Friday, August 29, 2014

THE PEOPLE PREPARE TO BE HEARD

Drop all Charges Against Luis Anglero, Jr.!
End police brutality from Hartford to Ferguson

What: March and Rally to Drop the Charges against Luis Anglero, Jr.
When: Wed. Aug. 27 6PM
Where: The corner of Albany Ave and Main St. (Just North passed Capitol Prep 1304 Main St.) Hartford, CT

From Hartford to Ferguson to L.A. people are mobilizing and demanding an end to police violence in their communities. Less than 2 weeks after the murder of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, MO. Hartford, CT police officer Shawn Ware tased 18 year Luis Anglero, Jr. sending him to the pavement, were he hit his head and and had a violent seizure. Video and eyewitness reports clearly show there is no justification for the officers action. Luis is innocent of any crime yet he has been charged with "breach of the peace in the second" and "interfering with police".

Cornell Lewis and Rabbi Donna Berman, executive director of Charter Oak Cultural Center called a meeting Monday to organize a response. Attendees included labor organizer Steve Thornton, Rev. Damaris Whittaker, pastor of the First Church of Christ in Hartford and representatives from Occupy Hartford, the University of Hartford, the Unitarian Society, and Mobilizing to Defend Our Rights. A representative from Luis Anglero Jr.’s family was also in attendance and thanked the group for their support.

We invite you to gather Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Albany and Main streets in Hartford to demand:

- All charges against Luis Anglero, Jr. be dropped immediately.
- Place officer Shawn Ware under arrest for assaulting Luis
- Open the books on all protocol for using lethal and less lethal weapons, include a list of all weaponry used by the HPD
- Public hearings and community speak outs in every neighborhood to better understand the full scope of police brutality in Hartford.

ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE SPEAK WITH SINGLE VOICE

On August 27, 2014 100 people marched to the Hartford Police Department in protest against the tasering of Luis Anglero. The statement below was read inside HPD by Cornell Lewis, Rabbi Donna Berman, Rev. Damaris  D.Whittaker.


Manifesto for the Hartford Police Department

We, the people, citizens of Hartford, demand that the Hartford Police Department serve the community with care, respect and sensitivity to our needs, and without aggression and violence.
We, the people, demand that all charges against Luis Anglero are dismissed, immediately.
We, the people, demand that charges be brought against Detective Shawn Ware for using excessive force.

We, the people, demand full accountability and transparency from the Hartford Police Department, including:
A comprehensive list of all weapons (lethal and less lethal, e.g. tasers, sound cannons, stun and flash grenades, rubber bullets, etc.) in police arsenal
A comprehensive list of protocols in place for use of these weapons
A comprehensive list of incidences of tasering in the past year, including extent of force and demographics of those tasered
An independent investigation into the tasering of Luis Anglero.

We, the people, demand that the police attend a public forum, put together by the Hartford community, to discuss issues of strained relations with the community.
We, the people, will not tolerate any needless imposition of suffering or loss of life at the hands of the police, as in the case of Eric Gardner in New York and Michael Brown in Missouri.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

WHY ATTACKS ON THE TWO MEN?

The drama at Connecticut Juvenile Training School continues in high gear. For whatever reason it seems as if unity among workers is decreasing. Just a while ago Youth Service Officers were signing petitions and forcing Joette Katz Commissioner of Department of Children and Families to meet with them. The glow of that meeting is over obviously; we now have attacks by employees on one another like the Hatfields & McCoys epic battles. Sources report how one YSO is being accused of challenging directives given by a superior. Kevin Strachen [ the source claims ] is being singled out for punishment and his peers cannot figure out why. We must consider that Strachen is a member of the hostile work environment lawsuit launched four years ago with four other people [ DCF Plantation 5 ]. Since the lawsuit was filed management has tried all manner of trickery to discipline Strachen. He has been investigated every time he had to physically restrain a resident at CJTS. Now there are rumors that management is once again filing complaints in various forms against Strachen.

