Photo Albums

Share This

Standing Up for Safe Staffing

AFT President Randi Weingarten speaks at the Jan. 23 safe staffing briefing at the State Capitol.

Our national union's recently released Health Care Staffing Shortage Task Force report serves as a blueprint for policies to advocate for in the 2023 session of the Connecticut General Assembly. AFT Connecticut organized a State Capitol news briefing on the matter Jan. 23, 2023. Speakers included AFT President Randi Weingarten and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

It's part of the ongoing efforts to move lawmakers to adopt proposals that would address unsafe staffing, establish safe patient limits and protect vital health services. 

(Photos by AFT CT's Neal Thomassen and Matt O'Connor)

Standing With Starbucks Workers

Stephanie Rauch rocks her union shirt while taking part, including using the name Rosina Corrothers Tucker to order her coffee

We joined union activists and labor champions at the Corbins Corner West Hartford Starbucks Sept. 3 for a solidarity sip-in. Baristas are organizing and unionizing against Starbucks throughout the country, including at this West Hartford location and the one in Vernon. We showed up to let them (and their bosses) know, we have their backs as they fight for a fair contract!

2022 CT AFL-CIO Labor Day Breakfast

VP Comms Chris DeFrancesco, 1st VP Shawn Brown, State Sen. Julie Kushner, State Rep. Robyn Porter, President Bill Garrity, VP Political Activities Dawn Thomas

We were back in-person at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478 hall in Hamdne, where this year's Labor Day breakfast was a who's who of labor champions! See additional photos on UHP Facebook.

(Photos by AFT Connecticut's Matt O'Connor)

2022 CT AFL-CIO Convention

A final public acknowledgement of our retiring 1st VP Ivonne Hamm (AFT CT)

UHP sent 16 delegates to this year's CT AFL-CIO convention, held at Foxwoods, where 2,000 employees are represented by five bargaining units. #CTLabor22

2022 UHP Business Convention

Ivonne with Bill and her family

We had much to celebrate at our 2022 business convention:

First, it was the first time we were able to gather in-person for it in three years!

Plus we honored Ivonne Hamm, our outgoing First Vice President for Collective Bargaining, who's retiring in June, with several tributes. We secretly invited her family to attend and successfully surprised her with that! Then we shared proclamations from the General Assembly's Labor Committee and Gov. Ned Lamont in her honor. And we announced our annual Steward of the Year award is now named for Ivonne.

We also acknowledged Laura Didden for her six years of service as Recording Secretary, and welcomed her successor, Summer Lambert.

In addition to organizing a fantastic evening, VP for Membership Activities Shawn Brown presented our 2022 scholarships.

 

  • Miriam Zachariah
  • Joseph Ciambriello (dependent of member Joanna Ciambriello)
  • Joshua Zolla (dependent of Meagen Zolla)
  • Michael Sama (dependent of Abigail Young)
  • Riley Ford (dependent of Deanna Cawley Ford)
  • Jane Winkleman (dependent of Seth Winkleman)
  • Jadah Smith (dependent of Johanna Tirado)

We passed both proposed constitutional amendments, which clarified language about the president's role and membership meetings to reflect current practice. 

And the following awards were announced:

  • Rep of the year: Pierre LePage
  • Ivonne Hamm Steward of the Year: Ray Bennettson
  • President's award: Isolde Bates

 

Demanding Fair State Employee Contracts

Member Theresa Aisevbonaye

We joined several hundred fellow state employees at the state Capitol for a rally and news conference July 13, standing together to demand fair contracts for all state employees!

Walking the Line for a Fair Contract

#HeroesNotZeros

Thank you to all the members (and others who aren't members but who stood with us) who turned out for our informational picket May 27! Actions like this are important to make clear to the bosses that their contract proposals are unacceptable.

UHP's 2021 Nightingale Nurses

Congratulations to our 2021 honorees!

Congratulations the four UHP members chosen to receive 2021 Nightingale Awards for Nursing Excellence!

(Photos by UHP member Tina Encarnacion)

Jan 2020 Membership Meeting

Inpatient psychiatry nurse Theresa Aisevbonaye shows her support for UConn Health as a public institution for the public good.

Fighting off potential privatization was the topic of our Jan. 30, 2020, membership meeting. In partnership with the other unions making up the UConn Health Labor Coalition, we invited lawmakers to hear employees' stories of what they do to serve the public and why it's important that UConn Health remains a public institution.

Members from multiple unions crowded in to Keller Auditorium for a discussion on engaging elected officials and harnessing the power of our collective voices to advocate for the future of UConn Health, and with that, our hard-fought contractual benefits including retirement, health care, wages and working conditions.

Want to get more involved? Another chance to advocate to lawmakers is Feb. 29, at the AFT CT Legislative Issues Conference. Grab a coworker and sign up today -- it's a terrific learning experience!