has been introduced in more than 30 states and already passed in at least seven states requiring voters to present current government-issued photo identification.

Photo identification requirements, proof of citizenship to register, attacks on third party voter registration, and reductions in early voting days all serve to disenfranchise certain voters.  The Brennan Center for Justice estimates as many as 5 million eligible voters could be blocked from casting their votes in 2012 as a result of these laws. African American and Latino, low-income, elderly and young voters will be most impacted.Partly in response to these right-wing efforts to keep people from voting in states across the country, Secretary of State Denise Merrill studied ways make it easier for voters with low incomes juggling several jobs, students, and voters with small children, elderly voters, and voters in communities of color and found EDR and online registration highly effective. With the help of advocates and progressive-minded legislators, Connecticut managed to buck the trend and lead the way forward by opening up the voting process and making it easier for everyone to participate.

Claims that EDR and other modernizations increase fraud are thoroughly unsubstantiated. Several studies and investigations – including a five-year investigation by President George W. Bush’s Justice Department - indicate that voter fraud in the United States is negligible. And there is no evidence that EDR leads to fraud. These claims not only distract from the real issues, but do something more sinister: justify harmful policies that could disenfranchise millions of legitimate voters.For more on the national battle over voting rights check out this great article by longtime movement leader and CCNE ally, Joelle Fishman, of the New Haven People’s Center: http://www.peoplesworld.org/historic-battle-for-voting-rights-is-front-and-center/

“Activists march for Labor Issues” (Yale Daily News)

“Huge rally highlights need for jobs in New Haven as ‘Pipeline’ seeks ways to connect residents to opportunities” (NH Register)

“2,000 rally, put Eli on Notice” (NH Independent)

For more images, check out this great slideshow of photos courtesy of Dana Asbury, Nathalie Batraville, Virginia Blaisdell, and Chris Randall: http://vimeo.com/41351068