During a union-organized rally last night outside the Governor’s Mansion to pressure Gov. Lamont to sign S.B. 8, a digital billboard truck operated by Yankee Institute was vandalized. The vehicle, displaying messages critical of a controversial labor-backed bill that would give striking workers unemployment benefits, was struck with rocks. Witnesses reported rallygoers attempting to pry off the screen. Now, the vendor who owns the truck is reconsidering doing business in Connecticut.
“There is no place for intimidation, violence or silencing in our political discourse,” said Carol Platt Liebau, President of Yankee Institute. “We call on elected officials in our state to join us in telling union leaders and lawmakers — especially those who attended the protest — to reject this conduct, loudly and forcefully.”
Legislators present at the protest included Reps. Nick Gauthier, Steve Winter, and Tom Delnicki.
Union organizers often preach peaceful protest, and left-leaning politicians like U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy claim the right is “bathed in political violence.” But when confronted with a message the unions oppose, their members felt entitled to silence another point of view.
“Unions hold a lot of power in our state,” Liebau said. “But their privilege shouldn’t extend to being able to silence messages they oppose through intimidation and vandalism. That sort of behavior only reinforces that Connecticut is a risky place to do business.”
Yankee Institute is calling on union leadership to step forward:
- To identify those responsible and
- Pay for the damage to the small business
“If union officials and our elected leaders truly believe in fairness and the free exchange of ideas, now is the time to prove it,” Liebau said. “The damage didn’t just strengthen our resolve — it exposed the weakness of their arguments. When people resort to intimidation and violence, that’s not strength. That’s desperation.”
