Community Engagement

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.
 

Offering Hope through Union Activism

Thu, 10/13/2022 - 5:00pm
Members of AFT Connecticut-affiliated local unions representing health professionals in an increasingly consolidated industry are raising the alarm when it comes to an escalating patient care crisis. In an interview for our national union's online "AFT Health Care," Backus Federation of Nurses President Sherri Dayton (left in photo, below) offers insights and suggestions for overcoming challenges. Her timely advice includes supporting candidates seeking political office this November running on the "labor is your neighbor" platform:

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:"
 

Preserving a Community’s Vital Health Services

Mon, 08/22/2022 - 5:30pm
Members of AFT Connecticut-affiliated local unions representing health professionals employed by Hartford HealthCare (HHC) are resisting attempts to gut their patients' obstetric services. In a recent opinion piece, Natchaug Hospital Unions United Vice President and community coalition leader Brenda Buchbinder (at microphone, in photo below) called out the chain's neglect, urging executives make "maternity services safe and local once more."
 

Mobilizing Because "We Can't Afford to Sit on the Sidelines"

Mon, 05/24/2021 - 6:30pm
Union activists in the final stretch of the 2021 legislative session have escalated efforts to urge better choices while lawmakers and the governor deliberate over a biennial state budget. Among those leading the charge are state employees who have experienced firsthand the negative consequences of decades of failed austerity policies. They have over the past month amplified earlier demands to embrace a "recovery for all" approach by engaging in collective action.
 

Comments on Protests for Justice Following Murder of George Floyd

Wed, 06/03/2020 - 10:00am
AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel today made the following public remarks in response to demonstrations across the state and country demanding accountability for last week’s police killing in Minneapolis:
 

Honoring "Heroes" for Going the Extra Mile

Thu, 07/19/2018 - 5:30pm
Five Connecticut caregivers this past weekend were recognized at our national union’s biennial convention for volunteering to provide assistance following the devastation of two hurricanes. The registered nurses in April had joined a team of mainland health professionals for a relief mission to the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Together they performed vision and hearing screenings for over 9,000 public school students in the territory, an accomplishment that earned them accolades as "AFT Heroes" for 2018.
 

Paraeducators in New London Schools Win Union Recognition; "Ready to Work Together"

Fri, 06/30/2017 - 5:30pm
New London — Paraprofessionals, teaching assistants and tutors who support the education of students in New London Public Schools (NLPS) are reacting to officials' support for their free choice to form a union. Board of Education (BOE) members last night voted unanimously to approve an agreement creating a new labor-management partnership with the district's 160 classroom and school support staff.
 

Spotlight: Educators Committed to Attendance "Every Day"

Fri, 09/30/2016 - 3:30pm
Educators, classroom support staff and school social workers know firsthand that for students, a day lost to absenteeism is a day lost to learning. Their concerns were reinforced by a landmark brief released earlier this month on national chronic absence data that reveals the true scope of the problem. As the month set aside to raise awareness of the issue wraps up, we're spotlighting union members devoted to helping students and families understand how achievement is connected to attendance.
 
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