News

Department of Public Works (DPW) workers are often in the background of our bustling communities, but society would not function without these essential workers maintaining our roads and infr

Union solidarity produced positive results in Southington, when town officials recently agreed to keep the current health insurance provider for town and Board of Education employees after four leaders from Council 4 AFSCME objected to the change.

The Southington Town Council, through its Self-Insurance Committee, adopted the recommendation to change plans from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to Cigna and was slated to vote on the motion during its regular meeting March 28.

The Council 4 union family is grieving the untimely death of Steve Curran, a beloved service representative who fought tenaciously for our members and dedicated an extraordinary amount of his time and energy to supporting military veterans and rehabilitating rescue dogs.

Steve died April 29 at Yale New Haven Hospital due to complications from a stroke that he suffered on April 10. He was 58.

Earlier this month, more than 1,000 public service workers in Bridgeport – including firefighters, police officers, teachers, clerical staff, public facilities staff, paraprofessionals, civilian detention officers, school administrators, nurses and telecommunications operators – received an extra $1,500 in their paychecks.

They collect, protect and deliver our nation’s blood supply, yet the almost 3,000 American Red Cross workers are not being paid what they deserve, lack the staff to do their jobs effectively, face cuts to their health care and, over the course of the pandemic, have often gone without pay and adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

Following the bipartisan majority vote in the House Thursday, we are proud to see the Senate successfully vote for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) contract.

Good news for federal student loan borrowers: This month, the Biden administration again extended the pause on student debt repayment – this time through Aug. 31.

The week of April 10-16 celebrates the contributions of public safety telecommunicators — the dispatchers who operate 24/7 to coordinate police, fire and medical response to emergencies and community members who need assistance.

Public safety dispatchers have multi-faceted jobs. They answer routine and 911 calls, coordinate field response, assist personnel on scene with tasks like remotely accessing the Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing (COLLECT) system, refer callers to community resources — all while staying calm.

Opponents of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy released two reports last week exposing the right-wing think tank's malevolent anti-union motivations and shadowy funding sources.

Recovery For All — a statewide coalition of 58 community, labor and faith organizations, including Council 4 AFSCME — convened a virtual press conference April 6 with leaders from the state legislature, clergy, community groups and labor organizations to announce the release of two new reports critiquing the Hartford-based Yankee Institute.