The next incident concerns Ray Monteiro a dedicated YSO at CJTS. For years white management has been quietly trying to erode Ray's influence with incarcerated youth. Ray started a program called icy dreams which is designed to let residents sell flavored snow cones under supervision of employees. This business endeavor teaches youth how to manage money and interact with customers. Icy dreams was targeted by management to be shut down several times. Ray's son Barray has been and still is being targeted by management for minor infractions [ this is in order to get to Ray ]. Now all of a sudden white management is using YSOs to go after Ray. It is reported that a fellow employee recently walked up to Ray and voiced disapproval about certain things. Well why in the world is a fellow employee doing this? The same person that confronted Ray is usually  "quiet as a church mouse" people claim. Now he is confronting Ray for no good reason? Hold on readers, there are reasons this is happening now to Ray. We need look no further than white management using YSOs as attack dogs. By doing it in this manner management can claim to have clean hands. Yeah right.


Tuesday, August 26, 2014

RALLY TO ADDRESS EXCESSIVE POLICE FORCE

March and Rally To Drop the Charges Against Luis Anglero Jr.

Posted: August 26, 2014 in Call to Action, Fight Back, Solidarity


What: March and Rally to Drop the Charges against Luis Anglero, Jr.

When: Wed. Aug. 27 6PM
Where: The corner of Albany Ave and Main St. (Just North passed Capitol Prep 1304 Main St.) Hartford, CT

From Hartford to Ferguson to L.A. people are mobilizing and demanding an end to police violence in their communities. Less than 2 weeks after the murder of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, MO. Hartford, CT police officer Shawn Ware tasered 18 year Luis Anglero, Jr. sending him to the pavement, were he hit his head and and had a violent seizure. Video and eyewitness reports clearly show there is no justification for the officers action. Luis is innocent of any crime yet he has been charged with “breach of the peace in the second” and “interfering with police”.

Cornell Lewis and Rabbi Donna Berman, executive director of Charter Oak Cultural Center called a meeting Monday to organize a response. Attendees included labor organizer Steve Thornton, Rev. Damaris Whittaker, pastor of the First Church of Christ in Hartford and representatives from Occupy Hartford, Mobilizing to Defend Our Rights and members of the Unitarian Society. A representative from Luis Anglero Jr.’s family was also in attendance and thanked the group for their support.

We invite you to gather Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Albany and Main streets in Hartford to demand:

- All charges against Luis Anglero, Jr. be dropped immediately.
– Place officer Shawn Ware under arrest for assaulting Luis
– Open the books on all protocol for using lethal and less lethal weapons, include a list of all weaponry used by the HPD
– Public hearings and community speak outs in every neighborhood to better understand the full scope of police brutality in Hartford

Contact Chris H. 860-593-6392 or Christopher.hutch@gmail.com
Facebook event page.

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Quote of the week

Sunday, August 24, 2014

WILL THEY EVER LEARN ANYTHING?

While in Hartford recently a lawyer stopped me and inquired about my ongoing battle for racial justice as it relates to Department of Children and Families / Connecticut Juvenile Training School. I responded by saying that an arbitrator ruled against DCF's termination of me and to restore job, benefits etc. The lawyer said to me " Cornell DCF et al. do not give a damn about going to court and fighting these lawsuits or arbitration. It is public money they use therefore it does not matter to them.Those people in charge of state run agencies are only interested in winning, in the final analysis this kind of thing [ claims of racial injustice by employees of color ] continues to occur. What is really sad is that these white people running DCF / CJTS do not learn anything nor is change made."

Those words from a legal mind struck home as I reflected on all the effort that went into pointing out CJTS blatant discrimination against employees of color. All DCF publicity person did was deny all charges and claim I had no valid basis for making such allegations. Even when Freedom of Information documents from DCF proved beyond doubt that white management disciplined employees of color more severely and with greater frequency-- talking heads within the DCF Plantation stayed on message i.e. "there is nothing wrong."

Well clearly something is " rotten in Denmark" and just because the white overseers at DCF do not acknowledge wrondoing does not mean it is not valid.

Is that lawyer telling the truth will they [ DCF ] ever learn anything?

Saturday, August 23, 2014

IN SUPPORT OF COMRADES FACING POLICE BRUTALITY

Dear Comrades,
Rabbi Donna Berman and I are concerned about police brutality across America. Black men in New York and Ferguson, Mo have died due to police brutality. We are meeting Monday August 25th at 3pm Charter Oak Cultural Center to plan a stronger response to police brutality. We plan a march to the HPD with reading of a manifesto statement about police brutality. The event will take place Wednesday August 27th at 6pm.

