Hartford Courant & CT Mirror: Labor Backs Larson
Ryan Barto
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Hartford Courant & CT Mirror: Labor Backs Larson
“You are going from the head of the table to the broom closet.”
“But overall the trades found the mayor to be more amenable to the desires of developers.”
“The contrast with Congressman Larson is incredible”
Hartford, CT — Today, labor made its position clear: Congressman John Larson is the proven ally working families trust. More than a dozen unions representing nearly 40,000 workers across Connecticut announced their support for Larson’s re-election campaign.
Backing from public-sector workers, the building trades, health care employees, machinists, and others reflects the growing momentum and broad coalition behind Larson’s campaign, and their confidence in his record of delivering union jobs, defending collective bargaining, and fighting every day for working families.
At the same time, labor leaders drew a sharp contrast with Luke Bronin, highlighting his anti-labor record as Hartford mayor, a record they say cost workers jobs, wages, and security while prioritizing out-of-state developers.
See what people across the First District are reading about Congressman Larson’s record and support from workers and unions:
CT Mirror: Larson campaign gets aggressive, calls Bronin hostile to labor
By Mark Pazniokas, 12/17/26
Congressman John B. Larson, a long-serving Democrat facing his first serious challenge for renomination, opened a new phase in his campaign Wednesday with an attack describing his best-financed rival, Luke Bronin, as variously hostile or indifferent to unions during his eight years as mayor of Hartford.
Accompanied by endorsements from leaders of unions representing government workers, construction trades and machinists, Larson’s campaign portrayed the congressman as a reliable ally of labor and opponent to President Donald J. Trump’s reductions in the federal workforce.
“From defending collective bargaining rights to creating good-paying union jobs, I have always been in labor’s corner,” Larson said in a statement. “Now, as Trump and his allies intensify their attacks on unions and working families, we need leaders who fight for workers every single day, not just when it’s convenient.”
Larson’s campaign accused Bronin of “union busting,” quoting old news coverage of the municipal union leaders who objected to the mayor’s first-year demands for cost-cutting and concessions to avert bankruptcy by the financially struggling capital city in 2016.
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With Larson, the support by the construction unions predates his time in Congress. The trades, which have 30,000 members and are generally seen as effective players in campaigns, backed Larson in 1998, when he won the congressional seat in a tight race with the favored Miles Rapoport, the liberal secretary of the state, and others.
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Toner said he had little doubt that Bronin’s voting record in Congress would be different from Larson’s. But that was a reason to remain loyal to Larson and his nearly 28 years of contacts and seniority in Congress, Toner said.
“Every vote is going be identical,” Toner said. “All you are doing is forgoing the seniority. You are going from the head of the table to the broom closet.”
Hartford Courant: CT Rep. Larson claims over a dozen union endorsements as leader shades former mayor
By Christopher Keating, 12/17/25
Nearly 15 unions and their leaders have swung their support this week to U.S. Rep. John B. Larson in the most competitive primary for Congress in Connecticut in the 2026 cycle.
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The biggest endorsement came from Joseph P. Toner, executive director of the Connecticut State Building Trades Council since 2021. With 30,000 members, the building trades are known for supplying volunteers to go door-knocking in multiple neighborhoods on behalf of political candidates whom they support. Toner is a strong Larson supporter who previously served as president of the Greater Hartford Building Trades Council when Bronin was serving as mayor.
The building trades, he said, received little work when Bronin was mayor as many of the projects were completed by non-union labor.
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Now, both the Hartford chapter and the statewide building trades council are supporting Larson, along with other unions.
“The contrast with Congressman Larson is incredible,” Toner said.
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Besides the building trades, the endorsements of Larson include several locals of the American Federation of Government Employees, along with the operating engineers, the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association, LIUNA, National Association of Government Employees/International Brotherhood of Police Officers, and others.
Besides Toner, some of the top union leaders include Keith R. Brothers, president of the state building trades council and business manager of the Laborers’ International Union of North America; Richard Bonzani, organizing field director for the operating engineers, Steve Dodd of the sheet metal workers international union; Mike Grabowski, the current president of the Greater Hartford Building Trades Council, and John Harrity, former president Connecticut Council of Machinists.
Larson’s campaign described the endorsements as “the first major wave” that will be followed by other endorsements from unions as the campaign unfolds.
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Congressman John B. Larson proudly represents Connecticut's First District. As the product of public housing, public education, and public service, John knows firsthand how good government can positively impact a person’s life. If you’d like to unsubscribe, click here.