VSEA Executive Director Blasts State’s Private Prison Proposal On WCAX’s “You Can Quote Me”

VSEA Executive Director Steve Howard did a great job hammering home VSEA’s main points against allowing CoreCivic to set up shop in Vermont last Sunday on WCAX’s “You Can Quote Me” program.

Here are some of the issues with CoreCivic that Howard touched upon in the interview:

CoreCivic is just a rebranding of the notorious private-prison operator Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), a company with an absolutely terrible track record. In fact, continuous negative press about CCA, coupled with numerous well-publicized lawsuits against the company, finally forced CCA to change its name to CoreCivic, but the baggage remains;

Building a 925-bed facility runs counter to the corrections system that lawmakers established for Vermont, meaning smaller, less-institutional facilities with a focus on rehabilitation. Simply put, “Is this really the Vermont way?”

We hear about a 25-year lease, but what are the terms and conditions of that lease? Will lease rates be subject to change? What about built-in protections for workers? Before any proposal is even considered, Vermonters must demand to know the terms and conditions of any lease; and

Allowing CoreCivic to set up shop in Vermont will almost certainly open the door for other private, out-of-state behemoths to also gain a foothold in our state.

In case you missed the show, it is worth watching and noting all the arguments Steve makes against CoreCivic.

View 1/21 You Can Quote Me Episode

Vermont AG Also Weighs In Against State’s Private-Prison Proposal

Pouncing on last week’s news that the State is proposing to allow an out-of-state, for-profit, private contractor to build a 925-bed prison and forensic mental health facility right here in Vermont, Attorney General TJ Donovan wasted little time penning a piece that appeared January 23 on VTDigger, titled “[State]’s Prison Plan Prompts Questions.” It begins:

"The [State] has proposed a new 925-bed prison campus at a cost of more than $140 million. Before we move forward with such a significant undertaking, Vermonters should ask some tough questions about whether there is a better way to address the need for correctional facilities in the state of Vermont.”

Donovan goes on to outline a whole host of ways to address current issues with Vermont’s Corrections system, none of which include the need to hire an out-of-state, for-profit, private entity (with a very poor track record) to build a massive prison.

Puck Drops Saturday, February 3!
See The Bruins
With VSEA!

Tickets still remain for: 
Boston Bruins vs.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Saturday, February 3, 2018
7:00 p.m. 
TD Garden (Section: Balcony 321)
Boston

$170 Per Person – Includes a bus ride to and from TD Garden, as well as a ticket to the game.

To reserve a seat(s) on the bus/ order tickets, contact VSEA Administrative Assistant Sue Devoid. You can reach Sue by email at sdevoid@vsea.org or by phone at 802-223-5247.

Purchase Tickets Online With Credit Card Here

Important! You will not be officially on the bus until full payment is received at headquarters. Please make checks payable to VSEA.

VSEA Releases Short Video To Highlight The Issue Of Patient-On-Worker Assaults At The VPCH

VSEA’s Communications Department released an eight-minute video this week that features frontline workers at the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital in Berlin—active, retired and even one who resigned—talking about the very serious issue of patient-on-worker assaults at the facility.

“I want to thank all the VPCH workers who responded to our call for volunteers to talk honestly about what’s going on at this facility…it’s not easy,” says VSEA Communications Director Doug Gibson. “I especially want to thank Kristal Westover for the courage she showed when sharing her story of being severely beaten by a patient and how she and some of her co-workers are still grappling with post-incident issues. Hopefully, lawmakers, State officials and other interested parties will view this video and then contact VSEA to learn more about how to support these workers.”

View VSEA’s VPCH Video

Vermont Attorney General’s Office Files Amicus Brief Backing Unionized Workers In Upcoming SCOTUS Case

VT AG TJ Donovan talks with former VPCH leader Peter Bartlett at VSEA’s 2016 Annual Meeting reception.

VSEA is cheering and welcoming a January 24 announcement by Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan that his office has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), urging the Court to "uphold existing precedent that permits ‘fair share’ provisions in public sector union contracts." The case Donovan is weighing in on is titled Janus vs. Illinois, and Vermont now joins 20 other states that have filed amicus briefs with the Court to support the existing laws on the books.

The AG office writes in its announcement, “…public sector “fair share” provisions are consistent with the First Amendment, and overruling Abood’s approval (the precedent-setting case) of those provisions would disrupt thousands of labor agreements that States have adopted and maintained for decades.”

SCOTUS is expected to issue a ruling in this case by June 2018.
 

See Also:

• "What Janus v. AFSCME is Really About" (AFSCME Now)

VSEA 2018 Scholarship Applications Now Online!

