Barbara and John

The other day a friend of mine went home to heaven.
Her name was Barbara Robinson and I had the distinct pleasure and privilege to work with her in the Emergency Department at Backus Hospital.  She was there as a nurse when I started as a nursing assistant and she watched, encouraged, and like so many other of my colleges, mentored me on my way to becoming an RN and afterwards.
We shared laughs and cries.
We shared friendship.

We also lost John McCain this week.
I didn’t know him but like you, I knew of him.
He was a war hero, a US Representative, and a Senator.
His politics were not mine, but he did save healthcare for hundreds of thousands of Americans with a dramatic thumbs down vote.
And he stood on principles above politics on more than one occasion, when very few others would.

It’s easy to see how the Senator influenced millions of people.
Maybe not as easy to see how Barbara did.
But between those she mentored and the patients and families she cared for, and her own family who she loved, Barb also influenced millions.

We are better for having both of them in our lives and we will miss them.
My friend Chuck, a Navy Corpsman, wished the Senator “fair seas and calm winds” on FB the other day.
I like that Chuck, I echo that farewell.
And Barb….
Your shift is over, your patients are safe, we’ll take it from here. Rest our sister.

Thank you both for your service.

Let Salma Stay

It has been my pleasure and honor to come to know the Sikander family over the past week or so.
I wish it could have been under better circumstances.

A couple of weeks ago,  one of our Field Reps, Shane, came to us with a concern.
One of our members, Eric Maroney, had a former student who’s mother was about to deported.
I met Eric at a rally outside the ICE office in downtown Hartford the following week.  He introduced me to Samir, his student, an impressive 18 year old young man about to start his first year at Quinnipiac University, fulfilling a dream of his parents, Anwar and Salma.
Anwar is a warm, gentle man who immediately made me feel like a guest. Several times he thanked me for coming and speaking on behalf of AFT, calling me Mr John.
Salma is quiet, polite, and warm.

Anwar and Salma came to this country 18 years ago from Bangladesh. They are seeking asylum.
They have both worked hard, never had any legal trouble and have raised a fine son and contribute to their community , their state, and their country.
They are as much American as any of us, save the paperwork.
Samir was born here.
ICE was going to deport Salma 4 days before her son started college.

The Rally was to attempt to reverse the decision and delay deportation, something well within ICE’s ability to do.
Yesterday, Salma had her last reporting to ICE. She was told she had till Thursday to leave the country. Her appeals and the appeals of the community and many, many politicians, had gone unheard.
Yesterday 9 members of her family and the community began a 48 hour fast outside the federal courthouse where ICE is located.
Last night they slept on the sidewalk in tents.

I stopped by today to do a wellness check at their request. I took vital signs and asked about medications and how they were feeling, advising them to drink plenty of water, which is all they were taking in.
It was both inspiring and depressing.

It’s sad what our country has become.

Samir told me that we had wanted to participate in the fast but that his mother forbid it.
“I have to obey my mother, especially now, on what may be one of her last days here.”

I ask you.
Isn’t this the kind of family we want in America?

Today, just before 5 pm, at about the last possible moment that they could, ICE reversed their decision.
Salma can stay for a year so that her asylum case can be heard.
I don’t know if it was the rallies, the political pressure, the fast, or all this and more…..
But Salma can stay.
She will see her son go to college.
And we are all better for it.

We are all children of immigrants.  All of our families came to this continent seeking a better life for our families. When we forget that, we lose an important part of what makes us Americans.

The upside down pyramid

We are all familiar with the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.
5,000 people, a few loaves of bread, 2 fish, yet everyone ate and there was plenty left over.
I read that it’s the only story that is in all 4 gospels.
I heard it again last night and this time, I heard something I had missed before.

John writes, “After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”

I’m told that a leader a person who has followers.
By this definition, Jesus certainly was a leader.
Granted, many have twisted his message to serve their own agenda, but that does not diminish his leadership. Or his message.