There have been several rallies in support of Ferguson, Mo in Hartford. We do not want to tire folks out. This will be different in a variety of ways, no sugar coating ... straight ahead dialogue.

More details to follow. If you wish to be part of this event come to Charter Oak Cultural Center August 25th at 3pm.

Cornell Lewis

Thursday, August 21, 2014

LOOKING OUT FOR THEIR OWN



The DCF Plantation blog recently received several reports about how white management at Connecticut Juvenile Training School treats non- people of color differently than the natives. This blog staff writer heard from reliable sources the following story. A white female was hired a year ago to work 2nd shift as Youth Services Officer at CJTS. From all accounts the young white female did not relate well with incarcerated residents and appeared weak in area of disciplinary measures. Then one day this same female ended up teaching Safe Crisis Management techniques to CJTS staff. Now SCM is designed to teach YSOs how to use proper restraint techniques on residents when situations arise for it. In other cases when YSOs do not workout as employees the management staff ends employment (usually this means folk of color terminated). However when a white person is employed and has difficulty working with residents other measures are found in keeping them on the job. Now let me be clear in saying that these words written above come from YSOs of color who feel slighted about this white female getting preferential treatment (or so it seems). There is a pattern YSOs claim of white employees getting different treatment than people of color.

In order to make their point YSOs brought the following story to my attention. Several years ago the State of Connecticut was making budget cut backs and this extended to CJTS letting go administrative staff. Well a black male and white male were slated for possibly losing their job. White administrators at CJTS tried to keep the white management person on the job while terminating the black male. The black male then sited his years in military service as reason for staying at CJTS. Clearly the white manager had less time of being employed; the CJTS hierarchy kept the black manager but created a job description for their white male buddy. In other words whites looked out for their own in this scenario and with the SCM trainer too.

It is clear that not only are white management types treating YSOs with harsher disciplinary measures but other forms of hocus pocus go on daily. In the final analysis people of color are treated differently while whites are looking out for their own.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

DEMONIZING THE PERSON AND IGNORING CRITICAL ISSUES



The Department of Children and Families plus Connecticut Juvenile Training School is besieged with problems of employee racism, bias and dysfunctional leadership. Yet for several years both agencies chose to ignore these volatile and ugly issues, while focusing on activists trying to achieve justice. One person in particular seemed to be the focal point of DCF / CJTS ill will- former CJTS employee Cornell Lewis. After working at CJTS for six years Lewis was terminated July 17, 2013 on charges that can only be described as something out of the Twilight Zone. White management charged Lewis with Neglect of Duty, kept him employed for one month then placed him on paid administrative leave for one year. After all that maneuvering, then the stage was set for white management to fire him.

However before DCF / CJTS terminated Lewis they demonized aspects of his character in order to give cover to their nefarious plans. Lewis was described as trouble maker for having the nerve to point out bias or discrimination. There were several investigations launched against him that culminated in no disciplinary actions. When Lewis walked around CJTS property conducting job duties white management observed him closely: disinformation was put out about Lewis’s community activities in Greater Hartford. All of these things were done in order to lay ground work for white management to try and convince people Lewis should not be working with incarcerated CJTS males and this is why he needed to be terminated. Historically character assassination is a favorite trick of oppressors trying to stay in power: demonizing the person and ignoring critical issues confuses people and allows those in power to legitimize their claims on legal or moral grounds. In order to make such demonizing imagery authentic the white management team even brought in Negro female / male state employees to sit in at Lewis’s legal hearings ( more on this subject in another story). These smiling Negroes are well paid by their masters and do white management’s bidding without hesitation.

After spending almost two years of trying to place the onus of any disciplinary actions on Cornell Lewis an arbitrator ruled July 11, 2014 that DCF /CJTS did not have sufficient evidence to terminate Lewis, and ordered him back to work. Now other workers on the DCF Plantation are rising up to protest injustice or bias. Will management seek also to sully these employees character?

