Part of the orientation is a 30-minute “union-only” session of the training, during which members SEIU 1199 organizers discuss workers' rights and the benefits of joining a union. The union then tries to get PCAs to sign union cards to join the SEIU 1199 and start paying dues. Pauline refused to sign the card and that was when the trouble started.
The Connecticut Department of Labor released Thursday job numbers for September showing a loss of 5,200 non-farm jobs in the state. “Connecticut saw job losses in September for the third month in a row and our three month average of total non-farm jobs saw its first decline this year,” Andy Condon, director of the DOL Office of Research, said in a statement.
Connecticut assistant attorneys general voted to join the American Federation of Teachers via mail-in ballot on Tuesday. The ballots, which were mailed out October 4, tallied 101-64, according to the Connecticut State Labor Relations Board.
Connecticut is one of only eight states in the nation that allows “fusion voting,” a system that allows a candidate to appear more than once on the ballot and the nominee for two or more political parties. However, some experts say a bill passed in 2013 that placed restrictions on fusion voting could be illegal.
Renters using Section 8 housing vouchers were allegedly charged higher rents than unassisted renters in Hartford, according to an action filed in the U.S. District Court for Connecticut. The action claimed that Imagineers LLC which administers Hartford’s Section 8 housing voucher program, “improperly approved” housing assistance for monthly rental payments which were higher than “comparable unassisted units.”
The Department of Social Services confirmed that it is “looking into” claims that personal care assistants employed through private non-profit agencies are having union dues deducted from their paychecks without authorization. Karen Hansen of Community Allied Resources, the company which administers paychecks for PCAs paid for by agencies like the DSS, also confirmed that “we have had calls indicating this kind of thing.”