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Connecticut Communist Party and state representatives present union leaders with awards

The Connecticut Communist Party held its annual People’s World Amistad Awards on Saturday, December 12, the anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party USA.

The awards were presented to SEIU 1199 NE President Rob Baril, President of the Connecticut chapter of the American Federation of Teachers Jan Hochadel, Hartford City Councilwoman Wildaliz Bermudez and Barbara Vereen, staff director of Unite Here Local 34, the union representing clerical and technical workers at Yale University. 

The event was held online due to the pandemic.

Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, presented Baril his award from Atlanta where she said she was door-knocking for Georgia Senate candidate Raphael Warnock.

Baril, whose union represents 25,000 workers in the healthcare field, said that 2020 was “awful” but the year did present hope through the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and the 2020 presidential election.

“2020 has just been an awful year,” Baril said. “From police killings to the pandemic to the economy, we’ve just seen a tremendous amount of suffering; we’ve seen callous indifference from elected leaders and folks who are elected and put into position to help people who too many times turn a blind eye.”

Baril referenced the loss of some of his members who contracted the COVID-19 virus and passed away, and the failures to protect staff and residents at nursing homes during the pandemic. “We know they have not been valued as they deserve,” Baril said.

Hochadel, who said that she was currently in quarantine, was presented with the award by Shellye Davis, co-president of the Hartford Federation of Paraprofessionals.

In her remarks, Hochadel called for an end to for-profit healthcare, taxing nonprofits with large endowments and raising taxes on corporations to avoid an “austerity budget” in the upcoming session.

“How about instead we have those large non-profits with huge endowments pay their fair share of taxes instead?” Hochadel said, perhaps referencing Yale University, which has come under fire from New Haven government officials in the past. 

“How about we ask those corporations that are sucking money away in offshore bank accounts to pay their fair share of taxes? How about asking for progressive tax structure to return to a level we haven’t seen in decades so that the lowest paid workers are keeping the economy of Connecticut going?” Hochadel continued.

The Connecticut AFT represents 15,000 state and municipal employees throughout Connecticut.

Rep. Edwin Vargas, D-Hartford, also presented an award to Hartford City Councilwoman Wildaliz Bermudez of the Working Families Party.

The Connecticut Communist Party is based in New Haven and run by Joelle Fishman.

“We invite you to join the Communist Party in this epic time as we organize, organize, organize to uproot systemic racism, retool the war economy, tax the rich, address climate change, secure voting rights and create a new socialist system that always puts people and planet before profits,” said Lisa Bergman, co-host of the awards ceremony.

**Meghan Portfolio contributed to this article**

Marc E. Fitch

Marc E. Fitch is the author of several books and novels including Shmexperts: How Power Politics and Ideology are Disguised as Science and Paranormal Nation: Why America Needs Ghosts, UFOs and Bigfoot. Marc was a 2014 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow and his work has appeared in The Federalist, American Thinker, The Skeptical Inquirer, World Net Daily and Real Clear Policy. Marc has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Western Connecticut State University. Marc can be reached at [email protected]

19 Comments

  1. Donna
    December 16, 2020 @ 2:36 pm

    ATTENTION communists…
    Plenty of communist countries for you to go To-feel FREE.

    Reply

    • Jason Antonio
      December 21, 2021 @ 12:18 am

      Lisa Bergman is an embarrassment to the country as well as to herself . So spare us your thespian homily on communism ,Cuba doesn’t even want your type You’re living in a dream world this is America , and I can assure you , your not going to set up anew world order duh ??

      Reply

  2. Tony Purcell
    December 16, 2020 @ 9:30 pm

    These are the same COMMUNISTS that Rosa DeLauro supports and wanted to give them a half million dollars of our taxpayers money.
    And she was reelected once again.
    Crazy

    Reply

  3. edwardjmax
    December 17, 2020 @ 9:22 am

    it took 70 years for the people to end the horror of communisim in the old ussr and it’s slave satellite countries. but it persists in connecticut?

    Reply

  4. Randy
    December 18, 2020 @ 2:49 am

    These are the aholes backing lamont himes delauro hayes murphy and the rest of thecortupt democrats youct. Morons vote for. Wake up before the state is totally unlivable .these bribe to UNNIONS for votes is bankrupting this state

    Reply

  5. john j flynn
    December 19, 2020 @ 9:47 am

    I went to a Christmas Party for ther New haven RTC last night and realized that Streicker probably beat delauro. We will never know how they manipulated that . UBS is in stamford which paid 400 million. Dominion and Sequoia have been registered with Denise merrill on CONCORD.

    Reply

  6. Ali
    February 11, 2021 @ 1:10 am

    so glad others see the evils of communism. They may take connecticut down, but we will go down fighting. From my cold, dead hands.

    Reply

    • Stephanie
      August 19, 2021 @ 3:37 pm

      Right!!

      Reply

  7. ED M.3RD
    February 25, 2021 @ 2:41 am

    Interested that THEY blamed dem libtard government in Ct. for the many wuhan cv 19 deaths in Ct. As with Cuomo of New York

    Reply

    • Jenny
      December 15, 2021 @ 11:40 am

      Denang dick BlUmenthal-gives them recognition??!! HOw desperate for votes aRe they?

      Reply

  8. Liz
    July 27, 2021 @ 10:16 am

    OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK TO DESTROY THE UNITED STATES!

    Reply

  9. John Westlake
    July 31, 2021 @ 10:35 pm

    aLL THESE WARS WE FOUGHT TO CURB THE SPREAD OF COMMUNISM AROUND THE WORLD, THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN LIVES LOST, YET HERE WE ARE – THE COMMUNIST PARTY ALIVE AND WELL HERE IN CT. SCRATCHING MY HEAD ON THAT ONE

    Reply

  10. Stephanie
    August 19, 2021 @ 3:39 pm

    They’re in our kids schools too! lord help my state and country🙏🏼

    Reply

  11. Eric
    December 8, 2021 @ 6:59 pm

    We need to get rid of these long term commies once & for all starting at the top- Lamont, Murphy, tricky Dickie, delauro & the rest of those clowns & turn this state bright red- had enough of them, they are destroying what is left of the constitution state- we need term limits for Congress & now

    Reply

  12. G Zeiba
    December 15, 2021 @ 12:57 pm

    None of these people represent connecticut…All Selected rather than elected!!

    Reply

  13. Breanna
    December 20, 2021 @ 11:03 pm

    Please PLEASE….do us a huge favor in the united states and gather up your idiot friends……and get the HEll OUT of here!!!!! You People are a bunch of morons!!! God will make all of you pay! Remember, god is always watching and listening!!! GOOD luck!

    Reply

  14. Paul Revere
    December 21, 2021 @ 6:11 pm

    Thanks for posting your personal information and telling all of America who you are.
    Today you have the freedom to be a Communist in America. We The People are going to change this Mistake. so perhaps you should begin considering where in the world you can seek asylum.

    Reply

  15. rob bone
    December 27, 2021 @ 5:11 pm

    we need paper ballots with ids no more machine counting ballots.so theres no cheating and we get these commy legislators here in ct and our country.go online look up russell ramsland voter fraud theres a 6 minute video of the kentucky gov race where he shows in real time how votes get switched from the rep to the dem .amazing we cant let them cheat in 2022 and 2024 or for sure its over for this country people.

    Reply

  16. harry dillon
    December 31, 2021 @ 1:10 pm

    reason i left ct. over 20 yrs. ago. saw it coming.

    Reply

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