April 9, 2018 - Bow, NH

The Senate and the House did not meet in session the week of March 25, following the long sessions of the preceding crossover week, when all bills going forward had to pass one chamber and move to the other.  There were committee hearings however, as the legislative merry-go-round never quite comes to a complete halt, and this past week there were more hearings and some votes on pending legislation.  Particularly for the House, however, the pace slows a bit, with only a small number of Senate bills to consider, compared to the hundreds of House bills subject to hearings and votes from January through March.  Nevertheless, much of importance remains to be resolved.

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Colleagues,

Your Union in Action: what was going on at NTU this week?

All 11 Chapters of WFNHP Local 5000 held their election of officers in March 2018. The WFNHP Election Committee has counted the ballots and certified the results. These officers will lead their union for the next two years.

The new leadership teams include nurses and health professional leaders from across the state and from a variety of backgrounds. The elected leaders’ unique experiences are sure to enhance the work of our union and its vision of being recognized as a dynamic leader in ensuring the health of our community and the rights and living standards of our members and all healthcare workers in Wisconsin. 

There's been talk among the laboratory technologists at Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratories in Milwaukee about creating a career ladder for years, but it never came to fruition until recently.

The medical technologists entered into negotiations at the end of 2016, and they took the time to turn a management proposal into a career ladder program that would lead to what they called a Tech II position that would have more responsibilities and more pay.

"There are people who always do extra, but they don't get any benefit for it," says John Epple, a cytotechnologist and chief steward at WFNHP's Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratories Chapter. "Maybe they're just overachievers or just hard workers, but now they can get recognized" for doing more.

AFT-Wisconsin members are celebrating after labor-endorsed candidates won elections across the state.  Most notably, labor-endorsed WI Supreme Court Candidate, Judge Rebecca Dallet, won a ten-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court by double digits, and voters rejected a ballot initiative that could have put funding for public school libraries at risk by eliminating the Office of the State Treasurer.

Pendergast Federation of School Employees (AFT) members have been rallying the teachers, staff, community, and district for a Day of Action at the Arizoan State Capitol. They have begun a district-wide petition with their local PTAs to petition the district's school board for support in closing the entire district down for one day.

Hundreds of union members took to Lawyer’s Mall in front of the Maryland State Capitol to show the power and strength of labor. The Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO convened the sea of solidarity. The locals of AFT-Maryland were in attendance and their voices were heard and their presence felt. The federation was acknowledged and received shout outs from a number of elected officials.

Among the politicians who addressed the crowd were... Click to read 

AFT-Maryland President Marietta English on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

On this solemn day, we remember a man who was not only a leader for racial but also economic equality; a man who in his last days walked with and campaigned for the dignity of public employees; a man of the cloth who committed himself to the labor movement.

As the president of a state federation that represents more than 20,000 public employees, the sacrifices of this great man are not lost on me or any of the members of our federation.  Though we'll always be sad that Dr. King did not get to live a long life, see his children grow up, and play with his grandchildren, we will forever be indebted to him for being the vocal conscious of this nation, calling on it to live up to every promise of equality.

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