Saturday, August 16, 2014

CORNELL'S FIRING WAS A NECESSITY OR NECESSARY EVIL



The scenario is well known by now to most employees of Connecticut Juvenile Training School. Youth Services Officer Cornell Lewis was fired from CJTS on July 17, 2013 supposedly for Neglect of Duty. This staff writer found out that CJTS management led the charge to get rid of Lewis for organizing workers to resist injustice at that facility. The official version by Department of Children and Families for Lewis dismissal claims Neglect of Duty [not seeing two residents fight]. For the charge of Neglect of Duty there is usually a written reprimand or several day suspension ( three days at the most). However DCF / CJTS decided to fire Cornell plus two additional workers under the guise of protecting children. The real reason for the three terminations was to get Lewis off CJTS property. For years Lewis exposed the unequal disciplinary actions white management aimed at black / Latino men through terminations or harsher disciplines. Because Lewis dared expose these things a vindictive white privileged management decided “ Cornell’s firing was a necessity or necessary evil.”
In order to maintain their aura of invincibility and apartheid type rule, white management decided to strike at a man they not only detested but feared.

White management detested Cornell for several reasons, he as a black man stood before them unafraid and proclaimed the truth. Also Cornell wrote for three black owned newspapers in Hartford and consistently indicted the DCF and CJTS hierarchy in these publications. Lastly, when being investigated by management on some phony charge, Lewis used historical, classical Greek literature, black history and Shakespearean quotes to defend himself. This did not sit well with CJTS white management many of whom cannot conjugate a verb properly. It is not strange for whites in power to try and eliminate threats to their power base within DCF/ CJTS especially if the person during the proclaiming of injustice is a black male. History records show America destroyed Paul Robeson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Noble Drew Ali, W.E.B. Dubois, Ruben Hurricane Carter, Medgar Evers and the list goes on. All of these men mentioned plus others history has ignored or forgotten are victims of systematic pernicious racism. In other words America eliminated the so called black male threat. Ergo, CJTS followed in that old grand American tradition when they got rid of Cornell.

However on July 11, 2014 a female arbitrator wrote in a decision that Lewis was unjustly terminated from the job at CJTS. The same arbitrator ordered DCF /CJTS to reinstate Lewis with all benefits, back pay, vacation pay due to him. Well that attempt by white management to silence Lewis failed; now the man management loves to hate is given his job back. In the final analysis no matter how this scene plays out remember one thing please; Cornell’s firing was a necessity or necessary evil.


United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

COMMUNITY PARTY NEWS REPORT

Please forward widely! Pick up the Hartford News at these locations.  http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/hartford-news-locations/ Check out the archive of Community Party Hartford News columns at our No Sellout blog.   http://hendu39.wordpress.com/

David Samuels
Founder
Community Party



Political Roundup: Bridgeport Cop Indicted for Civil Rights Violation / Corporatism & Tom Foley’s Fusion Paperboard Debacle

This column appears in the August  14 – 21 edition of the Hartford News… Check out our No Sellout blog for an important message from Connecticut Justice Party State Coordinator Carlos Camacho.  http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/message-from-carlos-camacho/

                                                                     Trayvon Martin Act Update
                     Bridgeport Police Officer Clive Higgins Indicted for Civil Rights Violation

Report from News 12 Connecticut   http://connecticut.news12.com/

A third Bridgeport police officer has been indicted for his role in a case where the officers beat a man in custody.
Prosecutors charged Clive Higgins with violating the civil rights of Orlando Lopez-Soto.
The two other officers involved have already pleaded guilty in the case.
Elson Morales and Joe Lawlor will be sentenced in September. They face up to a year in PRISON and could be forced to resign.

