Local 5149 this week

This month's Healthcare Council meeting was Tuesday night in Rocky Hill. Lots going on across the state. The recovery of our Sandy Hook members, their students, colleagues and the community tops the list. AFT CT has opened an office in Newtown to assist.
Also of importance is tomorrow's meeting in Hartford with the governor and legislators, open to all AFT members and two meetings on March 2, one in Waterford with southeastern CT legislators and one with northeastern legislators, probably in Willimantic.
These are great opportunities to express your opinions to elected officials. I will be unable to go tomorrow because of work but our political liaison, Carol Adams, and our VP, Melissa Hunter, are planning on attending. I will be at both the March 2nd meetings. Let me know if you'd like to car pool.
Yesterday was our monthly labor/management meeting.
First let me clarify something I reported in this blog 2 weeks ago about prime time vacation requests. I thought we had reached agreement but there seems to be some confusion on this.
Yesterday we clarified our position and management we get back to us at our next meeting, on February 11. I'll keep you updated.
I'd also like to explain a little about the filing of grievances.
I receive notice of every warning issued to bargaining unit RNs. I keep this information confidential. We have only 10 days to file a grievance. If we miss this time window we forfeit our right to defend members. Often we are not notified of a warning until the 10 day window is almost used up. This forces us to decide.
Ignore the warning or file to protect the member's rights.
I favor protecting the member's rights.
Once we have had time to speak to the member, we can always withdraw the grievance.
Remember, if called to a meeting that could possibly lead to discipline, ask for a union delegate to accompany you. If disciplined without a delegate being present, please inform a delegate or myself immediately.
We will have a food drive on March 9 at the Norwich Stop and Shop. This is in conjunction with the United Way and our security officer union. We had 2 of these last year and its a great way to contribute to our community by restocking local food pantries. More information soon. Please consider donating an hour of your busy lives for this cause.
Have a good week.