It has been 25 days since our first positive case of Corvid-19 in Connecticut. We have had 3,128 confirmed cases, (up 559 since yesterday), 69 Connecticut residents have died, 608 are now hospitalized. At least 6 AFT CT Healthcare members have tested positive and some of our non-healthcare members also.
There seems to be much confusion on what hospital policies are on PPE and N95s. Members are being told difference things, even within the same hospital. I spoke to Chanel 8 today and told them as much.
It is not for lack of trying. This is just one of many examples of a request for clarification.
Good morning Donna,
it is beyond disheartening that again yesterday, this union was not provided the YALE update concerning COVID-19. The attached copy was provided by a member rather than by HR as previously requested on March 10, 2020. As well on March 20, 2020 you indicated this matter of the union receiving requested information would be remedied. As recent as yesterday March 30, 2020 I requested an update on this concern (see email below).
During this time of EMERGENCY (with people’s lives on the line) is not a time to be denying the union requested information. The membership has questions and the union needs to be able to address those questions with the latest information available.
For various reasons every member does not have easy access to the communication you send out electronically. If you as an employer are not assuring that every employee is fully aware of the changes in policy, it is a failure. As well the union has the inherent right to the information being communicated to members of our bargaining units. Given the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic a slight delay would reasonable, however eleven days is beyond acceptable, when it would seem the issue could have been remedied by simply adding the union to the distribution list; (From: SIMCovid19 Sent: Monday, March 30, 2020 5:49 PM To: SIMCovid19)
The threat to our members, their family members, the patients they serve, and the public as a whole demands this is not a time to deny the union information it is legally entitled to. It is requested this matter be rectified immediately.
In Windham Hospital a PCT today was told to take off a N95 because they were in a Covid-19 positive room “unless a patient is receiving an aerosol used oxygen assistance, while in the ED, N95s are being worn.
It seems that the hospitals are unwilling or unable to provide clear leadership.
We will have to do this for them.
I will be working with local leaders to come up with what WE believe the policy should be (at a minimum) on PPE and PTO.
Speaking of clarity…….
WASHINGTON – Today, AFSCME, AFT, NEA and SEIU sent a letter condemning the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for lobbying President Trump against using the Defense Production Act to direct emergency production of life-saving Personal Protective Equipment for workers battling COVID-19:
March 29, 2020
Thomas J. Donohue Chief Executive Officer U.S.Chamber of Commerce
1615 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20062
Dear Mr. Donohue:
As our nation faces a public health and economic emergency, it is outrageous that frontline healthcare workers who are heroically caring for our loved ones during this crisis are facing a severe shortage of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) they need to keep themselves, the people they care for, and their families safe and healthy.
It is immoral that frontline healthcare workers are forced to reuse masks and other PPE because employers and states have been forced to scavenge for protective equipment, with the market value of masks now selling for up to five times the production price.
Today, millions of workers are on the job providing healthcare and essential services without the safety protections they need—when we put frontline workers at risk, we put our entire population’s health and safety in jeopardy.
Right now, nurses are assessing high-risk patients, school janitors are deep cleaning classrooms, teachers’ aides aredeliveringmealstochildrenathome,homecareprovidersarecaringforthemostvulnerable, public service workers are maintaining essential services, and cashiers are scanning groceries—all at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus without enough PPE to lessen exposure. It’s those same workers who, after a long shift, return home to their families and community not knowing what they were exposed to that day. It’s clear: our country can’t safely get back to work without first protecting those who are currently working on the front lines.
On behalf of the eight million healthcare, service, education, and public service workers represented by our unions, we demand that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce join with us to prioritize the health and safety of working Americans as a way to restore the financial well-being of our country during the COVID-19 crisis.
We condemn the Chamber’s efforts to lobby President Trump against using the Defense Production Act to direct emergency production of life-saving PPE and medical equipment such as ventilators. In times of extreme national crisis, we must put politics and profits aside, and we must come together to do what’s
best for people: that means producing and distributing more equipment, quickly, by any means necessary. Lives literally depend on it.
