A first-of-its-kind labor agreement will cover hundreds of fast food workers at 23 Connecticut highway service plazas, marking a rare union foothold in the fast food industry and a milestone for labor organizers nationwide.

The deal, reached between 32BJ SEIU and Applegreen, the primary operator of the plazas, runs from April 1, 2026, through March 1, 2031, and follows years of organizing and worker complaints about wages and conditions. Applegreen did not respond to a request for comment.

Gov. Ned Lamont, who helped broker the contract, praised the agreement, saying the workers “deserve good pay and benefits” and calling the contract recognition of the role they play serving travelers across the state.

“For these fast food workers who work in the Connecticut rest stop plazas, the chance to have a union is something pretty unique for this group of workers,” said Manny Pastreich, president of 32BJ SEIU.

“There are basically no fast food workers in this country who have union representation,” Pastreich said.

The agreement covers workers at plazas along Interstate 95, the Merritt Parkway and other major corridors, after a campaign that began in 2019 and culminated in a union vote late last year.

More predictable schedules, more control over daily life

The contract guarantees more consistent hours and advance scheduling, addressing one of the most common concerns among fast food workers.

“People can know what their hours are in advance. They can get the hours they need and can depend on,” Pastreich said.

Pastreich said predictable scheduling will bring immediate stability to workers who often struggle with inconsistent hours.

“Something that so many of us take for granted is having control over the schedule of our lives, often in the fast food industry is not true,” he said. “So I think that this is a huge step forward.”

He said that stability can help workers manage child care, attend school and better plan their daily lives.

Addressing long-standing workplace concerns

Workers began organizing in 2019 after raising concerns about pay, benefits and working conditions, including allegations of substandard wages and unsafe environments.

The agreement also creates formal workplace protections, including a grievance process, arbitration rights and stronger enforcement of wage standards under state law.

“They 1774882326 have a process to fix problems big and small,” Pastreich said.

“The other thing they have is the 6,000 members in Connecticut of 32BJ and the entire labor movement now behind them,” he said.

Pastreich said that broader support can be critical when serious issues arise on the job.

Could this deal reshape organizing in fast food?

The agreement comes as labor groups search for ways to organize in an industry that has historically resisted unionization.

“The issue of why workers in America don’t have a union has nothing to do with the fact that they don’t want the union,” Pastreich said. “The real challenge to winning the union is overcoming intense employer opposition.”

Pastreich said the Connecticut deal could serve as a model for similar efforts elsewhere.

“I think this group of 300 workers … that’s what 32BJ does … is stand there to give those workers a voice on the job that, alone, they really wouldn’t be able to make the change that they want,” he said.

Immigrant workers at the center of the effort

Pastreich says immigrant workers played a central role in organizing the service plaza workforce, reflecting broader trends within the union.

“At this moment of time when the federal administration is attacking immigrants and trying to drive divisions …our union…was founded by immigrants,” Pastreich said.

“It has always been a majority immigrant union, and continues to this day to be a majority immigrant union,” he said.

“That is who we are…and honestly, are the backbone of the work that this country does,” Pastreich said.

This story was first published March 27, 2026 by Connecticut Public.

WASHINGTON – For 39 minutes and 59 seconds, it look like Connecticut’s bid for a third national title in four seasons was going to fall short.

Until freshman guard Braylon Mullins hit one of the great shot in men’s NCAA Tournament history putting the Huskies into the Final Four with a 73-72 defeat of Duke in the championship game history.

The unlikely finish came after Connecticut trailed by as much as 19 in the first half and were down by two with 10 seconds left. Attempting to get a steal, Silas Demery deflected a pass by Blue Devils guard Cayden Boozer at midcourt. Mullins would recover the deflection and pass to Alex Karaban, who gave him the ball back 35 feet from the basket and the clock winding down.

With no other option, he launched with the game in the balance. It swished through the basket with 0.4 seconds left, keeping Connecticut’s hopes of winning a third national title in four years alive.

