Labor Unions, Community Groups Rally In Danbury For Higher Wages

DANBURY, Conn. - Danbury Rising, with the help of OccupyDanbury, staged a rally Wednesday at the Danbury Public Library in support of a movement dubbed "Fight for $15 and a Union."

Union workers and community leaders gather at the Danbury Public Library in support of higher wages and the right to form a union.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Mary Consoli, president of the Danbury Nurses' Union, speaks to the crowd.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Mike Toto of Danbury and Chris Halfar of Redding join the rally.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

The rally draws supporters and participants of all ages.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Fight for $15 is the slogan of the at the rally in Danbury.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Union workers and community leaders gather at the Danbury Library in support of higher wages and the right to form a union.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Skip Pearlman

04/16/2015 5:00 a.m.

Mary Consoli, president of the Danbury Nurses' Union, was one of the speakers in attendance at the Wednesday rally.

"We're here as a group to support the national 'Fight for $15,'" Consoli told the Danbury Daily Voice. "This is a group of unions and community organizers who have come together - calling ourselves the Danbury Rising - to support events.

"Right now we're supporting the 'Fight for 15' because we believe in the right to have fair wages, and also to respect the right to freely choose and organize a union for workers of America."

Those in attendance at the Danbury rally included members of Fight for $15 CT Coalition, AFT Connecticut, Danbury Nurses' Union, Danbury CLC, SEIU and Danbury Rising!

For more than a year, labor unions and community groups in Connecticut have joined in a growing movement of workers fighting to raise wages and to be able to freely choose to organize into unions.

AFT Connecticut has backed these efforts because it says a rising tide truly does lift all boats -- and because too many of its members earn less than $15 per hour. AFT is a union of professionals, including teachers and school support staff, nurses and healthcare workers, higher education faculty and public service workers from more than 90 local unions throughout the state.

In addition to Danbury, organizers also staged rallies on Wednesday in Stamford, Hartford and New London.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Danbury and receive free news updates.