Politics

Demanding Retirement Security for All

Fri, 02/24/2023 - 11:30am
Nearly 40 years ago, two provisions in the Social Security Act were created with the intent of equally treating workers who pay Social Security taxes throughout their careers and those who do not on all of their earnings. However, the provisions—the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)—have caused nearly 2 million American workers to be denied benefits because they chose to enter public service. 
 

"Having Our Backs Every Step of the Way" Helps Yield Big Gains

Tue, 01/31/2023 - 5:30pm
It is often said that contractual gains cannot be made at the negotiating table alone; they additionally depend on workplace, community and political collective action. This complete formula is particularly important in order to overcome many historical and structural impediments embedded in many fields and industries. In this collective bargaining report, we're highlighting a landmark contract victory where by choosing “Union YES,” members helped resolve some of modern healthcare’s biggest challenges.
 

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:
 

Urging Solutions to the Student Learning Crisis

Thu, 12/08/2022 - 12:30pm
Everyone deserves a secure retirement - particularly those who have devoted their careers to the common good. Hartford Federation of Teachers - Retired chapter member Margaret Ricks (left, in photo below) and AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel (right) propose this shared value as foundational to solving the nation’s school staffing shortage. Together in a recent op-ed they urged elected officials to take action for our state’s students who "need and deserve highly qualified teachers at the head of their classrooms:"
 

Rejecting the "New Normal" of Gun Violence

Fri, 11/18/2022 - 5:30pm
For public school students and the teachers and education personnel who provide and support their learning, active shooter drills have become routine. Tiffany Moyer-Washington (in photo, below), a capstone and English Electives educator at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy in a recent op-ed spoke for many of her colleagues in demanding better. The Hartford Federation of Teachers union member urges action because “this is not the world we want to live in:”
 

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.
 

Taking Action to Resolve Windham’s Patient Care Crisis

Fri, 09/16/2022 - 2:30pm
Caregivers in the state's "Quiet Corner" are joining the growing chorus of their colleagues across the nation calling strikes when provoked by heartless health chains. Local AFT Connecticut-affiliated union leaders in a joint commentary explained how members reached this difficult decision. Windham Federation of Professional Nurses President Andrea Riley, RN, (left photo, below) and Windham Community Memorial Hospital (WCMH) Employees United President Heather Howlett, CA (right photo) collectively urged support from "all who share our concerns:"
 

Resisting a Deceptive, Anti-Union Agenda

Wed, 08/31/2022 - 3:30pm
Escalating attempts by billionaire-bankrolled local front groups to undermine Connecticut's labor movement are falling flat and destined for failure. That's the message AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel (right, in photo below) delivered in a recent letter to the editor of CT Examiner. She flunked a mouthpiece who in a previous published letter carried water for "shadowy, dark money-funded front groups with an agenda opposed to working peoples' interests:"
 

Offering Simple Lessons in Public School Finance

Fri, 07/08/2022 - 12:30pm
AFT Connecticut Field Representative Ed Leavy brings his experience in public education and labor activism to a wider audience in a recent nationally-published commentary. He delves into the deep disparities in our state public schools' funding, exposing a wide chasm between wealthy communities and cities struggling with poverty. Leavy's analysis serves as a warning of an approaching tipping point that "will become impossible to ignore:"
 

Resisting a Right-Wing Take-Over of Public Ed

Tue, 08/31/2021 - 5:30pm
Municipal elections provide union households the opportunity to impact employment and educational policies in their community’s schools. This basic civic responsibility in 2021 takes on added urgency; deep-pocketed special interests are funding local candidates to carry out extremist agendas. Members stepping up to demonstrate that “labor is your neighbor” provide a path forward this fall for defending educators' hard-fought gains and children’s future learning opportunities.
 
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