Left the house this morning in plenty of time to make our 6:09 flight to Washington for the AFT Healthcare Professional Issues Conference.
I hit the first pothole about 2 miles from my house, a big one that jarred us awake.
About 2 miles later the first warning light came on……
low tire pressure.
We pulled over at a gas station on the CT/RI state line and checked.
Had about 11 pounds of pressure about then.
And, you could hear the remaining air leaking out of the tire.
Great, now I’m worried about missing he flight.
Changed to the little donut tire (not an easy task) and hit the road again.
OK, it will be tight, but we can still do this.
I hit the second pothole when I hit the route 6 bypass in Johnson.
I had already thought I should pull over before I got to the interstate and just check the donut tire (it needed air back at the gas station.)
Now I was sure I should.
Almost flat.
Great, now what.
My heart started bounding in that way like it did the first time you lost your mom in a clothing store.
Michelle talked me off the ledge.
Call AAA.
After several minutes they understood where we were and said they could get a truck to us by 5:10 and there was a tire place nearby that they could tow us to.
But it didn’t open till 7:00.
I guess we could leave the car with a note and Uber to the airport?
Now, what about the flight?
I was on the phone with a lovey woman with a British accent when the tow truck arrived.
She had rebooked us onto a 9:15 flight.
The gentleman on the tow truck heard our story, asked were we needed to get and where we lived.
Turns out he lives in our town, not far from us, and BTW, knows which pothole (the first one) I was speaking about.
As he’s loading up the car he’s trying to figure some way to get us to the airport on time. Actually said he’d take us except they don’t let him take the truck that far.
As he’s driving to the tire place (that opens at 7:00) he has a thought.
He calls a friend who owns a nearby garage.
The friend is in early today.
He says stop by, he’ll see what he can do.
The garage owner tries to plug the tire (the first one, not the donut)
It doesn’t hold.
He looks in the end of the garage.
“I got one we can use, slightly different size, but it will get you where you need to go.”
He changes the tire as the tow driver gets ready to leave (now that he’s assured we’re in good hands)
I catch the driver and try to give him $20 bucks.
He refuses.
He says give it to him, gesturing to the guy who owns the garage who is busy changing my tire.
I don’t know what to say.
A few minutes later the tire is changed and he also bangs out a dent in the donut tire rim, fills it with air and puts it in my trunk.
“Thanks a lot man, what do I owe you?”
“Nothing, have a good day. I’m not even officially open yet.”
Again, I don’t know what to say.
I tell him to tow driver wouldn’t take any money either.
He shrugs.
I thrust $40 into his hand and tell him to buy his buddy a coffee.
And off to the airport we go for a 9:15 flight.
I‘m truly at a loss for words.
I know a lot of real nice, real generous people.
My friends are like this.
But the generosity of these two strangers who treated us like family was so unexpected.
I often deal with people who are out for themselves, looking to maximize profits even if it means hurting other people.
Today on the road to Warwick, I met my Higher Power………not once, but twice.
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Saturday, April 20, 2019
We control the means of production
We were on the strike lines this week in New England, supporting our sisters and brothers of UFCW who work at Stop & Shop, a large regional food store chain. They are fighting not for more, but to minimize what they stand to lose in pay and healthcare, all while their company turns a profit for it’s forgiven owners. Members of other unions and the public are behind them, with donations of food and money. AFT Connecticut and AFSCME Council 4 voted to donate $2500 each and follow that with another $500 each per week till the strike is resolved. Other unions followed with donations of their own.
This week also brought news out of Louisiana of the death of another nurse, apparently the result of an attack by a patient. The loss of a sister to workplace violence is both tragic and too common.
I ask for your help in this.
Please contact your congressperson and senators.
Ask them to cosponsor HR 1309 and SB 851, companion bills that would create OSHA protections for Healthcare and Social Workers against Workplace Violence.
Easter and Passover are a time of reflection and as I reflected on this week, I thought of a speech delivered by Randi Weingarten at the National Press Club on Thursday.
One of the things Randi spoke about was the de-professionalization of Teaching.
As I come to know teachers better and better, I realize that their struggles are both different but the same as the struggles of nurses and healthcare professionals.
They are also the struggles of our PSRPs and public servants.
I think they are related to the struggles of our UFCW workers too.
Basic benefits and a voice in the workplace are stripped away.
