Union leaders tell New London council the city is ignoring labor board order on rec center; mayor says city complied

At the May 4, 2026 New London City Council meeting, Sharon Bousquet, president of AFSCME Local 1303125, accused the city of failing to comply with a Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations decision (Decision 5,400) and urged the council to investigate the city's contract with Power Wellness, the private company managing programming at the new recreation center.

"This is not a disagreement. This is noncompliance with a lawful order," Bousquet said, adding that Power Wellness "continues to perform work that legally belongs to our members without any meaningful bargaining process taking place." She asked the council to examine the city's financial relationship with the contractor and to hold a public hearing through the finance committee that includes testimony from directly affected recreation workers.

Other public commenters reinforced those concerns. Steven Krysnick, vice president of MEU Local 1303125, yielded his time to Bousquet, who said the city had spent taxpayer money defending the contract instead of investing in services. Patrick Sheehan Gomer, a parks and recreation commission member and parent, said a formal investigation would "keep things on the up and up" and help prevent "turf battles" and wasted money. Catherine Foley highlighted access and affordability concerns and said taxpayers will be paying "over $1,200,000 in bonded debt service in fiscal year 2027," urging that the rec department have full access to the facility.

Councilors thanked speakers and signaled follow-up. President Pro Tem Hart said he would question the law director about "how much money was spent defending this labor dispute before the ruling, and any time invested since the decision to today." Councilor Dominguez suggested a joint committee meeting with Parks & Rec and Finance to hear from the rec center director and other staff about the original business plan.

Mayor Michael Passaro responded in the meeting's reports section, saying the administration believes it has complied with the labor board order. "We implemented the Labour Board decision. Power Wellness no longer provides programming," he said, adding that the rec center is run as a membership-based operation and that the city has "about 3,000 members" paying for the facility and rentals. The mayor offered to bring the management company and center directors to a council meeting to explain the business plan.

While speakers and some councilors described the issue as unresolved and asked for an investigation and financial accounting, the mayor framed the dispute as a matter for the state labor board and reiterated confidence in the city's approach. Councilors said they would pursue additional information from the law director and consider committee briefings or an executive session to clarify outstanding legal and financial questions.

Next steps: councilors said they will request financial detail from the law director about legal expenses and continue committee-level follow-up; the state labor board process remains the mechanism for resolving the underlying prohibited-practice complaint.