Council 4 Unplugged

Council 4 Unplugged co-hosts Renee Hamel and Lauren Takores speak with former Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill on the early voting ballot measure, and with Council 4 Legislative & Political Director Zak Leavy and Council 4 PEOPLE Committee Chair Stephen Wierbicki on member political engagement.

Front-line blood collection workers employed by the American Red Cross are rallying for a fair contract and safe staffing levels. AFSCME Local 3145 President Joe Tine and Council 4 Staff Rep Scott Soares join us to discuss  how and Red Cross workers are mobilizing in Connecticut and nationwide.   Click here to tell Red Cross that front line workers deserve a fair contract

Council 4 member-leaders Harold Brooks (Local 3144), Patricia Davis (Local 318) and Claudine Wilkins-Chambers (Local 3429) reflect on Black History Month and the role unions must play in strengthening labor and civil rights.

Council 4 Unplugged co-hosts Renee Hamel and Larry Dorman visit with the newly elected Connecticut AFL-CIO leaders, President Ed Hawthorne and Executive Vice President Shellye Davis.

Donald Cohen, executive director of In the Public Interest, joins us to discuss his new book, “The Privatization of Everything.”

On this episode we discuss what to do when you're hurt on the job, trends in workers compensation policy and the important role unions play in advocating for injured workers. Our guests are Eric Rentz of the CT Workers Compensation Commission and Council 4 Rep Brett Owen, who chairs our union's Workers Compensation Committee.

A team of occupational safety experts and front-line correctional employees is developing the tools to help workers cope with job-related mental health stressors. The study holds great promise not just for prison employees, but all workers. Our guests are Asst. Professor Sara Namazi of Springfield College; AFSCME Local 391 President Collin Provost; and Local 391 Executive Board member Stan Sudduth.

With less than 2 weeks away from the end of the legislative session, Council 4 Legislative and Political Coordinator, Brian Anderson, takes us through where we are at with passing a fair budget and important bills that will protect and uplift workers. We also discuss the importance of the PEOPLE Committee and being engaged in this year’s municipal election.   Click here to urge Governor Lamont and your legislators to provide pandemic hazard pay to essential workers    

Connecticut is well situated to make genuine progress in addressing its core economic problems by investing in public services, however that has not been the case since the Great Recession. Jennifer Klein, Yale History Professor, and Shahrzad Habibi, In The Public Interest Research and Policy Director, join us to discuss their report “Austerity Versus Reinvestment.” Ed Hawthorne, Vice President of AFSCME Local 269, also shares how disinvestment has hurt the CT Department of Labor in helping unemployed residents impacted by the pandemic.   Click here to read the “Austerity Versus Reinvestment” report Click here to learn more about the Rally For A Fully Funded DOL on Saturday, April 17.

Connecticut is plagued by the inter-related problems of wealth inequality and a regressive tax structure. COVID-19 has made it all worse. Emily Byrne, the Executive Director of CT Voices, addresses these issues and provides useful policy prescriptions.

In this two-part series, we discuss the statewide election and worker-focused policy priorities for the next legislative session. Our guests include two new legislators, State Representatives-Elect Kate Farrar (West Hartford) and Mike DiGiovancarlo (Waterbury), as well as Council 4 Political and Legislative Coordinators, Brian Anderson and Zak Leavy.

Election day is almost here and COVID-19 has changed the voting landscape. Secretary of State Denise Merrill and Local 2663 member and New Haven Alderperson Jeanette Morrison join us to talk about how they're working to engage voters ahead of Nov. 3.

On this episode, we explore the challenges of safely reopening our public schools during COVID-19. Our guests are on the frontline of representing school employees: Council 4 Secretary Stacie Harris-Byrdsong of AFSCME Local 3194 (Capitol Region Education Council); Dan McGinley of AFSCME Local 1303-087 (Putnam Custodians); and Council 4 Staff Representative Tricia Santos.

Michele Evermore of the National Employment Law Project and Xavier Gordon of AFSCME Local 269 (representing the CT Department of Labor) join us to discuss the struggles facing unemployed workers and the political fight over unemployment insurance benefits.

Congressman Joe Courtney from CT’s 2nd District joins us to talk about the impact of the pandemic, and the need for a robust federal aid package to support our state, cities and towns. 

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Local 3144 President Harold Brooks, who co-chairs our union's Civil Rights Committee, join us to talk about the importance of participating in the 2020 Census. 

Steve Schrag and Mike Fitts of the CT Council on Occupational Safety and Health join us on Workers Memorial Day (April 28) to talk about the continuing struggle to protect workers during the coronavirus crisis.

Hartford Courant reporter Rebecca Lurye shares her perspective as a journalist covering the city of Hartford and as unit chair of the Hartford Courant News Guild, the newly formed union at Connecticut's oldest paper. We did this interview right before COVID-19, so the supporting the cause of local journalism has become more important than ever. In addition to listening and sharing this, please sign the News Guild's online petition, "Save Our Courant." 

How is Connecticut really doing? We turn to Comptroller Kevin Lembo for fact-based answers on this episode of Council 4 Unplugged. The Comptroller tackles many topical issues, including the certified savings yielded by the 2017 SEBAC agreement, a program to improve access to health care for municipal employees and an initiative to improve government transparency.

Federal, state and local governmental bodies spend $7 trillion of our tax dollars on public services. Is it any wonder big corporations want a piece of that? Donald Cohen of In The Public Interest joins Council 4 to discuss the latest trends in privatization and outsourcing, and how unions must be engaged in the campaign to stop private interests from subverting the public good.