Healthcare workers are subject to violence and understaffing.
Educators forced to teach to the test, underfunded, and facing violence in the classroom.
Public servants vilified as the “cause” of financial woes, when indeed, they are part of the solution.
Meat cutters and cashiers struggle to make a living wage.
While foreign owners, healthcare corporations, and private investors reap the profits of our toils.
Our UFCW sisters and brothers remind us, as the teachers of Los Angeles, Chicago, and many states recently have.
While we may not control the businesses…..
We control the means of production
This week also brought news out of Louisiana of the death of another nurse, apparently the result of an attack by a patient. The loss of a sister to workplace violence is both tragic and too common.
I ask for your help in this.
Please contact your congressperson and senators.
Ask them to cosponsor HR 1309 and SB 851, companion bills that would create OSHA protections for Healthcare and Social Workers against Workplace Violence.
Easter and Passover are a time of reflection and as I reflected on this week, I thought of a speech delivered by Randi Weingarten at the National Press Club on Thursday.
One of the things Randi spoke about was the de-professionalization of Teaching.
As I come to know teachers better and better, I realize that their struggles are both different but the same as the struggles of nurses and healthcare professionals.
They are also the struggles of our PSRPs and public servants.
I think they are related to the struggles of our UFCW workers too.
Basic benefits and a voice in the workplace are stripped away.
Healthcare workers are subject to violence and understaffing.
Educators forced to teach to the test, underfunded, and facing violence in the classroom.
Public servants vilified as the “cause” of financial woes, when indeed, they are part of the solution.
Meat cutters and cashiers struggle to make a living wage.
While foreign owners, healthcare corporations, and private investors reap the profits of our toils.
Our UFCW sisters and brothers remind us, as the teachers of Los Angeles, Chicago, and many states recently have.
While we may not control the businesses…..
We control the means of production
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Standing together gives a a Voice
Another Saturday, another regional legislative lunch, this one in Redding, CT.
Jan asked me if I wanted to sit this one out, because it’s a two hour drive from my house. I appreciated the offer but I knew that members from SVFT and the Danbury Nurses would be there and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to spend some time with them.
Day in and day out, whether in the classroom or the hospital, they work hard for the people of Connecticut and their union sisters and brothers.
That’s why I wanted to be there.
Earlier in the week I had the opportunity to visit my alma mater, Three Rivers Community College, to be part of a panel discussion with the soon to graduate nursing class.
The invitation came through an old friend and colleague, Cindy Arpin, who is an AFT member and instructor at the college.
There were 7 of us on the panel, from recently graduated in December, to me (not so recently graduated.)
Our mission…..to tell the soon to graduate of our experiences as nurses.
I have to say, it was a big honor for me.
Five of the panelist were union nurses, and four of them, AFT members.
Including Cindy and I, AFT members included Jillian Bellman form Windham, Erika Borgnine from Backus, and Alex Timinskas from the Visiting Nurses of SE CT.
What do you tell soon to graduate nurses?
I told them what nursing has meant to me.
It’s not a job, it’s a life choice.
I told them that there will be good days and bad days but that they could not be better prepared having graduated from Three Rivers.
I also told them to never forget the most important lesson……
The most important role of a nurse is to be an advocate for their patients and their families.
And to do that, they needed to have a voice.
That’s why, when asked what advice we would offer when as they considered employment offers, I said choose a union hospital.
Being in a union means a nurse can have a voice and can advocate, without fear of retaliation.
Jan asked me if I wanted to sit this one out, because it’s a two hour drive from my house. I appreciated the offer but I knew that members from SVFT and the Danbury Nurses would be there and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to spend some time with them.
Day in and day out, whether in the classroom or the hospital, they work hard for the people of Connecticut and their union sisters and brothers.
That’s why I wanted to be there.
Earlier in the week I had the opportunity to visit my alma mater, Three Rivers Community College, to be part of a panel discussion with the soon to graduate nursing class.
The invitation came through an old friend and colleague, Cindy Arpin, who is an AFT member and instructor at the college.
There were 7 of us on the panel, from recently graduated in December, to me (not so recently graduated.)
Our mission…..to tell the soon to graduate of our experiences as nurses.
I have to say, it was a big honor for me.
Five of the panelist were union nurses, and four of them, AFT members.
Including Cindy and I, AFT members included Jillian Bellman form Windham, Erika Borgnine from Backus, and Alex Timinskas from the Visiting Nurses of SE CT.
