Local 34 Endorses Dillon

by Thomas Breen

Local 34 executive board member Bryanna Wingate and Dillon campaign volunteer Matt Smith get ready to canvass.

State Rep. Pat Dillon stood alongside a group of alders and Yale union leaders inside the Edgewood Park gazebo Saturday morning as she accepted the endorsement of the politically influential UNITE HERE Local 34 — and pledged to continue supporting the unionization of Yale postdocs.

“I want to protect not just the science, but the young scientists,” Dillon told two dozen sign-waving supporters in front of her.

Dillon noted how excited she was to attend a recent rally by Yale postdocs in their bid to form a union. The postdocs ultimately voted 859-31 in late April to be represented by the university’s graduate student-worker union, UNITE HERE Local 33.

“We need to make sure that we keep them,” Dillon said on Saturday. “Some places are dumping the postdocs and they’re protecting the older, higher-wage — the people that bring in the big grants. We want to protect the future scientists that are training here. I am so excited that you’re organizing the postdocs, and that is a priority.”

Dillon offered those remarks Saturday as she secured yet another endorsement in her bid for two more years in office representing the 92nd State House District, which covers parts of Amity, Westville, Edgewood, West River, Dwight, and the Hill.

Early voting begins on Monday for the three-way Democratic primary race. Dillon, a 21-term incumbent and deputy majority leader, is being challenged by fellow Democrats Eli Sabin, a former downtown alder, and Justin Farmer, a former Hamden Legislative Council member. Click here, here, and here to read about a debate the Independent hosted on Tuesday with the three candidates. The primary itself will take place on Aug. 11.

Saturday’s endorsement press conference — which preceded a campaign canvass — was a reminder of just how closely connected Yale’s UNITE HERE unions and the Board of Alders remain.

In attendance were Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, a Local 35 chief steward; Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate, a Local 35 vice president; Westville Alder Adam Marchand, a Local 34 chief steward; Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton; Dwight Alder Frank Douglass; and Ellen Cupo, a recent Wooster Square alder who is now a vice president at Local 34. Also on scene was fellow State Rep. Toni Walker, of New Haven’s 93rd State House District, who endorsed Dillon on Thursday.

Marchand introduced himself at the event as both an alder and a “proud supporter of Dillon.” He said that the executive board of Local 34 — which represents roughly 4,000 clerical and technical workers at the university — recently voted to endorse Dillon’s reelection campaign.

Two Local 34 executive board members — Bryanna Wingate and Art Greiser — then spoke up about why they and their union are backing Dillon.

Wingate is a Yale Medicine Care Center staffer, a Ward 29 Democratic co-chair, and the daughter of Ward 29’s alder, Brian Wingate. She said on Saturday that she helped interview candidates as part of Local 34’s endorsement process.

“What stood out for me for Pat Dillon was, she didn’t speak about what she wanted to do. She didn’t think about what she could do. She spoke about what she had already done,” Wingate said. “She had the ability to tell stories of working alongside Local 34 in our fights against Yale. She believes that Local 34 and Yale and her can do better for this city.”

Greiser works in information technology (IT) at Yale and has been on Local 34’s executive board for 15 years. He said that, as a Yale employee, “I see what they do for the community, and what they fall short on. Pat’s good at holding them accountable, not just for our workers, but for the whole community.”

“She’s a fighter,” Greiser continued. “It’s her instincts. We don’t have to be in contact all the time. She’s already on our side.”

Dillon thanked the union for endorsing her. “Yale is a major employer. Local 34 is a major force in this city,” she said.

She noted that “people do not trust a lot of our major institutions, and there’s a reason [for that]. Some of it is self-inflicted, but some of it is an active campaign to discredit some institutions. But we cannot govern without trust.”

Dillon also said that her style of politics is not to “preen or pander. Toni [Walker] and I don’t do a press conference every time we do something. Apparently that’s a bad thing. … We just do the work.”

What are Local 34’s legislative priorities? What would they like to see Dillon work on if they help send her back to Hartford next session?

“We want our elected officials to understand the pivotal role that Yale plays in New Haven,” Marchand replied, “and to join with us in calling for Yale to do more for the city, and we want Yale to be a responsible employer.”

He noted the ongoing contract negotiations between Yale and Locals 34 and 35. (Local 35 represents Yale’s maintenance and service workers.) He also pointed to the recent vote by postdocs to be represented by Local 33.

“We want to make sure that the folks that are in office and that are in positions of authority and responsibility at the state and the city are standing in support with the workers at the university as they seek to get fair and good contracts from Yale,” Marchand said, “and stand with all of us in the community in challenging the university to continue to do more for the City of New Haven. That’s our top priority.”

Jim Owen, Dillon, and State Rep. Toni Walker.

Under the gazebo on Saturday.