VICTORY AT YALE - NEW HAVEN HOSPITAL

Tonight finally came the announcement of agreements between Yale - New Haven Hospital, Community Organized for Responsible Development, SEIU 1199, and the City of New Haven on how to build a Cancer Center whose benefits can be shared by the whole city. It's a validation of of what we've been saying all along: everyone with a stake in this project deserves at seat at the table. Yale - New Haven Hospital can and will grow in a way that grows the city of New Haven as well. Everyone who framed this as a choice between support for cancer patients and support for community benefits was wrong. The community benefits agreement and labor conduct agreements signed today represent victory for everyone who believes in local democracy and progressive partnership. They mark the end of business as usual in New Haven, and they offer a chance to fashion a national model of responsible development and community partnership. In an era in which business' political and economic power and ability to threaten exit too often translates into unilateral control over the conditions of development, the community benefits agreement model offers a tremendous tool for securing democracy on the local level and safeguarding the health, environmental, housing, and labor concerns of the communities on whom these businesses depend.