Safe Staffing

Heeding the Warnings of a Care Catastrophe

Thu, 01/12/2023 - 3:30pm
Members of AFT Connecticut-affiliated local unions representing health professionals are raising awareness of dangerous conditions in their hospitals, clinics, school and community-based facilities. Danbury Nurses Union Unit 47 member Amanda Hutchins Warren, RN (in photo, below) in a recent opinion piece called out her employer's role in fueling a worsening patient care crisis. As chair of her facility's staffing committee, she also urged a more "holistic approach" than individual unit fixes:
 

Report: Troubling Healthcare Staffing Crisis Detailed

Thu, 11/17/2022 - 11:30am
AFT, America's fastest-growing healthcare union, unveils a new report that includes strategies to improve the nation's healthcare facilities and concrete examples of successful implementation.
 

Demanding Action to Reverse Critical Short-Staffing Conditions

Mon, 10/04/2021 - 5:30pm
State employees who provide essential public services are urging Governor Ned Lamont take immediate steps to address safety issues compounded by unprecedented levels of short-staffing. They have requested an extension on his recent executive order mandating COVID-19 vaccinations to avert harmful consequences for frontline workers and the residents who depend on them. Tomorrow's compliance deadline threatens to strain public health and safety services already stretched to the breaking point by staff shortfalls.
 

Rockville General Hospital Tech Professionals Choose "Union YES to Do Right by Our Patients"

Fri, 07/12/2019 - 5:30pm
Vernon - Surgical technologists, psychiatric technicians, licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and other technical professionals at Rockville General Hospital (RGH) today empowered themselves as patient advocates by voting to form a union in their workplace. The employees cast ballots in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)-supervised election three weeks after seeking voluntary recognition from Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. of their choice for exclusive representation. The vote codifies negotiating rights for 96 caregivers at the for-profit company's Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN)-managed hospital.
 

Advancing the Fight for Safe Hospitals and Health Facilities

Sat, 06/03/2017 - 10:00am
As advocates build on progress in achieving safe staffing levels in Connecticut hospitals, community clinics and school-based health centers, a bill setting national standards has been introduced in Congress. Federal lawmakers last month raised legislation ahead of national Nurses Appreciation Week that promises to save lives and empower nurses to nurture their patients. Union members who have long fought for appropriate staffing ratios see the bill as progress that promises greater workplace safety and improved patient outcomes.
 
Click here to urge your members of Congress to support the proposal.
 

CREC School Nurses Vote to Strengthen Voice, "Speak Out for Those Who Depend on Us"

Tue, 08/30/2016 - 11:30am
Hartford - Registered and licensed practical nurses who provide vital student healthcare at schools operated by the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) have overwhelmingly chosen to unite for a voice on the job. A Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations (SBLR) agent yesterday counted the ballots cast by the bargaining unit of 30 caregivers employed by the Hartford area's regional educational service center (RESC).
 

Where the Front Line Meets the Bottom Line

Fri, 04/29/2016 - 3:30pm
Hundreds of nurses and health professionals last week gathered in Washington, D.C. to raise their voices on the issues affecting frontline caregivers and their patients. They came to the nation's capitol for AFT's annual Professional Issues Conference (PIC) and Labor Academy for hospital and healthcare workers. More than 30 members of AFT Connecticut-affiliated unions were among the attendees for this year's event, organized under the theme "Where the Front Line Meets the Bottom Line."
 

"More Must be Done" to Prevent Workplace Violence

Tue, 04/19/2016 - 3:30pm
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that violence is a daily and growing threat for America's 15 million healthcare workers. Union members from Connecticut last week joined other caregivers and elected leaders for the formal release of the congressional watchdog's comprehensive study. Among its findings are escalating rates and severity of workplace violence in hospitals and healthcare facilities across the nation.
 
Click here for press coverage of the report's release.

 

Med Techs & Therapists at Danbury, New Milford Hospitals Celebrate First Contract

Fri, 03/11/2016 - 12:30pm
Danbury - Medical technicians and clinicians at Danbury and New Milford Hospitals yesterday voted overwhelmingly to ratify a first-ever contract following more than a year of negotiations with their employer. The union of approximately 260 surgical and radiologic technologists, licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and respiratory therapists cast ballots 10 to one in favor of the tentative agreement reached with management.
 

New Courant Ad Asks for Budget Fairness

Wed, 02/17/2016 - 11:30am
Hartford - The American Federation of Teachers and AFT Connecticut call on Gov. Dannel Malloy and the state legislature to ask the richest residents to pay their fair share of taxes to avert budget cuts that would hurt virtually all Connecticut families.
 
"Connecticut doesn't have a budget problem. Connecticut has a fairness problem," says a full-page ad in The Courant today, purchased by the AFT and AFT Connecticut.
 
Click here to view the ad.
 
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