All members should have received an email this week from the VSEA Scholarship & Awards Committee, announcing that the committee is once again accepting scholarship applications from VSEA members and their spouses, dependents and domestic partners.

A downloadable PDF 2018 scholarship application is now available online. VSEA students seeking financial assistance this year in the pursuit of your post-secondary educational goals are especially
urged to apply.

VSEA Legislative Team Begins Publishing Weekly Updates

VSEA’s legislative team at the State House is once again publishing a short, information-packed, weekly recap of what’s happening in Montpelier that VSEA members need to know about.

This edition’s topics include: State’s private-prison proposal, overview of anti-privatization legislation, outcomes of the recent Budget Adjustment Act and a piece on the success of the Legislative Committee’s recent dinner receptions with lawmakers.

You can find the first 2018 update and all future and past legislative updates at your convenience on VSEA.org. Just log into your account, navigate to "Forms, Documents & Downloads" in the left-side menu. Here you will find, "Legislative Team Weekly Reports". If you are already logged in, you can follow this link to the 2018 report archive.

Need a VSEA.org account?
Sign up for a free account here.

New Enrollment Period For VSEA Vision Insurance Program Begins February 1!

February 1, 2018, is the day VSEA members can begin enrolling in your union’s popular vision-care program.

Learn more about the vision benefit being offered here!

Final VSEA Legislative Dinner / Reception Is February 1!

The VSEA Legislative Team and Committee will hold its final 2018 dinner reception
next week:

February 1: Retirement
Advocate to protect and defend state employees’ defined benefit pension system.

The retirement dinner reception is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at VSEA H.Q. (155 State Street, Montpelier)

RSVP Online Here.
 
Or RSVP to VSEA Organizer, Danielle Warner: DWarner@VSEA.org

Next Waterbury Chapter Meeting Is January 31

VSEA’s Waterbury Chapter will meet next on Wednesday, January 31, beginning at 12:00 p.m. in the Waterbury State Office Complex’s Oak 49, Room A283. Food and beverages will be provided.

If you have any questions in advance, please feel free to contact Waterbury Chapter President John Mangione via email: Mangioneart@comcast.net
 

VPCH Chapter Also Meeting January 31!

Information Sessions Scheduled On Transfer Of State Supplemental Retirement Plans’ Recordkeeping Duties

The State Treasurer’s Office has scheduled a series of meetings statewide to discuss the transfer on February 1 of State supplemental retirement plan recordkeeping duties to Prudential Retirement. The following supplemental plans are being transferred:

• State 457 Deferred Compensation Plan;
• State Defined Contribution Plan; and
• Single Deposit Investment Account Plan.

From a flyer about the meetings:

“A team of Prudential Retirement counselors will be available in Vermont to address your questions regarding the transition and to provide information on enhanced tools and services that will be available.”

Click here for downloadable flyer with full meeting schedule. ​

Good Luck At The Olympics Vermonters!

VSEA is sending best wishes to the nearly 20 Vermonters competing for the U.S. Team at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Games begin on February 9, 2018.

VTDigger published an article this week that lists all the Vermonters who will be competing.

New BLS Report Finds Union Membership Rose Last Year & Density Remained Steady

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released new data that, according to an online EPI story, shows that “union membership as a share of overall employment held steady at 10.7 percent in 2017, with essentially stable membership rates in both the private (6.4 or 6.5 percent) and public (34.4 percent) sectors.”

Also from the EPI post:

“Union membership (according to the BLS release) rose by 262,000 in 2017, more than the 173,000 additional workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement (hereafter referred to as “coverage”). See Table 1 (which relies on tabulations of the underlying survey data because BLS does not provide gender breakdowns within sectors). The greater growth in union membership than coverage was driven by developments in the private sector where membership growth was triple (164,000) that of the growth of coverage (53,000), centered in professional and service occupations.”

Study Looks At How Satisfied Workers Are With Their Salaries

The website Indeed posted the results of its recent survey to determine how satisfied working Americans are with their current salaries. Here’s what they found:

• Only 19% of employees are comfortable with their pay;
   
• More than half (54%) of the respondents would consider changing jobs to get a pay raise;
   
• Men are more likely to ask for bigger pay raises than women;
   
• People want raises because they feel they have earned them; and
   
• 68% of workers would consider additional benefits as an alternative to pay raises.

Maine Lawmakers Consider Barring Retired State Employees Who Receive Benefits From Returning To Work
For State

WABI reports on January 24 that lawmakers are considering a proposal to ban retired state employees who receive retirement benefits from ever returning to work in state government.

The proposal’s only exception is for teachers who are hired as "independent contractors" for less than a year or hired as substitutes.