“We were trying to force a turnover or foul the worst free-throw shooter, and the ball got tipped,” Mullins said. “I threw the ball to (Karaban). I thought (Karaban) was going to shoot the ball. He threw the ball back to me and I had to shoot it.”

The shot was something that Mullins had recreated growing up. And it comes with Huskies now advancing to the Final Four in Indianapolis. And it will be a homecoming for Mullins, who played 30 minutes from the state’s capital.

“You play for those moments,” Mullins said. “You dream about that. You definitely had that (thought) in the childhood. That’s a one-of-kind experience.”

The heroics from Mullins were preceded by mostly a dominant effort by Duke behind twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer, who combined for 42 points.

Connecticut cut a 15-point halftime lead to single digits with 12:20 left. However, the Blue Devils led by 11 with less than eight minutes left after a pair of free throws.

But the Huskies kept chipping away and didn’t panic while the mostly Duke crowd was anticipating another trip to the Final Four. The poise was helped by a lineup of mostly upperclassmen that had more experience that the freshman-led Duke team.

“It takes strong men,” Connecticut coach Dan Hurley said. “It takes a strong team. It takes a tough team. It takes strong men. It takes a bunch of players that let us coach them, let us coach them hard. That starts in June. We run a very intense program.”

Karaban and Ball, the two regulars remaining from that team won consecutive titles in 2023-24, struggled throughout the game. The duo are the team’s second- and third-leading scorers. They combined for just 15 points on 5-of- 21 shooting

But they each were instrumental in the comeback when the pressure was the greatest.

Ball had two baskets and a free throw in a run that Duke’s 9-point lead with five minutes left lead to 67-65 before the final media timeout.

Karaban’s three-pointer – his only one of the game after four previous misses – with 50 seconds left trimmed the margin to one.

“You just got to keep moving through the game,” Ball said. “Your shot is not always going to fall. You just got to keep playing and make plays that affect the game.”

Karaban made one of those winning plays in the final seconds with his decision to give the ball back to a freshman instead of taking a potential game-winner himself in what could have been the last moment of his college career.

“When I saw Braylon, and for some reason I had the gut instinct to pass it to him,” Karaban said. “I looked at the rim and there was five seconds left, and I thought maybe something better could develop. I had Cam Boozer in front of me, which was a harder, more difficult shot, so I passed it to Braylon.

“When I saw him release it, I was like, that really might go in.”

It did go in, and Duke’s attempt for a miraculous win with less than a second left ended when Karaban tipped away the inbounds pass.

The unlikely victory keeps UConn’s quest to win a third title in four season, something accomplished by only two schools (Kentucky and UCLA) with neither coming in the last 50 years.

The next step will be against No. 3 Illinois in the national semifinals Saturday. While returning to the Final Four again won’t be unique, the experience of getting there was altogether different – even for a redshirt senior like Karaban, who is a rarity in being with the same program since he was a freshman.

“I’m so proud of these guys pushing through the adversity of this game,” Karaban said. “The other two (Elite Eight games) were like 30-point wins. This one actually felt like a March Madness moment where it was like a game-winner: We were down the whole game. For us to respond like that was awesome.”

Two people have been arrested according to Wethersfield Police in connection to an armed robbery at a Family Dollar on Silas Deane Highway Saturday night.

According to police a store clerk said one of the suspects was a male who displayed a handgun and stole merchandise from the store.

They say he was accompanied by a female when fleeing the scene in a red Hyundai Elantra before police arrived.

At 10:43 p.m. Hartford Police officers found the suspect’s vehicle and detained them where they were positively identified as 57-year-old Miguel Ramirez of New Britain and 48-year-old Susette Mendes of Hartford.

During the investigation, police say Ramirez admitted to selling the stolen merchandise in Hartford and was found in possession of a knife.

Ramirez was charged with first-degree robbery, sixth-degree larceny and sixth-degree conspiracy to commit larceny.

Mendes was charged with first-degree robbery, sixth-degree larceny, sixth-degree conspiracy to commit larceny and possession of a controlled substance.

They were each held on a $50,000 bond and scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Monday.