Alyssa Chang, Staff Photographer

A sea of “union pride” t-shirts packed Scantlebury Park on Tuesday afternoon as hundreds of New Haveners gathered to confront what the rally’s organizers described as a time of particular hardship for working-class residents.

The rally, organized by UNITE HERE unions and New Haven Rising — an affiliated community group that advocates for racial, economic and social justice — featured high-profile local speakers and live music. Organizers argued that working families are being squeezed by low wages, unaffordable housing and limited job opportunities while large institutions and developers continue to expand their wealth.

“All of the people are fighting for the same thing,” Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, who represents West River’s Ward 23, said at the rally. Walker-Myers is the chief steward of UNITE HERE Local 35, Yale service and maintenance workers’ union.

“Affordable housing, youth opportunities, education, good union jobs — we are here to fight for all of these things,” Walker-Myers added.

Speakers at the rally called for a united push across generations to achieve those four goals. The rally followed a February summit, hosted by UNITE HERE and New Haven Rising, during which union leaders and community organizers called for greater town-gown solidarity in what they described as a pivotal year for working-class residents under President Donald Trump.

Organizers framed Tuesday’s event as part of a broader effort to ensure that working families and young people alike have access to stable housing, high quality schools and various pathways to economic security.

“We are in direct contact with the people that live in this city. For six weeks, we have been knocking on doors,” the Rev. Scott Marks, the director of New Haven Rising, told the News before the rally. “The people of New Haven want to see schools where teachers are not having to enlarge their class sizes, they don’t want to see threats of being laid off and they want to see violence calmed down.”

Other speakers at the rally included Ward 29 Alder Brian Wingate, also a UNITE HERE Local 35 leader, and Leslie Blatteau, the president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers. Norah Laughter ’26, a candidate in the unusually competitive race to represent New Haven’s downtown Ward 1 on the Board of Alders, spoke at the rally.

The crowd of several hundred people was made up of nurses, teachers, students and members of New Haven’s major unions, including Yale’s Locals 33, 34 and 35.

Organizers cited the high turnout and the crowd’s diversity of professions and neighborhoods as evidence of a growing movement for housing, education and economic reform.

Kimberly Hart, a New Haven resident, said she attended the rally to call for more affordable housing. Hart said she paid $1,325 each month for her two-bedroom apartment five years ago, but her rent was since jacked up to $1,600, a jump she feels is pricing her out — and a predicament she believes she shares with many New Haveners.

“This rally shows just how important the values of New Haven are: making sure we are investing in our vulnerable communities,” Mayor Justin Elicker, who attended the rally, told the News.

“The reality is with a lot of the federal cuts, we need to see our local partners do more,” he said. “One of the things you’re going to hear about today is how Yale University needs to do more to help our community. Yale has made a lot of progress in the last five years, but we need to see them build on that.”

Yale’s voluntary financial contribution to the annual city budget has increased under a deal reached in 2021. The agreement will expire next year.

Scantlebury Park is located off of Ashmun Street, adjacent to the Yale Police Department.