VICTORY FOR 1199 STRIKING SPECTRUM WORKERS

Photo Above: District 1199 strikers at Park Place Health Center, Hartford, CT -- Click on the photo for full screen.

Since April 15 nearly 400 District 1999 workers went on strike against Vernon-based Spectrum. In a victory for the union, the state Department of Labor ruled all the striking workers are now eligible to receive unemployment benefits.

State law prohibits strikers who have not been locked out by their employer form receiving unemployment benefits, but there are exceptions. Spectrum Healthcare had hired permanent replacements for the striking workers, and told the union workers that they would not automatically be given their jobs back if they returned, but would be placed on a "recall list." As a result the state Department of Labor ruled that the striking workers "...had been permanently replaced, and that their unemployment was no longer due to the existence of a labor dispute."

The fight for a fair contract continues. Join a rally/press conference this Saturday:

* DATE: Saturday, June 19, 2010

* TIME: 10:30 AM

* PLACE: Park Place Health Center, 5 Greenwood Street, Hartford

You also can join the picket line anytime between 6 AM and 12 midnight at the following strike locations:

Birmingham Health Center, 210 Chatfield Street, Derby , CT

Hilltop Health Center, 126 Ford Street, Ansonia

Laurel Hill Healthcare, 106 East Lake Street, Winsted

Park Place Health Center, 5 Greenwood Street, Hartford

And send a strike fund donation to:

The 1199 Strike and Defense Fund. District 1199, 77 Huyshope Avenue , Hartford , CT 06106.

Posted by Tom Connolly