Economy

An email sent from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees asked for 25 people willing to be arrested as part of a “fight for $15” strike at McDonalds on Washington Avenue in Hartford on Tuesday, November 29. The email, sent by retired state employee Win Heimer, states “This is a planned arrest - with a promise to appear in court for community service. Police will have your Social Security number and do a background check in advance in coordination with Fight for 15 strike planners.”

The state economy shed 7,200 jobs in the month of October, and September’s employment totals were revised down to reflect that the state lost 6,600 jobs, rather than the originally reported 5,200.

The city of Danbury has been experiencing a renaissance in the past few years, which has the city moving in the opposite direction as the rest of the state. Although Connecticut has been experiencing a net loss of population, Danbury has increased its population by 8 percent since 2000; while Connecticut’s credit rating has decreased, Danbury recently earned a AAA rating; Connecticut’s state employee pension system is among the most underfunded in the nation, while Danbury’s is nearly fully funded into the foreseeable future.

The Connecticut Department of Labor released Thursday job numbers for September showing a loss of 5,200 non-farm jobs in the state. “Connecticut saw job losses in September for the third month in a row and our three month average of total non-farm jobs saw its first decline this year,” Andy Condon, director of the DOL Office of Research, said in a statement.

Connecticut was labelled a “sinkhole state” and placed 49th in the nation based on its financial issues and taxpayer burden in the annual Financial State of the States report by Truth in Accounting, a government accounting think tank. The unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities were the largest factors of debt in determining Connecticut’s ranking.

Joe volunteers to run a youth soccer club. He wants kids outside and on the field. But the Connecticut Department of Labor is getting in the way. The Department of Labor has audited Joe’s nonprofit in Guilford plus 93 other youth leagues. Now, Joe is afraid to pay people who work with his club. If youth sports leagues are afraid to pay workers in Connecticut, other employers must be terrified.