On Wednesday we wore tuxes and gowns.
On Thursday we wore Red.
Wednesday we celebrated the inauguration of a new Governor, Executive Officers and General Assembly in Connecticut. We celebrated the incredible hard work of our members in electing so many pro worker legislators. Our members and all of Organized labor, joined by other progressive organizations, mobilized and succeeded in Connecticut and across the country.
There were a record number women, a record number of people of color, a record number of union members, a record diversity in religions represented and a record number of young people elected and working as activists in this election.
And on Wednesday we celebrated this in Connecticut.
Thursday we stood in solidarity with the Teachers of Los Angeles who, like the teaches in Chicago, Oklahoma, Arizona, West Virginia, and elsewhere, are taking a stand for education. They are prepared to strike for reasonable classroom sizes, school nurses, and social workers because their students deserve that.
Their struggle is mirrored in the struggle of our nurses and health professionals for workplace safety and adequate safe staffing.
Their struggle is also mirrored in the struggle of low wage workers for a living wage.
I see signs of optimism in both the celebration of Wednesday and the solidarity of Thursday.
Those who would deny workers a voice had great hope that the Janus Supreme Court decision would ruin the worker movement.
Instead, it further motivated a wave of activism that had already started.
Sisters and brothers, the wave is here.
Surfs up dude, grab the wave!
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Sunday, January 6, 2019
AFT Connecticut in 2018
This week I would like to share a New Years message from AFT Connecticut’s President, looking back on the of our members in 2018.
A fuller version with pictures and links is available at http://aftct.org/node/124302
As we begin a new year, questions remain about the direction for Connecticut and the country. What is not in question is the direction of our union and our labor movement. That's because the "roadmap" state federation leaders adopted in 2017 and which inspired many local affiliates' strategic plans in 2018 are firmly rooted in common guiding principles. Collectively, they demonstrate that the "U & I in Union" assures that when we stand together, we are strong.
More than a slogan, the phrase has over this past year been embraced as a core belief. It was initially launched to fortify our defense of rights and freedoms against the special interests who bankrolled the Janus v. AFSCME lawsuit. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled against working people in June, it has fueled a collective resistance against ongoing attempts to decimate and dismantle our movement.
Not only have we seen public sector members defy the right-wing smear tactics and "stick with their unions," AFT Connecticut-affiliated locals actually grew their ranks in 2018. In many cases it was the result of former fair share fee-payers signing "recommitment" cards and joining as full-fledged, dues-paying members. In others, it followed votes by previously independent groups to unite with our state federation.
Another way in which we increased our collective strength was though empowering those previously denied collective bargaining rights to join their colleagues in existing locals. Public employees, who began a coordinated push to "organize the unorganized" among state workers more than three years ago, continued to lead the way in 2018.
Our organizing wins weren't confined to the public sector. Service, environmental, maintenance and other vital support staff at Rockville General Hospital (RGH) demanded a voice in their facility’s care and working conditions and won their union election. They, too, were supported by their colleagues in existing locals representing employees of Prospect Medical Holdings, demonstrating that the "U and I in Union" is key to improving all workplaces.
These gains were the product of broader efforts to foster union leadership skills among a growing number of local affiliates' activists. In 2018 they also included several cohorts of our Member Organizing Institute (MOI) program, which taught tangible skills for pushing back against the reactionary forces behind Janus.
Additionally, our professional development (PD) program attracted a record number of members in 2018 to workshops at our state federation headquarters and local affiliates' union halls. Course offerings were as diverse as the workers we represent across Connecticut, and helped many earn credit for personal career advancement and continuing education.
2018 also proved the value of fundamental union rights to make workplace improvements, resolve labor disputes and secure economic advances. Thousands of members benefitted from negotiated grievance settlements, arbitrated decisions and collective bargaining agreements achieved and ratified throughout the year.
Many of our members contributed to the wave of educator activism that swept the nation in 2018. In Connecticut, much of it was in response to cruel cutbacks at the local level that slashed services and eliminated jobs. Teachers, paraprofessionals and support personnel in communities across the state turned out for meetings of school and municipal officials to demand better than more failed austerity policies.
2018 marked a turning point for our retirees, too, as their dedication, service and continued activism was officially recognized with the establishment of a full-fledged division within AFT Connecticut. Our newest chartered affiliate was formed to represent members whose local at their time of retirement did not have a retiree organization.
