2024 Communist Award Winners Announced Ahead of Event Celebrating ‘Freedom’

The Connecticut People’s World Committee, a progressive and socialist advocacy organization, has announced this year’s Amistad Awards recipients, with honorees set to be recognized at the organization’s annual event on Dec. 14. The occasion coincides with the 105th anniversary of the Communist Party USA. 

Among the honorees Seth Freeman, a professor at Capital Community College and president of the Connecticut Community Colleges union (4C’s), is recognized for his push to infuse “racial and economic justice” into public higher education, with a focus on shifting resources from what he calls “corporate greed and wars” to human needs. 

Another awardee, Maribel Rodriguez, an executive board member of the Connecticut AFL-CIO and president of the Western CT Labor Coalition, is being honored as a “tireless champion” for worker dignity and respect in the community and legislature.  

The final awardee is Teresa Quintana, a Housing Equity Organizer at Make the Road, a left-leaning organization known for backing divisive policies like taxpayer-funded healthcare for undocumented immigrants.  

The event, themed “We Who Believe in Freedom Will Not Rest Until It’s Won,” will feature Afro-Cuban music from the Robby Ameen Ensemble. (However, the choice is ironic since Cuba has not been a bastion of freedom since the communist revolutions more than half a century ago.)  

Additionally, the awards committee is celebrating the “courageous” fight of labor unions Unite Here Local 217 and SEIU1199 NE against “corporate greed and efforts to build worker power.” 

It is uncertain, however, if this year’s Amistad Awards recipients and possible attendees are aware of the event’s communist ties. In 2021, the event gained national attention when Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) made an unexpected appearance to present certificates of “special recognition” on behalf of the U.S. Senate. Among those honored was Connecticut State Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury). Both lawmakers later claimed they were unaware they were attending a Communist Party USA-affiliated event. However, the program explicitly noted that the awards were being presented to mark the 102nd anniversary of the Communist Party USA.

It is interesting to point out Sen. Kushner’s name has quietly vanished from the list of past winners of the Connecticut People’s World Amistad Awards, which still includes statewide figures like Sen. Jan Hochadel (D-Meriden) and Sen. Gary Winfield (D-New Haven). It’s unclear whether this omission was a “mistake” or if Sen. Kushner requested the removal after facing backlash for her attendance at the communist-affiliated event. 

Tickets are currently on sale and prices range from $10 for a standard ticket and $25 for a “Solidarity Ticket,” which gets your name in the program book. 

Historically, most program ads have been purchased by activist groups and labor unions like the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs and the American Federation of Teachers. But there have been a few interesting exceptions, such as ads purchased by the Working Families Party and Speaker of the House Matt Ritter (D-Hartford). It seems the Communist Awards draw some powerful support from Connecticut’s political class. 

Monroe Resident Delivers Petition to End Public Benefits Charge to Lamont…Staffer 

On Thursday, at the state Legislative Office Building, Yankee Institute and outraged ratepayers called on lawmakers to provide relief for Connecticut’s residents burdened by skyrocketing electric bills. The gathering focused on the Public Benefits Charge, which passes along to consumers the costs of the government mandates imposed on power companies for a variety of state energy policies, including “clean” energy. To date, the charge has imposed a significant financial burden on ratepayers, totaling an estimated $7 billion from 2004 to 2024. 

Led by Scott Pearson, a Monroe resident, the group presented a petition signed by 68,000 people demanding an end to the Public Benefits Charge. Standing beside a towering stack of over 1,500 pages listing each signer, Pearson told reporters that “the government has been disconnected with the middleclass.”  

He added, “Connecticut needs to throw out the public benefits playbook” and find new ways to fund the projects this charge currently supports, instead of off “the backs of Eversource and UI ratepayers.” 

Middlebury business owner Donnetta Campbell showed her Eversource bill to the press, saying it “had jumped from $1,129 in one month to $3,198.” She said the bill “knocked me off my chair.” She said she “luckily stumbled onto Scott [Pearson]” because “he is looking at this as a bipartisan problem and a bipartisian solution.”  

Campbell told reporters that on her way to the press conference she had spoken with Sen. Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), raising concerns about remarks he and Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) have made, appearing to mock a citizen-led protest rally against the Public Benefits Charge. 

“The only thing smaller than the turnout for this political stunt is the meager savings ratepayers will see from the Republican utility bailout,” the lawmakers wrote in a joint statement, adding, “Democrats will do what we’ve always done: roll up our sleeves, govern, and strive to improve the lives of the people we serve.” 

Adding fuel to the fire, Sen. Duff took his criticism to social media where he shared a Reddit image that stated seven people showed up at the protest, with the caption, “Whether it’s Trump or Connecticut’s Republicans, they never have a plan.” Finding it amusing, he decided to post the tweet twice, emphasizing his dismissive view on the rally. 

At the press conference, Campbell expressed her gratitude to Sen. Duff for speaking with her, but urged him to work in a bipartisan fashion to find a solution. “We’re hurting. Democrats are hurting. Independents are hurting. Republicans are hurting,” she stated, underscoring the broad impact of the issue across party lines. 

Addressing reporters, Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock) pointed to the stack of signatures, remarking, “We can see here just a huge volume of signatures, 68,000 or so people and I know for a fact, that there’s hundreds of thousands of people, who have not yet signed the petition, who are just as outrage and angry about their sky high electric votes.” 

Echoing Pearson, Sen. Gordon added, “We should take the public benefits charges off of the electric bill.” and that  “Electric bills should only be about the electricity you use and nothing else. You should not have these extra public benefit taxes in it.” 

Sen. Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) also weighed in, noting how he also was one of the 68,000 signatories, saying: “Imagine if they were standing here with us, and that impact. That is what is happening. These people all agree with us.” 

Emphasizing the financial hardships the Public Benefits Charge has inflicted on state residents, he added, “There are people across the state struggling to make ends meet to pay their bills. I hear very powerful stories from my constituents. It hits me to my core. We have a government that’s out-of-touch.” 

Bryce Chinault, Yankee Institute Director of External Affairs, closed out the press conference stating “People are right to be outraged about the public benefits charge on their electric bills. What’s more outrageous is that a chunk of the charge is going to build EV infrastructure when our state’s wealthiest people are the ones driving EVs — which are their second or even third vehicles.  All the infrastructure for them is being paid for by middle class households. That just doesn’t make sense. It isn’t fair.” 

After speaking with reporters, Pearson made his way to Gov. Lamont’s office at the Capitol, determined to deliver a message in person. He told the Hartford Courant that he wanted “Governor Lamont to see the 1,500 pages of all of the signers throughout the state” because “ It’s 68,000 signatures, and when you see it on the web it’s one thing, when you see it on paper it has a different impact.” 

Despite numerous attempts to secure a meeting with the governor, Pearson told Yankee Institute he never received a reply. Instead, he was greeted by one of the governor’s staffers, to whom he handed over a box filled with the names of frustrated ratepayers.