The powerful and influential 300,000-member multi-industry union joins a broad slate of labor organizations backing Larson for re-election
Bronin’s anti-worker record continues to be a political liability, as it was in his failed run for governor
Hartford, CT — UNITE HERE, the influential and powerful multi-industry union has announced it is endorsing John Larson, highlighting his progressive, pro-labor record or delivering results for Connecticut. Larson will accept the endorsement at a UNITE HERE worker-led picket in front of the DoubleTree in Hartford tomorrow.
“John Larson comes from a working class, union family. He’s never forgotten that and has always stood with working families against corporate interests,” said Joshua Stanley, Secretary-Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 217 and Vice President of UNITE HERE International Union. “With the stakes so high, we need to keep John Larson in Congress fighting for us. Generational change for the Democratic Party cannot mean abandoning workers and the legacy that elected leaders like Larson have built by having our backs. We cannot sit by during this affordability crisis and watch candidates who have sided with anti-worker, union-busting employers run against champions for working families. We’re committed to ensuring John Larson is reelected.”
“UNITE HERE represents the very backbone of our economy—workers who keep our hotels running, serve our communities, and power our state every single day. I’m proud to stand with them and to earn their support. I’ll never stop fighting to raise wages, protect the right to organize, and make sure every worker is treated with dignity and respect,” Larson said. “Our workers deserve an ally who will fight for them every day, not an antagonist who has tried to end their labor rights.”
UNITE HERE represents workers across the hotel, food service, laundry, gaming, manufacturing, and airport industries. Its membership is predominantly women and people of color, with deep roots in immigrant communities.
Larson will accept the endorsement at a picket in front of the DoubleTree organized by UNITE HERE 217. Larson has supported the union’s effort to protect jobs cut by the Waterford group as part of the DoubleTree redevelopment project and in the latest contract negotiations at the DoubleTree.
In contrast, former Harford Mayor Luke Bronin championed a developer-friendly framework for the DoubleTree – leading to the permanent loss of over 100 union jobs and other projects in the area -including around the Yard Goats stadium, while failing to secure basic labor protections. Bronin’s anti-worker, pro-developer agenda has earned him the support of DoubleTree developers, Mark and Len Wolman, along with developer Randy Salvatore, who have all given cash to his campaign this election.
In February, Larson led his congressional delegation colleagues in a letter to the Waterford Group, led by Len Wolman, calling for a fair contract for workers at the DoubleTree in Hartford, while Wolman’s company refuses to offer the same pay and benefits that unionized hotel workers have negotiated in the region since the pandemic, in cities such as New Haven, Providence, Stamford and Bronin’s hometown of Greenwich.
Bronin’s longstanding antagonistic relationship with progressives and labor unions is weighing on him in this campaign as it did in his failed race for governor. When he ran for governor in 2018, he was plagued by hostility from unions and told to “Stay Home” by labor leaders.
Bronin’s pro-development and union-busting record support concerns that his claims of “new energy” mean a corporate-friendly, profit-first agenda that would leave working Connecticut families behind.
Larson has consistently won the support of labor and working families for his record protecting union jobs, supporting pro worker legislation such as the PRO Act and securing Project Labor Agreement requirements, and joining workers on the picket lines with IAM machinists seeking a fair contract and UAW workers standing up for the pay, sick leave, and job security they deserve.
UNITE HERE joins a growing coalition of labor groups that have endorsed Larson, including the Connecticut State Building Trades Council, LIUNA, IAM, AFGE Locals 1164, 1674, and 2138, and the Alliance for Retired Americans (founded by AFL-CIO).
Larson’s commanding lead in endorsements in the race is a reflection of his support among voters. He holds a 23-point lead in the race, with more support than the next two candidates combined. He leads in every region of the district. Recent polling showed that 80% of Democratic likely primary voters surveyed believe that Larson “delivers for Connecticut.”