Oh no........
Traffic jam on the interstate, as far ahead as I could see.
I was near an exit, so I did what any normal person would do.
I pulled a U turn and drove up the on ramp.
I mean, it's not like anyone was coming down to drive into a traffic jam.
The back roads were better but still clogged with traffic.
I called the hospital and asked for the info desk. They seamed a bit unbelieving but it was true. I was meeting the hospital CEO, CNO, and chief of staff, to give US Senator Chris Murphy a tour of our hospital.
And....I was late.
Not to worry, I arrived about 2 minutes before Chris did.
We toured several parts of the hospital and then met with nonprofit healthcare providers from the area in a roundtable discussion.
The changes in healthcare are a bit like the changes in technology, they evolve quicker and quicker every day. The concerns of the people around the table are how to make it work.
Chris Murphy is a friend of the working class and the poor. He is pragmatic. He believes the road ahead will have twists and turns, but that ahead is the only way to go. He listens to all without a preconceived notion. He's a hard worker.
OK, I'm a fan, but it's more than that, more important than that, I have respect for him, and his staff.
And he and his staff have respect for me, our Local, and all of organized labor. That's why they asked that I join them for the tour.
Respect can be contagious.
I believe that at the end of the day the relationship between Labor and Management was improved, a result of us working together.
The road ahead, of healthcare and Labor/Management, will have twists and turns. (It may even have traffic jams). But like Chris, I believe that only direction to go is ahead, even if we sometimes need to use on ramps and back roads.
