Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Corona Virus Update 5/19

We are 73 days since our first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Connecticut. We have been in lockdown for 58 days and tomorrow we begin a partial a partial reopening. 
Hospitalizations are down 6 today (914)
23 more have died (3472)

My wife Michelle and I took a ride across the border to Rhode Island today and had lunch at a restaurant! RI started opening yesterday. We sat outside at a table separated from others and we kept a mask on (as did staff) except while eating. 
It was glorious!



Below is a poster for a rally (with appropriate social distancing) by our 4 Locals at L&M to call attention to the challenges our front line workers are facing. 



This is a good one page explanation of the Heroes bill that passed the House and now goes to the Senate. Only one republican in the House voted in favor of the bill and since the Senate is under Republican control, it faces a challenge in being passed there. 



If you are a State Employee member, this will be of interest to you.


Our state employee unions' coalition is working to put a human face on those serving on the frontline of the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) crisis. It is critical that the public hears from those protecting them and continuing to deliver vital services while they have "stayed home and stayed safe." 

Will you record a short video of your experience on a smartphone that we can share on social media

Plan to take 30 seconds right as you wrap up your workday tomorrow to tell the public about your challenges and what you have experienced.Remember — most residents are not seeing the impact COVID-19 is having on state employees. 


When you're done, you can e-mail your video tosebacvideos@gmail.com.

It has never been more important to share our firsthand experience with the public so that they have an accurate picture of the valuable service you deliver. Whether you've been working from home, reporting to a state facility or out in the field during this pandemic, your perspective can help assure a safe “re-opening" of Connecticut.

More to come, and in solidarity,

John Disette
President, A&R Employees Union, AFT Local 4200

Michael Barry
President, Judicial Professional Employees (JPE) Union, AFT Local 4200-B

Ed Leavy
Vice President for Public Employees, AFT Connecticut

Jan Hochadel
President, AFT Connecticut





This is something our very active AFT Retirees are doing, becoming even more effective phone bankers. Our statewide Retiree Local is open to ALL AFT CT retirees, regardless of which Local you are, or were, a member of.
Thank you all again for participating in our Virtual Phone Bank trainings last week. We had a successful turnout and we’d love to continue that going forward.
The Part Two Training will take place this Thursday, May 21 at 4:00 pm Eastern Time.
You can register for the training using this link: https://forms.gle/7DeXkDFXKgReNfWZ7
The Part Two training will last about 1 hour: we plan to quickly review, spend most of the time putting what we’ve learned into action, and then debrief before we conclude for the day.
Once you register for the training, the Zoom links will be sent to you later this week. In the meantime, I am reattaching the materials on the HEROES Act to review before the training. You can also find information on how to set up Google Voice if you wish HERE. 
We are also hosting another session of the Introductory level training the same day at 3:15 pm Eastern Time for anyone who did not participate in it previously. Feel free to share the opportunity it with your fellow members. If anyone is interested, they can  register using the same link: https://forms.gle/7DeXkDFXKgReNfWZ7
Looking forward to seeing you again on Thursday!
In Solidarity, 
Meghan E. Rozarie
Senior Associate, Organization & Field Services, Retiree Program


Be well,
John 

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