Every year on April 28 – the date when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was formed – the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions such as AFSCME observe Workers Memorial Day to honor workers killed or injured on the job.

Council 4 held its remembrance on April 26, in front of our AFSCME Workers Memorial Monument, which lists Council 4 member who have died on the job.

Michael Fitts of the Connecticut Council on Occupational Safety and Health joined Council 4 Executive Director Jody Barr in a call to protect workers and hold employers accountable.

Hartford, CT, April 22, 2019 – Members of Local 269 of Council 4 AFSCME who work at the Connecticut Department of Labor are urging Gov. Ned Lamont to reconsider contracting out a proposed paid family and medical leave program to a private company.

To emphasize their point that privatization is not in the public interest, local union leaders today presented the Governor with a petition signed within one day by hundreds of their fellow DOL employees. 

Breaking News: On April 21, the unions representing Stop & Shop workers reached a tentative agreement with the company to end an 11-day strike that galvanized the broader labor movement. Click here for the story from AFSCME.

Using the Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME as a jumping-off point, Council 4’s biennial conference served as a call to action to maintain strength and solidarity in the face of stern challenges ahead.

More than 200 members participated in the conference, which took place April 5-7 in Groton, and embraced the theme of “Our Union, Our Future” as we engaged further in the fight to protect our rights and freedoms.

“The Janus decision was supposed to be our funeral,” Executive Director Jody Barr said during his opening remarks to delegates. “But it wasn’t."