Strike Update

The last few days have been a whirlwind.
Our sister locals at L+M hospital went out on a 4 day unfair labor practice strike on Wednesday.
Then the hospital threatened to lock them out.
Wednesday meant picketing in the wind and rain.
Thursday (Thanksgiving) meant turkey, stuffing, pies, etc donated and dropped off at the picket line from people and restaurants of the New London area. I had my turkey meal in the RV with Lisa D'Arosca, president of the L+M RNs.
Lisa, and Stephanie Johnson, president of the LPN/Techs, have been living at the picket line.  Stephanie went horse for a while from using the bullhorn.
Harry Rodriguez, president of the Healthcare Local, is barred from the picket line, because his local is in the middle of a contract, so Harry has been holding down the fort at the office.
Our professional staff from AFT Connecticut and AFT national have been unbelievable.  We always rely on them for their expertise, and this week they have been putting in long, long hours.
Brother Ole actually fell asleep while standing up at the picket line in the middle of the night, in the cold.  He awoke when he started to fall to the ground.
I've always considered healthcare work more as a vocation than a profession. Our professional organizers, field reps, and others approach their work in the same way.
Our elected leaders in Rocky Hill and Washington have been wonderful.
Melodie, Steve, and Jean have been on the line, and today we were joined by national president, Randi Weingarten.
I have been in email contact with Randi, AFT VP Francine Lawrence, AFT Healthcare Director Mary MacDonald, and NFN president Steve Rooney, all expressing support and pledging to involve others across the country.
I was asked to speak at the rally today.
Our political leaders are with us. Senator Blumenthal, Governor Malloy, Mayor Finizio, and too many state senators and representatives to mention have walked the line, Senator Blumenthal twice.  Senator Murphy was unable to come, so he sent his top aide. Perhaps as important, are the phone calls they have made and the pressure they have exerted to force L+M back to the table.
Our brothers and sisters from so, so many other unions have joined us, as well as the entire community.
I'm proud that my people, from Backus, where among them.
All this support has forced the hospital back to the table tonight, hopefully in a more reasonable mood, and hopefully, they will reconsider their threat to lock out the nurses and techs when they return to work tomorrow night.
So...
a whirlwind.
Where will it end?
Hopefully with a contract that gives reasonable job protection to the nurses and techs, that's all they want, to be able to return to work and, if that work is moved to an outside building, to follow that work.
No matter what happens, the community and the workers are standing together, in solidarity.

ON STRIKE!

On Wednesday, at 6 am, the nurses and technicians of our sister locals at L+M hospital  in New London will take a courageous stand and go on strike.

It will be the first strike at a Connecticut hospital in 33 years.

The issue at hand is the hospital's refusal to stop the practice of laying off workers, moving the work to outside buildings and rehiring others to do the work, and then, denying these new workers the right to join the union.

The Federal Government is currently prosecuting the hospital for just this practice.

The problem is, the hospital has already said it will appeal any decision and tie it up in the courts for years.

The RN and the LPN/Tech Locals are advocating for contract language to protect L+M workers from their own management.

It's sad that health care in this country has come to this.  Some in the decision making roles are willing to put personal profit ahead of patient welfare.

Our brothers and sisters have been left will little choice.

The Governor, our senators and representatives, the labor community, the religious community and the greater southeastern Connecticut community are all standing with the workers.

I urge you to find your way to the hospital sometime in the next few days to show your support.

If you are not within travelling distance, I urge you to call Bruce Cummings, the CEO, at (860) 442-0711, and leave a message for him, to negotiate in good faith.

I hope to see you in New London, as I stand with my brothers and sisters.

An open letter to my L+M brothers and sisters

My brothers and sisters of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital,

As you begin what could be an historic week, I wish to try to express to you my admiration for your courage and leadership.
The battle you are fighting is not yours alone.  It is a battle that you fight for every health care worker in our state, and for our patients and communities.

You are a remarkable group of people.
You have dedicated yourselves to the care of your fellow man.
You are there for your patients and community at their birth, their death, and every step in between.
You share with them tears of joy, and tears of sadness.
For you it is not just a job, not just a profession, it is truly a vocation.

It is clear that the corporation that runs your hospital is more interested in lining their pockets and breaking the law, than in giving you the respect you deserve.
However, please know that you have the respect of your community, the faith community, the political community, and the labor community.
In particular, know that you have my respect, the respect of the Backus Federation of Nurses, and the respect of the entire AFT family.

If it were not for you, Local 5149 would not exist.
You were there for us in our struggles, and we will be here for you.
Your leadership has been our mentors and supporters as we learn what it means to be a union, and your membership an example of what "solidarity" truly means.
You are an exceptionable group of people, lead by an exceptional group of leaders.

It is with pride that we will join you on the sidewalks of New London this week.

In service,

John Brady
President
Backus federation of Nurses
AFT CT Local 5149
AFL_CIO

JFK lives in us

I was sitting in my 3^rd grade class room at St James School, when the announcement came over the loudspeaker. 

Our president, our Jack, had been shot.

We prayed and then we left for the day.

We walked home in silence, greeted by my Aunt Rita, who was watching us for a few days.  She was puzzled when she saw us and when we told her, she didn't want to believe.

Our Mom and Dad were in California, ironically in the very hotel where Bobby would be killed in a few years time.

Within a few years, the forces of evil took Jack, Martin and Bobby.

But they could not take their dreams.

Their dreams live in the hearts and actions of all those who believe in the dignity of all people, who believe that a person's worth is not measured by their color, or class, or religion, or social standing, but by their commitment to helping their fellow man.

Their words guide us.

"Ask what you can do"

"I have a dream"

"I see what is not and ask, why not?"

They paid the ultimate price for what they believed in, can there be a greater cause?

May be rededicate ourselves to this cause.

Lessons from the road (with deep respect to Jack Kerouac)

I have done more travelling this year than most of my previous years combined. 

I have been to Washington 3 times, and Baltimore and Chicago once each, all on union business. 

Now I'm returning from a family trip to Disneyworld. 

No more trips for awhile....

Well, till January, then it's San Diego...

and May,...Baltimore....

and July,....Los Angeles. 

But, then, no more trips for awhile....,,

One tip I'm learning from all this...,

Travel light. 

Nothing worse than schlepping too much unnecessary stuff on a trip. 

The same holds true with life, doesn't it?

Didn't JC send his followers out instructing them to take nothing extra with them?

Doesn't Toaism and Buddism teach simplicity?

Doesn't George Carlin have a skit about "stuff"?

It goes against our modern culture and American sense of self reliance, but maybe, in certain situations, we should give it a try.