Watch video of the beating here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AO_7YGma-I

The 2013 conviction of East Haven police officers Dennis Spaulding and David Cari on FEDERAL CHARGES of racially profiling Latinos is irrefutable evidence that biased policing is happening in Connecticut. Gov. Dannel Malloy’s administration has gone to great lengths to protect the police, who wield considerable political influence at the State Capitol. Office of Policy and Management Under Secretary Mike Lawlor and the so-called Racial Profiling Prohibition Project have focused on an esoteric data collection process, while ignoring the conviction of the EHPD officers. Let’s see if they also try to sweep the Bridgeport case under the rug. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/trayvon-martin-act-report-connecticut-racial-profiling-prohibition-project/  Contrary to Lawlor’s assertion that biased policing is a “perceived problem”, police containment of Black and Latino neighborhoods by racial profiling, intimidation and violence is a real issue. Right next door in New York, a medical examiner ruled that the death of Eric Garner at the hands of the NYPD was a homicide. http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/5/new_york_police_killing_of_eric  Check out our Resources section for the Community Party’s Trayvon Martin Act bill language, testimony by Mary Sanders (who wrote CP’s Trayvon Act) and Adam Osmond at a forum on racial profiling and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement report on the extrajudicial killing of Black people by the police, SECURITY GUARDS and vigilantes.

It seemed like a good idea at the time…  Last month Tom Foley, who easily defeated Sen. John McKinney in the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, traveled to the town of Sprague to hold a press conference in front of Fusion Paperboard, a paper mill that is being closed in September by OpenGate Capital, a private INVESTMENT FIRM. Foley’s plan was to use Fusion as a prop while he bashed Malloy’s economic policies. Foley ended up being embarrassed by Fusion employees and Democratic Party Sen. Cathy Osten, who is also the town’s first selectwoman. Foley was berated by Osten and the Fusion employees for exploiting the paper mill’s closure and being clueless about the factors which actually led to the company’s demise. Foley wanted to use Fusion to spread his gospel of business deregulation. His attempt flopped miserably. As Fusion workers read him the Riot Act, Foley looked like an out of touch rich guy, which is exactly what he is. Foley admitted to Osten that he never set foot in Sprague prior to July 29th, the date that Foley arrived in town to dance on Fusion Paperboard’s grave. This was a calculated ploy by a politician to use the plight of the working class for his own PERSONAL gain. To the delight of Malloy and McKinney, Foley’s slimy move blew up in his face. It would have been nice if Sen. Osten displayed the same passion on behalf of public employees. While Osten was the co-chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, she refused to meet with CP to discuss our Safe Work Environment Act. Based on our experience with Osten, it appears that her confrontation with Foley was at least partially motivated by the gubernatorial election. Current committee co-chair Sen. Gary Holder Winfield will introduce our workplace bullying bill in 2015.  http://senatedems.ct.gov/Holder-Winfield.php

Proof that the election is a false choice was on display during the August 3 Fox CT Capitol Report program. Working Families Party executive director Lindsay Farrell, who a couple of days earlier announced that WFP was again cross-endorsing Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, placing them on two ballot lines in the November election, and Jodi Latina, a campaign staffer for McKinney, both gloated over Foley’s debacle in Sprague. Farrell did not challenge Latina on McKinney’s plan if he is elected, which is to threaten state workers with layoffs if they don’t agree to concessions; employees have already done so twice since 2009 (I’m a state worker). WFP’s endorsement of Malloy reinforces their image as a satellite of the Democratic Party. When state workers rejected the concessions deal between union “leaders” and Malloy, he responded by issuing thousands of layoff notices. Malloy smacked teachers in the face with an anti-teacher bill that was mostly dismantled by the legislature. Malloy knew that he could count on WFP to avoid holding him accountable, no matter what he did. Malloy, Foley and McKinney are all union busters, the only difference is a matter of DEGREE.

The inconvenient fact for liberals and conservatives is that Malloy, Foley and McKinney are all corporatists. Malloy has thrown millions at big business through his First Five initiative. He attempted to give over $100 million to Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world.  Malloy, Foley and McKinney are privatizers: Malloy is a rabid proponent of the privatization of education. Foley and McKinney both support privatizing state services. Because Malloy is a Democrat, he will throw workers a bone in the form of a watered down paid sick days bill or an inadequate minimum wage boost to $10.10, so he can cite these policy positions as an example of his support of labor. Malloy would not get behind a minimum wage increase until it became an election year issue. He refused to support a minimum wage boost in 2012, even after the bill had been gutted to a measly 25 cent increase with no index for inflation. Malloy’s outright bullying of state workers and public school teachers is a true indication of his attitude toward the working class. The Democrats and Republicans both give lip service to supporting the workers, while their actual policy decisions reflect their subservience to Wall Street.

“Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.” ~ The 14 Defining Principles of Fascism by Dr. Lawrence Britt

David G. Mills’  Information Clearing House article, It’s the Corporate State, Stupid, is a must read. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7260.htm  Mills discusses the definition of corporatism by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who said, “Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power”. One of the objectives of the corporate state in this country is to roll back workers’ gains in wages and benefits. Unlike Malloy and Foley, McKinney does not attempt to downplay the fact that he’s a corporatist. Connecticut Mirror health reporter Arielle Levin Becker interviewed the gubernatorial candidates about their health care policy positions. McKinney laid out his plan of attack against state workers. McKinney described their health care package as a “platinum plan”; he wanted the state employee unions to return to the negotiating table yet again to surrender more of their wages and benefits.

While McKinney demonized state workers he said nothing about closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and corporations, who are stacking more cash than state workers could ever dream of. Matthew Santacroce made recommendations as to how the state could rake in huge sums of much needed revenue in his Connecticut Voices for Children report, Reality Check: Who Pays Taxes in Connecticut. http://www.ctvoices.org/publications/reality-check-who-pays-taxes-connecticut The report found that the state’s working class and poor residents pay more in taxes than the rich. “Raise marginal income tax rates on our state’s wealthiest residents to align with those in New York State. Raising Connecticut’s rates just on income over $1 million could generate over $400 million annually. Close corporate tax loopholes that reward companies that ship profits and jobs out of state. Instituting mandatory combined reporting and the throwback rule would increase state revenues by over $100 million next year, while leveling the playing field for the small businesses that are vital to Connecticut’s economy. Report regularly on how much people at different income levels and businesses of different sizes pay in state and local taxes (tax incidence analysis), which will provide policymakers with a clear picture of taxes in Connecticut, and will help to inform complicated tax policy debates in an objective, data-driven fashion.” Like Malloy and Foley, McKinney’s economic policies are dictated by his Wall Street masters. McKinney’s populist rhetoric about standing up for the working class is directly contradicted by his ideological opposition to the recommendations in the Connecticut Voices for Children report. The Fusion Paperboard press conference was great theater but the truth is that neither Malloy, Foley or McKinney support the interests of the workers.

Malloy vs. Foley II is now an official sequel. McKinney, who spent the past several weeks explaining in vivid detail why Foley sucks, immediately vowed to do anything that Foley asks of him to make Malloy a one-term governor. Foley said, “Change is on the way!” Yeah, right… Within the next couple of weeks, we will find out if third-party candidates Jonathan Pelto and Joe Visconti will get an opportunity to steal the show.


Follow CP on Twitter for state, national and global headlines and updates on the status of our Trayvon Martin and Safe Work Environment Acts. https://twitter.com/CommunityParty1  Check out CP’s No Sellout blog for the archive of our Hartford News columns. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/  Listen to WQTQ 89.9 FM for CP’s public service announcements on our racial justice initiatives. https://www.facebook.com/wqtqfm Contact us at 860-206-8879 or info.community.party@gmail.com.  



 Resources

  Community Party Trayvon Martin Act bill language:


Saturday, August 9, 2014

QUEEN OF THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT


There are persistent rumors coming out of Connecticut Juvenile Training School about worker abuse of Family and Medical Leave Act ( FMLA). Youth Service Officers at CJTS are held to a high standard when it comes to reporting for work, being on time, using medical leave correctly and not abusing it. If YSOs are made to adhere to a strict code then should this not apply to administrators also. Take for instance the Unit Supervisor that has used FMLA to the point of excess.

Sources within CJTS report a female Unit Leader is never at work : this absence causes her workers on the Unit to go unsupervised. In addition there are 20 residents on the supervisor's Unit in need of her guidance but she is not to be found ( except on FMLA ). Staff reporters for this blog have written about this Unit Leader before i.e. describing how her time sheets clearly highlight excessive amounts of sick time leave. Hell, a few watchdog advocates even sent letters to Governor Danel Malloy and State Comptroller Kevin Lembo about possible fraud by this Unit Leader and still she continues using FMLA.