Demonstrating that "we care, we fight, we show up and we vote," our members’ activism was decisive in last year's Primary and General Elections. The final results in November tipped the balance away from the corporate lobbyists who’ve held sway in Hartford for the past four years and in the direction of working people.
Undoubtably, 2019 will bring us challenges, but I am confident we will overcome them because we will do so together — just like we did in 2018.
On behalf of AFT Connecticut's officers, executive committee and delegate assembly, I thank our members for all they do each and every day for our students, patients and our communities. I so appreciate all 30,000 working people who make this a great state to live, raise our families and be part of a vibrant labor movement.
With wishes for a happy New Year,
Jan Hochadel
President, AFT Connecticut
A fuller version with pictures and links is available at http://aftct.org/node/124302
As we begin a new year, questions remain about the direction for Connecticut and the country. What is not in question is the direction of our union and our labor movement. That's because the "roadmap" state federation leaders adopted in 2017 and which inspired many local affiliates' strategic plans in 2018 are firmly rooted in common guiding principles. Collectively, they demonstrate that the "U & I in Union" assures that when we stand together, we are strong.
More than a slogan, the phrase has over this past year been embraced as a core belief. It was initially launched to fortify our defense of rights and freedoms against the special interests who bankrolled the Janus v. AFSCME lawsuit. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled against working people in June, it has fueled a collective resistance against ongoing attempts to decimate and dismantle our movement.
Not only have we seen public sector members defy the right-wing smear tactics and "stick with their unions," AFT Connecticut-affiliated locals actually grew their ranks in 2018. In many cases it was the result of former fair share fee-payers signing "recommitment" cards and joining as full-fledged, dues-paying members. In others, it followed votes by previously independent groups to unite with our state federation.
Another way in which we increased our collective strength was though empowering those previously denied collective bargaining rights to join their colleagues in existing locals. Public employees, who began a coordinated push to "organize the unorganized" among state workers more than three years ago, continued to lead the way in 2018.
Our organizing wins weren't confined to the public sector. Service, environmental, maintenance and other vital support staff at Rockville General Hospital (RGH) demanded a voice in their facility’s care and working conditions and won their union election. They, too, were supported by their colleagues in existing locals representing employees of Prospect Medical Holdings, demonstrating that the "U and I in Union" is key to improving all workplaces.
These gains were the product of broader efforts to foster union leadership skills among a growing number of local affiliates' activists. In 2018 they also included several cohorts of our Member Organizing Institute (MOI) program, which taught tangible skills for pushing back against the reactionary forces behind Janus.
Additionally, our professional development (PD) program attracted a record number of members in 2018 to workshops at our state federation headquarters and local affiliates' union halls. Course offerings were as diverse as the workers we represent across Connecticut, and helped many earn credit for personal career advancement and continuing education.
2018 also proved the value of fundamental union rights to make workplace improvements, resolve labor disputes and secure economic advances. Thousands of members benefitted from negotiated grievance settlements, arbitrated decisions and collective bargaining agreements achieved and ratified throughout the year.
Many of our members contributed to the wave of educator activism that swept the nation in 2018. In Connecticut, much of it was in response to cruel cutbacks at the local level that slashed services and eliminated jobs. Teachers, paraprofessionals and support personnel in communities across the state turned out for meetings of school and municipal officials to demand better than more failed austerity policies.
2018 marked a turning point for our retirees, too, as their dedication, service and continued activism was officially recognized with the establishment of a full-fledged division within AFT Connecticut. Our newest chartered affiliate was formed to represent members whose local at their time of retirement did not have a retiree organization.
Demonstrating that "we care, we fight, we show up and we vote," our members’ activism was decisive in last year's Primary and General Elections. The final results in November tipped the balance away from the corporate lobbyists who’ve held sway in Hartford for the past four years and in the direction of working people.
Undoubtably, 2019 will bring us challenges, but I am confident we will overcome them because we will do so together — just like we did in 2018.
On behalf of AFT Connecticut's officers, executive committee and delegate assembly, I thank our members for all they do each and every day for our students, patients and our communities. I so appreciate all 30,000 working people who make this a great state to live, raise our families and be part of a vibrant labor movement.
With wishes for a happy New Year,
Jan Hochadel
President, AFT Connecticut
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Worker Power, and other lessons from Terry Reed
“Why is it,” Jonathan puzzled, “that the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he’d spend a little time practicing? Why should that be so hard?” (Richard Bach, Johnathan Livingston Seagull 2006, 88-89)
I was trying to think of what I should write for the end of the year. It seems a fitting time to look back, and to look ahead.
