Union membership on the rise in Conn.

Union members demonstrating in December 2012 at Stamford Government Center. Connecticut had among the largest increases in union membership in the nation in 2014, according to new estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. less Union members demonstrating in December 2012 at Stamford Government Center. Connecticut had among the largest increases in union membership in the nation in 2014, according to new estimates by the U.S. Census ... more Photo: Keelin Daly Buy photo Photo: Keelin Daly Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Union membership on the rise in Conn. 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Connecticut unions added roughly 24,000 people to their combined membership base last year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, giving the state 231,000 unionized workers --more than the numbers labor unions were fielding in 2003.

The state's union membership increased to 14.8 percent of the employed population, up from 13.5 percent in 2013. The percentage gain was the third best in the country, after Colorado and Indiana, with the United States as a whole seeing a 0.2 percent decline in union membership.

Only the year before, DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics had estimated Connecticut's union membership had dropped by 9,000 workers, plummeting by 43,000 workers the year before that. The 2014 gain was surprising given that Connecticut added a net total of 26,000 jobs last year, just 2,000 more than the union membership gains reported by DOL.

In larger unions covering workers in Southwest Connecticut, the 2013 dues collected from members by unions ticked upward in the majority of labor organizations, according to a Hearst analysis of annual reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Lori Pelletier, the head of the Rocky Hill-based Connecticut AFL-CIO, attributed the gains in part due to graduate students at the University of Connecticut unionizing, as well as technicians and clinical workers at the Western Connecticut Health Network that includes Danbury Hospital and New Milford Hospital. But Pelletier added the increases suggested activity from throughout the state.

"Gains can also be attributed to increased employment in the building and construction trades, as well as increased employment at Electric Boat and their suppliers," Pelletier told the Advocate in an email. "Unions are vigilant when it comes to organizing opportunities --the difficulty lies in the union election process. Nationally, businesses spend nearly $8 billion a year fighting union organizing drives. From captive audience meetings, to litigation and intimidation workers today want protections but are afraid of the boss's response."

Student enrollment

Last year UConn graduate students unionized more than 1,500 research and teaching assistants, with help from the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. With the UConn drive taking just eight weeks to sign up 70 percent of eligible members, UAW stated it was the fastest graduate student unionization effort yet.

At a UAW award ceremony in January, UConn students thanked Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for his support as well. The former Stamford mayor got off to a rocky start with labor in 2011 after first taking office as governor, forcing a coalition of unions representing state workers back to the bargaining table by threatening to lay off thousands of members.

In his budget address to the Connecticut General Assembly this week, Malloy had little to say about Connecticut workers, reserving most of his remarks except through the context of education and small businesses driving some of the state's ingenuity.

The key questions for organizers in 2015 is whether unions can sustain their membership growth this year and going forward; and whether that will translate into a bigger say for bills in the Connecticut General Assembly that impact jobs and families.

Pelletier said Connecticut AFL-CIO's agenda for the legislative session includes expanding collective bargaining to agricultural, probate court and legislative management employees at the General Assembly; and that it is working with affiliate unions on workers compensation and pensions, among other initiatives. The Connecticut AFL-CIO has its office in Rocky Hill.

Organized labor continues to notch small victories in 2015. In the past week, the Hartford newsroom of FOX CT voted 35-17 in favor of unionizing, joining the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians.

But one of the largest unions in Fairfield County was sent into a tailspin, after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters placed Teamsters Local 1150 in receivership, saying an independent review board found evidence of misuse of funds by former leaders of the union that covers workers at Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft.

The board stated that Harvey Jackson, the former president of Teamsters Local 1150 who died last August, spent thousands of dollars to cover personal expenses, and that the union's former principal officer Rocco Calo regularly ate out on the union tab when not on transaction-related business.

Teamsters Local 1150 is currently being run by a trustee; as of February, the union has made no mention of the removal of its executive board on its website.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-964-2236; www.twitter.com/casoulman