In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s stories appeared in major newspapers about black women abusing welfare payments. At this time whites were pushing to overhaul the welfare system and used the " black welfare queen" as symbols. A national outcry arose to " fix welfare." Now in the year 2014 we might have a  FMLA queen at CJTS but there is no public outcry from CJTS management or state officials. Now it is true the Unit Leader has not been charged with FMLA abuse, but damn, it does seem strange she is always out on medical leave.

In conclusion let me state she might be queen of the Family and Medical leave Act.


Learn About Family and Medical Leave Act
Family and Medical Leave: Overview
The FMLA allows workers to take time off from work to care for sick family members and it has been vital to the success of working families. This overview article has all the basic information you need to get started.

Rights and Responsibilities Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
Although the FMLA has been a boon to many employees, a worker cannot just skip work whenever he feels like it. Read on to learn about what an employee must do to get FMLA leave.

FMLA Eligibility
FMLA leave is not just for any employee who needs time off for any illness. This article explains who is eligible for leave and who is not in easy to understand language.

Qualifying Reasons for FMLA Leave
Most people access FMLA leave to welcome a new child into the house, but there are other reasons to access leave. This article explains what kinds of health conditions will trigger FMLA leave.

 - See more at: http://employment.findlaw.com/family-medical-leave/family-and-medical-leave-act.html?DCMP=GOO-EMP_FMLABroadModifier-Gen&HBX_PK=medical+leave+act#sthash.SwwuxAPN.dpuf

Thursday, August 7, 2014

MESSAGE TO THE OPPRESSOR DURING A LEGAL LYNCHING

This is a statement delivered by Cornell Lewis on July 1, 2013 to members of management at Connecticut Juvenile Training School and Department of Children and Families. On this day management decided to terminate Cornell Lewis on certain dubious charges in order to silence his activism. After being on paid administrative leave for one year the leaders decided to strike. Cornell gave this speech after being fired in opposition to the farce he had just witnessed. This is the speech as it was presented, no attempts were made by this blog to correct it in any form.

STATEMENT TO DCF PRE-DISCIPLINARY HEARING
 505 HUDSON STREET HARTFORD, CT – JULY 1, 2013, 1:30PM
                                    8TH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM

I WANT TO THANK THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES [AFSCME] UNION FOR BEING HERE TO REPRESENT ME. “A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED.”

THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ASKED ME TO COME HERE TODAY FOR A REASON. THE STATED REASON IS TO ADDRESS NEGLECT OF DUTY CHARGES AGAINST THREE YOUTH SERVICE OFFICERS FOR NOT SEEING TWO RESIDENTS GET INTO A FIGHT.

 FAIR ENOUGH.

I THINK HOWEVER THE REAL MOTIVE FOR ME BEING HERE IS OLD AS AMERICA AND BITTER AS WORMWOOD.

DCF/CJTS WANT TO SILENCE A BLACK MAN FOR HAVING THE UNMITIGATED GALL TO POINT OUT PERCEIVED BIASES OR INJUSTICES TOWARDS EMPLOYEES OF COLOR. DCF  DATA DESCRIBES 66% OF ALL DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS ARE AIMED AT EMPLOYEES OF COLOR; WHILE PEOPLE OF COLOR MAKE UP 45-47 % OF THE WORKFORCE.

WHAT CANNOT BE FATHOMED IS HOW DCF/CJTS ARE POISED TO USE POWER TO CRUSH THE LIVELY HOOD AND FAMILIES OF TWO INNOCENT EMPLOYEES, AND THEN FINALLY GET RID OF THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE- THE BAD NEGRO. THIS PROCEEDING IS NOTHING MORE THAN A LEGAL LYNCHING OF A BLACK MAN. AND LYNCHING OF PROBLEMATIC BLACK MEN –USING POLICY AND PROCEDURE IS SOMETHING DCF HAS CRAFTED INTO A FINE ART FORM.

IN CLOSING PLEASE DO NOT THINK THIS STATEMENT IS OUT OF ANGER TOWARDS YOU.  I UNDERSTAND THAT DCF/CJTS HIERARCHY REPRESENTS A TYPE OF UNBRIDLED POWER THAT IS ABLE / WILLING TO HANDLE PROBLEMATIC BLACK MEN IN THAT TIME HONORED TRADITION – SILENCE THEM.