Then I came across a FB post about the ongoing government shutdown and how federal workers are working without pay and failure to work is grounds for insubordination under law.
A friend, Terry Reed, posted this in response:
“Don’t let the law be your guide. There are good and bad laws. Dignity, respect, the right to fair pay and benefits should always be your guide. Solidarity is your most potent weapon against a bully, a tyrant, an injustice. There are many ways to show your solidarity and fight back. The creativity the workers have together to formulate plans of mutual interest will overcome the control of the tyrant. Don’t limit the workers ability together to come up with a plan of action.”
I first met T Reed in 2015 when he came to Connecticut to participate in a week long member mobilization. Terry is “retired” from several jobs, starting as a social worker and ending as a labor organizer.
I remember finally getting the chance one evening to sit and talk to him about my brief experience in the movement, what led me to the place I was in, and my hopes and dreams for the movement.
Johnathan Livingston Seagull speaking to his student Fletcher Gull, spoke of things others didn’t:
“He spoke of very simple things- that it is right for a gull to fly, that freedom is the very nature of his being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form.”
Terry spoke of things that others didn’t, or at least he spoke of them in a different way. He told me that there is no power under the sun as great as the power of workers standing in solidarity and that legislation and contracts can be good things, but that they can just as easily hold workers back, as chains about their ankles.
Like Fletcher Gull, my eyes were opened to the possibilities before us, if only we had the faith to believe in workers.
At one point I looked to my left and Jan smiled at me.
She knew.
She would tell me later, “you were having a Terry Reed moment.”
She, and so many others have been recipients of these moments.
Terry remains a mentor to many of us.
He’d say he’s just a worker.
He’s right.
But it’s easy to get caught up in the legalities of contracts and laws and the business of running a union and forget a simple principle that Terry reminds us of:
There is no greater force under the sun than the force of workers standing in solidarity.
I was trying to think of what I should write for the end of the year. It seems a fitting time to look back, and to look ahead.
Then I came across a FB post about the ongoing government shutdown and how federal workers are working without pay and failure to work is grounds for insubordination under law.
A friend, Terry Reed, posted this in response:
“Don’t let the law be your guide. There are good and bad laws. Dignity, respect, the right to fair pay and benefits should always be your guide. Solidarity is your most potent weapon against a bully, a tyrant, an injustice. There are many ways to show your solidarity and fight back. The creativity the workers have together to formulate plans of mutual interest will overcome the control of the tyrant. Don’t limit the workers ability together to come up with a plan of action.”
I first met T Reed in 2015 when he came to Connecticut to participate in a week long member mobilization. Terry is “retired” from several jobs, starting as a social worker and ending as a labor organizer.
I remember finally getting the chance one evening to sit and talk to him about my brief experience in the movement, what led me to the place I was in, and my hopes and dreams for the movement.
Johnathan Livingston Seagull speaking to his student Fletcher Gull, spoke of things others didn’t:
“He spoke of very simple things- that it is right for a gull to fly, that freedom is the very nature of his being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form.”
Terry spoke of things that others didn’t, or at least he spoke of them in a different way. He told me that there is no power under the sun as great as the power of workers standing in solidarity and that legislation and contracts can be good things, but that they can just as easily hold workers back, as chains about their ankles.
Like Fletcher Gull, my eyes were opened to the possibilities before us, if only we had the faith to believe in workers.
At one point I looked to my left and Jan smiled at me.
She knew.
She would tell me later, “you were having a Terry Reed moment.”
She, and so many others have been recipients of these moments.
Terry remains a mentor to many of us.
He’d say he’s just a worker.
He’s right.
But it’s easy to get caught up in the legalities of contracts and laws and the business of running a union and forget a simple principle that Terry reminds us of:
There is no greater force under the sun than the force of workers standing in solidarity.
Monday, December 24, 2018
A Christmas Wish
On this Christmas Eve I wish you the peace of whatever holidays you and your family celebrate.
I will celebrate the birth of a brown skinned Jewish Palestinian homeless boy who was born to an unwed mother. He probably spoke Aramaic.
Shortly after his birth, he and his family were forced to immigrate and seek asylum in a foreign land because of fear for his life.
He would grow up to work with his hands as carpenter.
At age 30 he began traveling as an itinerant preacher.
He never had a mega church, he met people where they were.