Most leaders of Jesus’ time (as well as our time) operated from a position on power.  They were the kings, the emperors, the chief priests.
Jesus led in a new way.
He never sought personal power of a high position.
As John writes, he “withdrew again to a mountain” to avoid it.

In most organizational structures, power is vested with the leader, usually the president or CEO.
Below them are Vice Presidents, then department heads, and so on, with the workers at the bottom.
This holds not only for businesses, it holds for religious organizations, non-profits, and others.

But a Union is different.
A union should be different.
A union needs to be different.

Members are at the top, below them, elected leadership of locals, and below them, elected state and national leaders.
Jesus taught us this.
In withdrawing to the mountains, and later in washing the feet of his disciples, he showed us how to lead.

Jan refers to this structure as the “upside down pyramid.”
The president is not at the top, the members are.
Leaders serve the members.
It is how it should be.
It is what makes us strong.

National Convention

I returned from the AFT Convention tired but pleased and spent this past week trying to catch up with my work in the office.
The convention went very well.
Jan was re-elected National VP, a testimony to her commitment to member engagement and the growing recognition throughout the AFT that this is our future. In reality, it is also our past, as member engagement is not only what built the movement, it IS the movement.
Our 110 AFT CT members were engaged at the convention, participating in committees, caucus, and general sessions. Thank you to all of them for representing the members of both their own Locals and the State Federation.
Social gatherings are also a part of the convention, and our members enjoyed the Convention reception, our own reception, and the sights of the city of Pittsburgh in what little free time we had.

Much of the focus in the convention was centered around the Janus decision.
Anti union groups think this decision will cripple unions, and thus silence the voice of workers. Then, they believe, they can finish their quest toward compete the control of this country by the elites.
What they don’t understand is that our strength comes not from our pocketbooks, our strength comes from our solidarity.
The theme of the convention was, “We Care, We show up, We fight, We vote!”
That theme has been demonstrated in the remarkable success of the large number of members recommitting to their unions, in the courageous teacher and healthcare strikes taking place across this country, in the humanitarian work being performed by our members and in recent successes in new organizing drives.
It was a busy, tiring week.
But this is busy, tiring work.
Besides their own “day jobs,” our members knock doors, rally, testify, volunteer, and work to advance the voice of all workers, union and nonunion, all the time.
They do it because they believe in the movement.
That, sisters and brothers, is our strength.

All roads lead to Pittsburg?

On a plane as I write this (yes, again)
Off to Pittsburg for the AFT national convention.
Over 100 Connecticut Delegates will represent our 30,000 members.
First, as Vice President, I need to pause and consider what an honor it is to be in this position.
30,0000 of the best Connecticut workers; teachers, paraprofessionals and school support staff, nurses, Techs, healthcare workers, probation officers, social workers, and so, so many other public servants, have selected us to be the delegates that represent them.
It is an honor, a privilege, and a great responsibility.
Our members share the fact that they have all dedicated their work lives to helping others, and they share the knowledge and belief that standing in unity gives them the power to do so.
That’s what a union is all about.
That’s why those of us privileged enough to be representing our sisters and brothers in Pittsburgh are taking these planes, trains and autos. We carry the voice of our members to chart the course of our union for the next 2 years.

Yesterday I had the privilege to represent Jan at a press conference with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, AFT President Randi Weingarten, CT AFL-CIO President Lori Pelletier, and New Haven Federation of Teaches President David Cicarella.
The message was that the Janus decision will not cripple unions as the Koch Brothers, the DeVos family and other right wing groups hope.
It will not silence the voice of workers.
Workers understand that to be able to advocate for ourselves, our families, our students, our patients, and the public we serve, we must have a voice. And to have a voice we must stand together in unity.

This is the message the 100 plus AFT Connecticut delegates carry to our national convention on behalf of our members.
Our members will not be silenced.
We are strong, we are united, we are the union.