 I DO NOT UTTER THESE WORDS HATEFULLY.

MY INTENTION IS TO PENETRATE, ILLUMINATE, AND LACERATE THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF SOME, WHO PREVARICATE FROM THE TRUTH.











Tuesday, August 5, 2014

JANE DOE ACT 2015

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Coming in 2015 : Jane Doe Act
16-year-old Black transgender teen Jane Doe has been incarcerated at York Correctional Institution in Niantic since April 8, by order of  Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz. Jane Doe faces no criminal charges; DCF imprisoned this Black child in an adult prison for allegedly assaulting DCF staff members. http://www.democracynow.org/2014/5/8/after_abuse_under_state_supervision_transgender

Cornell Lewis and I are collaborating on the Jane Doe Act, which is legislation that would prohibit DCF from sending one of their clients to a correctional institution. The statute which allows DCF to incarcerate their clients has only been used twice, counting Jane Doe. CT Gen. Stat. 17a-12: “When, in the opinion of the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, a person fourteen years of age or older is dangerous to himself or herself or others or cannot be safely held at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, if a male, or at any other facility within the state available to the Commissioner of Children and Families, the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, may request an immediate hearing before the Superior Court on the docket for juvenile matters where such person was originally committed to determine whether such person shall be transferred to the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire, if a male, or the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Niantic, if a female.”

If DCF has a client whom they feel they can’t handle, that youth should be sent to a treatment facility, where their behavior issues can be addressed clinically. We’re also discussing an outreach campaign to raise awareness about Jane Doe and the criminalization of Black and Latino youths. Stay tuned for updates. Check out Cornell’s DCF Plantation blog. http://dcfplantation.blogspot.com/

David Samuels

Founder

Community Party

https://twitter.com/CommunityParty1






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Saturday, August 2, 2014

ONCE AGAIN HE IS IN THE POSITION OF VICTIMIZATION



The definition of victim is “ one who suffers from an action or event” and all over the DCF Plantation people suffer from injustice daily. This staff writer received information from reliable sources about another incident involving Barray Monteiro at CJTS. For readers who don’t know Barray is a Youth Services Officer at Connecticut Juvenile Training School and recently beat an investigation that seemed specifically aimed at him [ read the earlier stories posted on this blog ].

On August 1, 2014 Barray came to CJTS for an overtime position on Unit 2B around 5:30am. He consulted with other YSOs on the Unit 2B then took members of the football team up for practice on the field. He did not think anything was wrong and continued doing what coaches do when instructing young men in the art of football i.e. block, tackle, and finish the play. It is reported that while on the field Barray was paged over the radio YSOs carry but did not hear the summons due to youth hollering, whistles blowing and noise in general. At this point something strange occurred and needs explanation. Barray supposedly received verbal chastisement from management for not being on his Unit 2B; management informed Barray that there were call outs from the job and someone [ Barray ] had to fill in the vacant position. Since Barray worked overtime the alternative was to place him in the unfilled position.  Then sources report the language implied maybe Barray committed insubordination by not being at Unit 2B. Well as the story unfolds other higher management types looked into the situation and found ( are you surprised?) there was no need to cover a vacant position- lo and behold a mistake had been made. Black holes may exist in the vastness of space but at CJTS no scheduling hole could be found.

Barray did not have to leave the football field, someone made a mistake. Now this staff writer does not want to engage in conspiracy theories: two weeks or so after Barray’s Spanish Inquisition is called off without discipline another incident materializes. For years employees at CJTS talked about Workplace Bullying; management using policy or procedure to intimidate, harass, discipline or terminate people. What do we call this latest escapade involving Barray.

In conclusion someone has to look at what is going on at CJTS and conclude it ain’t right

HEY, HEY, STILL AFTER BARRAY

The DCF Plantation staff received emails that read Barray Monteiro is under scrutiny again at Connecticut Juvenile Training School. At this juncture all the facts are not known about this latest ordeal from management toward Barray. If you remember there were several articles posted on this blog about Barray and how CJTS management might have investigated him in order to really strike at his father Ray.

Well Barray beat the last investigation without receiving any discipline, but now it is rumored management again is seeking possibly to investigate Barray. All we can say is what the hell is going on??