What do you tell soon to graduate nurses?
I told them what nursing has meant to me.
It’s not a job, it’s a life choice.
I told them that there will be good days and bad days but that they could not be better prepared having graduated from Three Rivers.
I also told them to never forget the most important lesson……
The most important role of a nurse is to be an advocate for their patients and their families.
And to do that, they needed to have a voice.
That’s why, when asked what advice we would offer when as they considered employment offers, I said choose a union hospital.
Being in a union means a nurse can have a voice and can advocate, without fear of retaliation.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Member Activists are our heart and soul
Sometimes the work of the VP of a state federation involves arranging repairs on the building, authorizing expenditures, signing checks, doing prep work or follow up work for meetings. It’s all important work and without it, even the greatest ideas in the world would remain that, great ideas.
But what I really like is being with activists.
This week I attended the delegate meeting of the Backus Nurses, my home local. It was very satisfying to see the degree of activism in the group. What started as a “hope” 7 years ago has become an organization of nurses who own their voice…..and have learned how to use it.
I applaud every one of them and I am extremely grateful for the presidents who followed me, Michelle and Sherri. Each has imprinted their strength and personality on the local.
Jan, Ed and I spent Friday with our sisters and brothers of AFSCME Council 4. Thank you Jody for the invitation. We are close to many of the other Connecticut Unions, perhaps none more than Council 4. Their members, like our members, do the work that keeps this state running, and helps people in need.
The week finished on Saturday with regional legislative breakfast in Niantic and lunch in Coventry.
If you’ve never attended, you should.
Members who attended get to sit with coworkers and talk with their local state senators and representatives. Members who come once usually return. It’s good for the legislators to hear the stories behind the concerns of our members and to see our faces.
In makes a difference.
For leadership, it’s also a chance to listen to our members. It keeps us grounded.
Melanie and Glenn from our Manchester Hospital Healthcare Local attended in Coventry. It was their first time. Melanie asked me if the legislators really listed.
I believe they do. Even the ones who vote against us sometimes, I think they listen. I have also seen them modify their positions and/or come to understand our issues better after listening and looking into the eyes of our members.
It was great to spend some time relaxing afterward with Melanie, Glenn and the other members who stuck around for a while.
Just as I am proud of where my home local has come in 7 years, I am equally proud of where our state fed and the labor movement is heading.
In spite off the efforts of those who don’t believe workers should have a voice, more and more members are becoming engaged.
Our convention committee for our May AFT Connecticut Convention understood this when they selected the convention theme.
Still Here and Still Growing.
But what I really like is being with activists.
This week I attended the delegate meeting of the Backus Nurses, my home local. It was very satisfying to see the degree of activism in the group. What started as a “hope” 7 years ago has become an organization of nurses who own their voice…..and have learned how to use it.
I applaud every one of them and I am extremely grateful for the presidents who followed me, Michelle and Sherri. Each has imprinted their strength and personality on the local.
Jan, Ed and I spent Friday with our sisters and brothers of AFSCME Council 4. Thank you Jody for the invitation. We are close to many of the other Connecticut Unions, perhaps none more than Council 4. Their members, like our members, do the work that keeps this state running, and helps people in need.
The week finished on Saturday with regional legislative breakfast in Niantic and lunch in Coventry.
If you’ve never attended, you should.
Members who attended get to sit with coworkers and talk with their local state senators and representatives. Members who come once usually return. It’s good for the legislators to hear the stories behind the concerns of our members and to see our faces.
In makes a difference.
For leadership, it’s also a chance to listen to our members. It keeps us grounded.
Melanie and Glenn from our Manchester Hospital Healthcare Local attended in Coventry. It was their first time. Melanie asked me if the legislators really listed.
I believe they do. Even the ones who vote against us sometimes, I think they listen. I have also seen them modify their positions and/or come to understand our issues better after listening and looking into the eyes of our members.
It was great to spend some time relaxing afterward with Melanie, Glenn and the other members who stuck around for a while.
Just as I am proud of where my home local has come in 7 years, I am equally proud of where our state fed and the labor movement is heading.
In spite off the efforts of those who don’t believe workers should have a voice, more and more members are becoming engaged.
Our convention committee for our May AFT Connecticut Convention understood this when they selected the convention theme.
Still Here and Still Growing.
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