He challenged his disciples to take nothing with them, but to rely on the good will of those they would meet.
He peached a gospel of love for all.
He refused to judge a woman caught in adultery.
He never judged someone based on the color of their skin, the language they spoke, the religion (or lack of) that they practiced, their country of origin, their immigration status, or their sexual identity or preferences.
He said we are all neighbors, all sisters and brothers.
He believed if we had two coats we should give one to the person who had none.
He said possessions should be given away if we wished to follow him.
His last lesson to us was to wash his disciples feet, a lasting reminder that those in positions of influence should serve others. (not the reverse)
His teachings seam a radical message in today’s world.
Apparently, it seemed somewhat radical back then too, because after 3 years of roaming and preaching, the authorities had him killed.
But his message did not die with him.
It lives on.
Yes, it has been corrupted countless times and used to justify many evil deeds, but the pureness of his message cannot be silenced, cannot die.
Even though at times it seems to be gone, a flicker has always survived.
A flicker that can come alive in the words or deeds of a good man or woman.
We often think of King, of Mandela, of Chavez, of Theresa, but even more important, it comes alive in the faces, in the smiles, and in the kind words and deeds of our friends.
You see, Jesus was never rich, never published, never attended university, never travelled far from home. He didn’t blog, or tweet, or post.
He spoke to people and he touched them, with his hands and his heart.
That is what Christmas is to me.
A celebration of that love between people.
It doesn’t matter if we believe he was the son of God, or even if we believe that God exists.
It matters that we celebrate his example.
And follow it.
Merry Christmas.
I will celebrate the birth of a brown skinned Jewish Palestinian homeless boy who was born to an unwed mother. He probably spoke Aramaic.
Shortly after his birth, he and his family were forced to immigrate and seek asylum in a foreign land because of fear for his life.
He would grow up to work with his hands as carpenter.
At age 30 he began traveling as an itinerant preacher.
He never had a mega church, he met people where they were.
He challenged his disciples to take nothing with them, but to rely on the good will of those they would meet.
He peached a gospel of love for all.
He refused to judge a woman caught in adultery.
He never judged someone based on the color of their skin, the language they spoke, the religion (or lack of) that they practiced, their country of origin, their immigration status, or their sexual identity or preferences.
He said we are all neighbors, all sisters and brothers.
He believed if we had two coats we should give one to the person who had none.
He said possessions should be given away if we wished to follow him.
His last lesson to us was to wash his disciples feet, a lasting reminder that those in positions of influence should serve others. (not the reverse)
His teachings seam a radical message in today’s world.
Apparently, it seemed somewhat radical back then too, because after 3 years of roaming and preaching, the authorities had him killed.
But his message did not die with him.
It lives on.
Yes, it has been corrupted countless times and used to justify many evil deeds, but the pureness of his message cannot be silenced, cannot die.
Even though at times it seems to be gone, a flicker has always survived.
A flicker that can come alive in the words or deeds of a good man or woman.
We often think of King, of Mandela, of Chavez, of Theresa, but even more important, it comes alive in the faces, in the smiles, and in the kind words and deeds of our friends.
You see, Jesus was never rich, never published, never attended university, never travelled far from home. He didn’t blog, or tweet, or post.
He spoke to people and he touched them, with his hands and his heart.
That is what Christmas is to me.
A celebration of that love between people.
It doesn’t matter if we believe he was the son of God, or even if we believe that God exists.
It matters that we celebrate his example.
And follow it.
Merry Christmas.
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Protecting Healthcare for all
The ACA is not perfect, but it protects Americans with pre-existing conditions and has brought healthcare to millions of seniors, young people and economically disadvantaged people.
It is the only thing that stands between working families and bankruptcy that can come with one illness.
It is the only thing that stands between working families and bankruptcy that can come with one illness.
The court ruling by a federal judge in Texas must be overturned and we must continue to fight for quality affordable healthcare for all.
We know the groups who have fought for this outcome for years. They are not the friends of workers, the young, the elderly, or the economically disadvantaged.
Labor must, and will, continue to work with our community friends to stand up for ALL people. We know the groups who have fought for this outcome for years. They are not the friends of workers, the young, the elderly, or the economically disadvantaged.
In Connecticut in particular, we must work with our Congressional delegation and our incoming governor, Attorney General, and General Assembly, to show that we in Connecticut stand with ALL people, not just the 1%.
Today is a great day to redidicate yourselves to that effort.
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