Natchaug nurses lend a hand in organizing workers

Now that the school health clinicians at Natchaug Hospital in Mansfield Center, Conn., are a part of AFT Healthcare, they can focus on negotiating their first contract. The 69-member unit voted 34-31 for representation by AFT Healthcare on June 22, in spite of an anti-union campaign the hospital lobbed at the last minute.

Members of the newly formed unit at Natchaug are part of the hospital’s adolescent services program. They are employed at clinical day treatment school programs in several satellite centers throughout eastern Connecticut. The programs support public school students removed from the classroom because of emotional or behavioral health problems.

The workers approached AFT Healthcare about organizing last summer. Lack of communication between workers and the hospital was the biggest issue, says Jason Shirley, an educational assistant at the satellite center in Montville, Conn.

“The hospital management set policies and schedules without ever consulting us. Communication did not exist. There was an us-against-them feeling,” says Shirley.

In addition, salaries are extremely low. As educators in a healthcare setting, many of the workers earn less than beginning teachers in the state.  

During the campaign, the educators worked closely with members of the Natchaug Federation of Nurses (NFN), an affiliate of AFT Healthcare. The 27-member local offered support by sharing experiences.

“The nurses’ support was invaluable. They convinced us that organizing was the best move for us,” says Shirley.