Bronin’s anti-labor record — a liability in his failed governor’s race — plaguing his campaign again
Hartford, CT — The Connecticut Working Families Party today announced its endorsement of Rep. John Larson, emphasizing his progressive values and gold standard record delivering for Connecticut.
The endorsement comes as Bronin’s friction with organized labor, which dogged his failed governor’s race, resurfaces, underscoring the contrast with Larson’s deep and enduring support from working families.
“This race is about who will fight for working people and who won’t. John Larson has consistently stood shoulder to shoulder with workers—on picket lines, in Congress, and in the toughest fights,” said Sarah Ganong, state director of Connecticut Working Families Party. “Luke Bronin has sided with corporations and even tried to take away collective bargaining rights. He lost his run for governor by alienating labor and much of the organized left in 2018, and his anti-worker record will sink his campaign for Congress.”
WFP is an influential party of labor unions, community organizations, and grassroots members. The Connecticut Working Families Party was formed in 2002 by a progressive coalition including AFSCME, CWA, and UFCW. WFP’s priorities include taxing the rich to help fund schools, healthcare and other public services working people depend on, strengthening public education, securing universal paid sick leave, and reducing student debt. Its endorsement reflects Larson’s worker-first record and affordability-first agenda targeting rising costs of housing, energy, and childcare.
“This endorsement means a great deal because it comes from people who organize, fight, and deliver for working families every day,” Larson said. “I grew up in a working-class family, and I’ve never forgotten where I came from. That’s why I’ll never back down from Donald Trump, Republicans, or anyone who stands in the way of making life more affordable for the people of our district.”
WFP is backing affordability focused Congressional candidates across the country who are committed to building political power for working people, not billionaires and their lobbyists. In February, Working Families Party national committee member Analilia Mejia scored an upset win in NJ-11.
Connecticut’s WFP has a record of winning races, including State Senators Julie Kushner and Matt Lesser as well as Jahana Hayes’s successful primary for Congress in 2018. It brings significant campaign muscle, including organizing, earned media, and paid communications work.
Earlier this month, Larson earned another leading labor endorsement from UNITE HERE!, which cited the contrast between Larson’s staunch support for labor with Bronin’s record of choosing developers over working people.
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.”
Background:
Larson’s record fighting for affordability and worker-friendly results:
Larson received a 100% voting score from AFL-CIO in 2025, and holds a 98% lifetime score. He is the author of the Social Security 2100 Act and a cosponsor of the PRO Act, the No Tax Breaks for Union Busters Act, and the Empowering Striking Workers Act.
- Passing Connecticut’s first-in-the-country Family and Medical Leave Act in the state senate to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave
- Introducing the American Affordability Act of 2025, which includes: a Renter Tax Credit, a first-time homebuyer tax credit, restoration of ACA tax credits, a $300/month Child Tax Credit, increased tax deductions for student loan interest, and a guarantee that Pell Grants remain tax-free
- Securing a March 2026 Project Labor Agreement requirement for the federal courthouse construction project in Hartford
- Taking on Starbucks and standing with their workers — calling out union-busting, supporting striking baristas, and demanding a fair contract from the CEO
- Writing union job incentives into the Inflation Reduction Act, tying good jobs to clean energy
- Standing on the picket line with IAM machinists seeking a fair contract and UAW workers standing up for the pay, sick leave, and job security they deserve
As mayor of Hartford, Bronin’s record was defined by an anti-worker agenda:
When Luke Bronin ran for governor in 2018, he was plagued by hostility from public-sector unions and told to “Stay Home” by labor leaders. Bronin’s record of financial-sector alignment supports labor leaders’ concerns that his claims of “new energy” signal a corporate-friendly, profit-first agenda that would leave working Connecticut families behind.
- Union busting. During his budget crisis in Hartford, one of Bronin’s first moves was a power grab to undermine labor. Sgt. Richard Holton, President of the Hartford Police Union, called it “union busting” as Bronin attempted to strip collective bargaining rights and consolidate power. CT AFL-CIO President Lori Pelletier said that Bronin’s strategy revealed that “it’s his way or the highway.”
- Refusing to negotiate with employees in a “productive or meaningful manner,” according to the president of the Hartford Firefighters Association.
- Cut benefits and support for first responders, including firefighters and police. Bronin imposed a wage freeze, pushed workers onto a high-deductible health plan, reduced sick-leave benefits, increased pension contributions, and made it more difficult for frontline workers to retire.
- Chose developers over workers. Bronin favored out-of-state developers instead of Connecticut businesses and failed to prioritize union workers and Project Labor Agreements, which would have delivered strong wages, benefits, and local job opportunities for workers in his town. As Joe Toner of the Hartford Building Trades Council put it, “When the bell rang, [Bronin] never was standing next to us. John was the opposite.”
The Endorsements:
The endorsement adds to Larson’s strong and growing coalition of worker and labor-affiliated support, which includes IAM, LIUNA, AFGE Locals 1164, 1674, and 2138, UNITE HERE, SMART, Greater Hartford Building Trades, Nurses for America, CT State Building Trades Council, and the AFL-CIO-founded Alliance for Retired Americans, among others.
In addition to labor, Larson has support from a broad coalition of local, statewide, and national supporters, including the state’s entire Congressional Delegation, Attorney General Tong, state legislators, mayors, local elected leaders and activists, labor unions representing more than 40,000 workers across Connecticut, the only Democratic Town Committee to endorse in the race, U.S.House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, and national advocacy groups such as Planned Parenthood, League of Conservation Voters, and Nurses for America.