In order to combat the spread of coronavirus, we must increase the supply of life-saving medical equipment and PPE, including gloves, N95 masks, face shields and gowns, to provide the highest standards of safe care and protect workers. As part of the Defense Production Act, President Trump has the power to prioritize the distribution of existing supplies and accelerate the production of certain products, like the ventilators used to treat the sickest patients with coronavirus and other serious illnesses. But rather than supporting the use of his authority as Commander in Chief to get vitally-needed supplies and protective gear, President Trump at the urging of the Chamber of Commerce is delaying action. The idea that the Chamber would put bottom-line profits and adherence to some mistaken principle of capitalism ahead of the safety of American workers and the public at large is difficult to fathom.
President Trump’s decision to use the Defense Powers Act to compel GM to manufacture ventilators shows what is possible. It should be only the beginning, not a one-off action done out of spite. The president must use his powers to ensure that every frontline worker has enough PPE to protect themselves and others for the duration of this crisis.
Every day we delay the production and distribution of vital PPE is costing lives and livelihoods and may drive the eventual collapse of businesses, from Main Street to Wall Street. While your organization insists that the Defense Protection Act imposes “red tape on companies precisely when they need flexibility to deal with closed borders and shuttered factories,” imagine the respiratory therapist who must track down a ventilator while also managing a patient’s every last breath.
The lack of PPE has further amplified this crisis because we don’t have clear guidance for workers in critical jobs based on science; rather it is driven by the lack of PPE and insufficient testing. Guidance has become cloudy and less stringent because there simply isn’t enough PPE or testing for people to do the jobs that are critical for our country to function.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representing the largest, most powerful corporations, can do what’s right for all working people—Black, white, brown and Asian Pacific Islander—who keep your businesses running and your doors open.
We, as presidents of four of the largest unions representing working people in America, urge you to join us in calling on President Trump to exercise all his powers to fight the war against COVID-19 by speeding the production of urgently needed Personal Protective Equipment and ensure it is routed to states for distribution across healthcare and other front- line service industries.
We are inspired by the frontline workers who are putting their lives on this line for the American people, and by the can-do spirit of cooperation evident in families and neighborhoods across the country. We are a nation that mobilized all of our resources to win World War II, created the Marshall Plan to rebuild war-torn Europe, and put a man on the moon. We can do anything we put our minds to, together. But we need national leadership from the Trump Administration and the business community to work with working people to defeat this pandemic and protect all workers.
Sincerely,
Mary Kay Henry, President
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Lee Saunders, President
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Randi Weingarten, President
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Lily Eskelsen García, President National Education Association (NEA)
This came to me from the CEO of Hartford Healthcare. It made me sick because I know what is happening in HHC hospitals. As one employee told me, “talks out of both sides of his mouth.”
Dear Colleagues,
Yesterday, Gov. Ned Lamont invited me on behalf of Hartford HealthCare to join his new Governor’s Health System Response Team, and serve as co-chair along with two other Connecticut healthcare leaders. He asked us to lead and coordinate efforts across all Connecticut hospitals and advise the Governor’s Unified Command structure on what is needed to make sure that, across the state, we have the needed resources, supplies, and personnel to make sure we are able to care our residents now and for what’s ahead.
Please remember.
If any of your members become ill, we want to know.
If any of your members is placed in a situation due to lack of PPE that makes them feel unsafe, we want to know.
If any of your members loses pay or is told they will have to use PTO time, we want to know.
Please continue to push back against unsafe or unfair work conditions. When we push back they back down.
Many have reached out to me asking what they could do to help. Today I received a FB message from my niece in China and a DTC chair in a neighboring town. We are working on an idea of how that community support can be used effectively.
Thank you as always for all you do. You are the heroes, even if hospitals don’t treat you that way.
Be safe
John
John Brady RN
Vice President
AFT Connecticut
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