News

Congratulations to Paraeducator of the year 2021 Cheryl Johnson ! 

Kudos to all our Nominees of HPS 20-21 listed below. Job well done! HFP2221 appreciates all you do!

Anne     Castelhano         Noah Webster MicroSociety Magnet School

Joy         Hancock               Breakthrough North Magnet School

Ada        Acosta              Classical Magnet

Yvonne White                   SAND School

Maria    Dominguez         Parkville Community School

Daniel   Pappalardo         Hartford PreK Magnet School

Guillermo Mardales        Hartford Public High School

Priscilla Viera     Burns Latino Studies Academy

Jesus Suarez       Environmental Sciences Magnet at Mary Hooker

HFP local 2221 wants to congratulate our 31 nominees for POY 2022. This is the first time we had so many receipients . Top ten will be interviewed and announced in April of this year. 

Luljeta  Doci           Betances Learning Lab Magnet School

Amaryllis  Torres      Breakthrough II Magnet (North) School

Robin  Gomes      Breakthrough Magnet (South) School

Yokasty Thomas    Bulkeley High School

Jalixa  Serrano        Burns Latino Studies Academy

Faneeza  Rahman-Khan    Burr School

Marieta Williams       Capital Preparatory Magnet

Irma  DelCastillo         Classical Magnet

Regina 

Due to the Coronavirus Outbreak The Meet and Greet on March 20th & General Membership meeting on the 26th have been canceled until further notice. Hartford, Crec and Magnet Schools will be closed starting Monday March 16th for the next two weeks indefinitely. After the two weeks they will do a reevaluation .Please check with your school email , website or Building Representative for more information .

It is important to know and utilize your rights as a union member. Did you know that you have the right to Union representation during an investigatory interview? If you think you are going to be interviewed by your supervisors, that it could result in some kind of discipline, you have the right to union representation during interview.But these" Weingarten rights" should be claimed by you because depending on the terms of your contract, your supervisor may not have an obligation to inform you of your right to Union representation. What is an Investigatory Interview?An Investigatory interview is one in which a supervisor questions an employee to obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an employee to defend his/her conduct. If employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or discharge may result from whatsh/he says, the employee has right to request Union representation. An employee should state to the employer that he/she wants a Union representative present; depending on the terms of the bargaining unit contract, the employer may not have an obligation to ask the employee if she/he wants a representative. Weingarten Rules When an Investigatory interview occurs, the following rules apply:Rule1-You must make a clear request for Union representation before or during interview. You can't be punished for making this request. Rule 2- After you make the request, your supervisor has 3 options. S/he must either:a. Grant the request and delay the interview until the Union representative arrives and had a chance to consult privately with the employee: orb. Deny the request and end the interview immediately; orc.Give the employee a Choice of: 1) having the interview without representation or 2) ending the interview Rule 3- If the supervisor denies your request and continues to ask questions, this is an unfair labor practice and you have the right to refuse to answer. You cannot be disciplined for such refusal but are required to sit there until the supervisor terminates the interview. Leaving before this happens may constitute punishable insubordination. While this is an important right to have, it is not always applicable. An employee has NO right to the presence of a Union representative where: 1. The meeting is merely for the purpose of conveying work instructions, training or communicating needed corrections in the employee's work techniques. 2. The employee is assured by the employer prior to the interview that no discipline or employment consequences can result from the interview. 3. The employer has reached a final decision to impose certain discipline on the employee prior to the interview, and the purpose of the interview is to inform the employee of the discipline or to impose it. 4. Any conversation or discussion about the previously determined discipline which is initiated by the employee and without employer encouragement or instigation after the employee is informed of the action. Even in the above circumstances, you can still ask for representation. Most employers will permit a representative to attend even when not required to.

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

It is important to know and utilize your rights as a union member. Did you know that you have the right to Union representation during an investigatory interview? If you think you are going to be interviewed by your supervisors, that it could result in some kind of discipline, you have the right to union representation during interview.But these" Weingarten rights" should be claimed by you because depending on the terms of your contract, your supervisor may not have an obligation to inform you of your right to Union representation. What is an Investigatory Interview?An Investigatory interview is one in which a supervisor questions an employee to obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an employee to defend his/her conduct. If employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or discharge may result from whatsh/he says, the employee has right to request Union representation. An employee should state to the employer that he/she wants a Union representative present; depending on the terms of the bargaining unit contract, the employer may not have an obligation to ask the employee if she/he wants a representative. Weingarten Rules When an Investigatory interview occurs, the following rules apply:Rule1-You must make a clear request for Union representation before or during interview. You can't be punished for making this request. Rule 2- After you make the request, your supervisor has 3 options. S/he must either:a. Grant the request and delay the interview until the Union representative arrives and had a chance to consult privately with the employee: orb. Deny the request and end the interview immediately; orc.Give the employee a Choice of: 1) having the interview without representation or 2) ending the interview Rule 3- If the supervisor denies your request and continues to ask questions, this is an unfair labor practice and you have the right to refuse to answer. You cannot be disciplined for such refusal but are required to sit there until the supervisor terminates the interview. Leaving before this happens may constitute punishable insubordination. While this is an important right to have, it is not always applicable. An employee has NO right to the presence of a Union representative where: 1. The meeting is merely for the purpose of conveying work instructions, training or communicating needed corrections in the employee's work techniques. 2. The employee is assured by the employer prior to the interview that no discipline or employment consequences can result from the interview. 3. The employer has reached a final decision to impose certain discipline on the employee prior to the interview, and the purpose of the interview is to inform the employee of the discipline or to impose it. 4. Any conversation or discussion about the previously determined discipline which is initiated by the employee and without employer encouragement or instigation after the employee is informed of the action. Even in the above circumstances, you can still ask for representation. Most employers will permit a representative to attend even when not required to.

• One Co-PRESIDENT Vacancy

• must be a member in good standing for at least one year.
• must have knowledge of the contract.
• must be present to accept nomination.
• must be able to attend meetings (while not a formal requirement, the nominee MUST be a team player)