On April 11^th we notified our members of our Union’s great concern regarding Ascension’s proposal to eliminate medical and surgical inpatient units at St. Joe’s Hospital and, more broadly, rumors of other cuts. Because of our concerns, we held meetings with Mayor Barrett and other elected officials, and also joined in the creation of a broad based coalition led by some amazing northside community organizations along with Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Nate Gilliam, our organizer, was also part of a meeting with St. Joe’s administration where the planned changes were aggressively challenged. 

We knew that by joining together with the community to stand up and preserve quality jobs and health services we would be stronger and have a greater chance to fight back against negative changes from Ascension. Our coalition--Save St. Joe’s--immediately put up an online petition, and now has a dedicated website. There is no question we got their attention.

Mary Below ~ Aspirus Langlade Hospital Chapter

Meet our featured member, Mary Below. Mary is a Speech Pathologist at Aspirus Langlade Hospital (ALH) in Antigo, Wisconsin. She has worked at the hospital for 23 years. Mary was born and raised in Antigo and has always felt pride in her job and her ability to help her friends, neighbors, and their families. Mary says, "I was a non-traditional student, as I quit college at 20 to get married. I went back to school and finished to become a Speech Patologist."

Speaking honestly, Mary said she never thought she would need a union to protect her job; but, many years ago, seeing the challenges she and her co-workers faced in the workplace quickly changed her mind. She immediately became a staunch supporter and has been a union member for most of her career at ALH. Mary said, "Corporate healthcare does not truly care about their employees, and having a union to protect our rights is vital."

OESPA Statement on Guns in Schools

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Colleagues,

Four NTU members have been nominated and approved for Member Recognition Awards at the NTU’s 2018-2019 Hall of Fame Dinner!  We are working on notifying the awardees, and we will release their names next week.  We have awardees from:

The lack of aid and response to the needs of the Puerto Rican people after Hurricane Maria has been inexcusable and shameful.  Yet, the response by U.S. Secretary of Education DeVos and the PR Education Secretary Julia Keleher, to shutter one third of the island’s public schools appears to be calculated and swift.  Both secretaries are proponents of charter schools and the closings appear politically motivated as an attempt to privatize public schools.

Madison, WI – Members of several AFT higher education locals and students filled the Capitol on Wednesday to call on lawmakers to recommit themselves to the Wisconsin Idea by working with faculty, staff, and students to strengthen the quality of our UW-System.  Students from UW-Stevens Point have largely led the organizing efforts after their campus announced in March that it would be cutting 13 majors in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

The State University Retirement System election began on April 2nd and ends on May 1st.

April 16, 2018 - The Alliance of Health Care Unions (AHCU)–21 local unions representing frontline health professionals at Kaiser Permanente facilities across the country–made big progress last week.

At the inaugural meeting April 10-11, the AHCU formed our new Executive Board, confirmed Peter diCicco as our Executive Director, and drafted our founding documents that ensure each local union has a voice in our Alliance.

OFNHP and our AHCU partner unions also met individually with senior Kaiser management to discuss our future relationship as an Alliance.

Whether you are considering retiring at the end of the school year or in the near future, there are several steps you should take to prepare for this milestone in your career.

Every year, we offer one $500 technical college scholarship and one $1,000 university scholarship to children and grandchildren of current or retired AFTW members. The Scholarship Committee would like to congratulate this year's winners!