"CONFORM TO OUR WAY OF THINKING OR YOU WONT HAVE A JOB"
FEB 10,2026
BY DEREEN SHIRNEKHI
"EX -PRES SUES UNION TWICE"
A workplace dispute between the carpenters union's then president and his future successor has resulted in two federal lawsuits,one alleging racial discrimination,the other defmation
The plaintiff in both cases is Ernest Pagan, a lifelong New Havener who also chairs the City Plan Commission and leads efforts to connect high schoolers to careers in the trades.
Pagan joined North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters of Carpenters Local 326,the Connecticut chapter of the carpenters union representing New England states, as an apprentice in 2004. He eventually began working for the union in 2017 as a business representative, organizer, and union trustee. In 2022, Pagan was elected as the first African American president of Local 326, serving in the role until June 2025.
After a year of workplace conflict within the union, Pagan was fired from his job with the union in October 2024. His two lawsuits against the union — the first filed in September 2024, the second in September 2025 — are currently working their way through the U.S. District Court of Connecticut.
“The whole ordeal is very disappointing,” Pagan said in an interview with the Independent. “I gave so much of my life and my time. To be treated like that was eye-opening and unwarranted.”
Pagan is being represented in both cases by local attorney Jerald Barber.
Unfounded Theft Rumors; “Toxic” Workplace
The first lawsuit was filed in September 2024 and accuses the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters of racial discrimination. That complaint, amended in August 2025, alleges that Pagan experienced racial discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation, and disparate treatment from other similarly situated employees based on his race or complaints about discrimination — in violation of the Civil Rights Act and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act.
According to the complaint, Pagan was an outspoken supporter of the union’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and had publicly complained about racially insensitive working conditions.
The lawsuit details an October 2023 incident where Miguel Fuentes — who, in June 2025, would become Pagan’s successor as president of Local 326 — allegedly accused Pagan and another union leader of stealing money from the union as part of a settlement. According to court filings, Pagan alleged that the accusations were repeated by other union employees “with specific knowledge of falsity of such statements.”
Pagan alleged other instances where Fuentes and some union representatives indicated that he was a “diversity hire,” and that he needed to stop complaining and be grateful for his role.
Fuentes’ allegation, which began circulating as a rumor among union members, kickstarted what both Pagan and the union described as a hostile working relationship between Pagan and Fuentes. Pagan requested that Fuentes be disciplined and said that working with him was “impossible.”
In the defense’s motion for summary judgment, the union said that Fuentes was suspended for three days without pay due to the circulation of rumors. The union also said that leadership had dismissed the rumors as false at a membership meeting.
Pagan requested to work from home due to the rumors and Fuentes’ conduct and was denied by the union. He said that he had submitted a complaint in May 2024 detailing discriminatory conduct he had been facing in the union.
In October 2024, Pagan was fired as a business representative for the union, though he remained in his elected role as president until the following June. Pagan claimed that he was told he was fired for refusing to attend mandatory mediation and for other claims of unsatisfactory work performance.
Pagan is seeking judgment for compensatory damages, economic damages, noneconomic damages, punitive damages, costs, and attorney fees.
The union is being represented by attorneys from Boston-based law office Krakow Souris & Landry, LLC.
In its defense, the union has argued that warnings, suspension, and discharge of Pagan were not related to the rumors that he had allegedly stolen money. Instead, the union has said that disciplinary action was first taken against Pagan and a fellow union leader — who is also currently suing the union — because an outside consultant had investigated the Connecticut office and found “broad consensus that there was a toxic work environment,” with Pagan and the fellow union leader being the reason for it. Pagan received a verbal warning and the other was reassigned to a different office.
In early 2024, after the rumor had been circulating for months, the Connecticut office was reevaluated by the same outside consultant. Pagan allegedly refused to speak with her without his attorney present, and the report was conducted without him. The consultant found that the office environment was still “toxic,” with Pagan as the cause. Pagan received a written warning in March 2024.
According to the union, as the conflict with Fuentes hadn’t cleared up and Pagan experienced a contentious atmosphere at member meetings, Pagan said that he had retained a lawyer. In August 2024, the union said that Pagan told a representative that his race and ethnicity made him feel targeted.
In September 2024, Pagan was ordered to attend mandatory mediation with Fuentes. He didn’t show up and received a one-day suspension. The union said that later, on Oct. 9, 2024, Pagan got into an altercation with a fellow union employee because he allegedly objected to the employee’s “physical description of a member.”
The union investigated the altercation and discharged Pagan on Oct. 21, 2024.
“He offers nothing other than speculation to support his claims that his race or color played any role in his treatment during his employment with the Council,” according to a court filing by the union.
Pagan’s second lawsuit against the union was filed in September 2025. The named defendants in that case are both North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and Miguel Fuentes. The complaint alleges defamation, invasion of privacy by false light, and emotional distress. “Fuentes accused Plaintiff of theft” when he knew that neither Pagan nor a fellow union leader suing the union “were thieves,” according to court filings. Subsequent audits and investigations revealed no funds missing.
The defamatory allegations and adverse discipline, according to Pagan, resulted in his loss of employment.
The union and Fuentes, in their defense, have filed a motion to dismiss with prejudice, arguing that Pagan and his attorney haven’t met the necessary standard of proof for a defamation claim, or to adequately plead that Fuentes was acting within the scope of his employment with the council.
The most recent action in Pagan’s first lawsuit — concerning racial discrimination — is dated Jan. 30 of this year. The most recent action in his second lawsuit — concerning defamation — is dated Nov. 5, 2025. Barber confirmed that it’s up to federal Judge Victor Bolden whether the two cases will be ruled on separately or not.
Reached for comment, Bert Durand, communications director of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, said, “The union stands by its position, made extensively and clearly in the filings for the court.”
Pagan said that he is still a union member and active in the carpenter community. He is leading Career Pathways and coordinating programs in Connecticut high schools, including Hillhouse High School, that connect students to careers in the trades. “I’ve been fortunate to stick to the mission, so to speak,” Pagan said in an interview.
“I feel blessed just because I still can do the work and help and impact my community,” he said. “The union itself is a good thing. I just believe the leadership of this organization — their philosophy changed when Mr. 47 came in office,” he said, referring to President Donald Trump. The union declined to respond to Pagan’s comment.
“Through the whole ordeal,” Pagan said, “I still feel optimistic.”
TARGETING YET ANOTHER UBC OFFICER FOR SPEAKING OUT OR SAYING NO
DO AS YOU ARE TOLD OR YOU WONT HAVE A JOB
BE A GOOD "AT WILL" EMPLOYEE BECAUSE WE CAN FIRE YOU WITHOUT CAUSE
REWARDING STOOGES WHO STAB OTHER MEMBERS IN THE BACK ON COMMAND
SO THE UBC ADMITS BEFORE THE COURT THAT MIGUEL FUENTES, WHO IT IS RUMORED TO HAVE BEEN RAN OUT OF THE UBC SOUTHERN COUNCIL FOR SIMILAR ACTS, FALSELY ACCUSED PAGAN
NO TRIAL
NO SECTION 51B CAUSING DISSENSION .
NO SECTION 51B IMPROPER HARASSMENT OF ANOTHER MEMBER
A FOR SHOW WHACK ON THE PEE PEE AND IS NOW THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL AS A REWARD.
SURPRISE!!
I WONDER HOW MUCH MORE MONEY,IN ADDITION TO THE MONEY PAID TO THE COUNCIL LEGAL HACKS, THIS WILL COST THE MEMBERS
