Below is the letter I plan on sending to our governor concerning the $1,000 bonus put into effect for people in CT who have been on unemployment and now are returning to work. Please read carefully and sign if you agree! Thank you for your time!

To Governor Ned Lamont (or to whom it may concern),

Please allow me to take a few minutes of your time and introduce myself. My name is Hannah Cyr and I have been a resident in the state of Connecticut the entirety of my twenty-three years. From an early age, I was raised to work hard and earn, not take. I have been a part of the working class ever since I was legally allowed to work along with many other residents of Connecticut. 

The reason I am writing to you today is because I was going about my regular morning routine before work, scrolling through my social media and I came across something tremendously disappointing. I am to understand you have made the executive decision to grant a $1,000 “bonus” to the individuals who have taken advantage of the unemployment benefits during the global CoronaVirus pandemic who have just now gone back to work. I thought to myself this possibly cannot be true; with some further research I realized it was in fact true. 

There are many individuals in Connecticut who have not reaped the benefits of unemployment during this pandemic (essential workers if you will) myself being included. We have worked in uncertainty and dangerous conditions without hazard pay or any kind of recognition from our state. Now that the state has officially reopened and companies are ALREADY handing out sign-on bonuses, enticing incentives to bring workers in, and higher wages than those of us who have been working this entire time; my question to you is what do we receive? 

Do you remember as early as preschool, when our parents and teachers told us we could not have something because “if you have it, everyone else has to have it”? Apply that to this situation and ask yourself, “is this fair to the individuals who do right and contribute to society?”. I am infuriated as well as other people living in the state of Connecticut in my situation.

 I was scared for the safety and health of myself and my family, but I continued to go to work in hopes to create a better life for myself. At the time, I was employed at Texas Roadhouse and the owner was very compassionate and understanding throughout the entire process; giving extra shifts to those who needed it and time off to those concerned for their health and families. I picked up extra shifts and painted the restaurant while working my regular shifts and as time went on and everything opened up, I acquired another job and started working up to 65-70 hour weeks, all while most people receiving unemployment were obtaining more money than I was working extremely hard for.

I understand this may not seem like a huge ordeal to you, and it may not be, but to the working class of Connecticut, giving the individuals who have not worked during the pandemic another bonus and not to those of us who have endured the struggles of working through these conditions feels extremely disrespectful. At the VERY least, I feel we should be excluded from paying state taxes for the year of 2022 or at least close to or equal to the amount the individuals who have not earned these benefits have received or will be receiving. 

I have kept quiet when I was on the back-burner working while I noticed nearly everyone on unemployment was receiving more than me, I kept quiet while I CONTINUED to work and noticed they were STILL receiving unemployment, I kept quiet while I noticed my new coworkers were receiving sign-on bonuses and a higher wage for the same position I was working for for months; however, I will NOT keep quiet about this. How much more will we continue to go unnoticed and forgotten about? I sincerely hope my concerns are taken seriously and I do appreciate the time it takes you to look into this. I need to express something must be done about this. Again, I appreciate your time.

Below I have included a link to a petition I created to show how many other Connecticut residents agree with me and would like their voices to also be heard:

Sincerely, Hannah Arlene Cyr and the working class of Connecticut