TODAY Is The Deadline To Register For VSEA’s 71^st Annual Meeting And To Nominate For VSEA’s 2015 Outstanding Performance Awards

 
VSEA’s Special Events Committee is reminding members that today, close of business, is the deadline to complete and send in your 2015 Annual Meeting registration form. If you have lost or misplaced your form, you can download one by clicking here. Members who do not complete the registration form will not be provided meals at the Annual Meeting, as members must indicate their meal selections on the form in advance.

It’s also the deadline to submit your nominations for a 2015 VSEA Outstanding Performance Award in the following categories:

1. VSEA Chapter of the Year;
    
2. VSEA Steward of the Year;
    
3. The Mazza Award — For Outstanding Service to VSEA;
    
4. The Macaig Award — For Outstanding Public Service; and
    
5. The Linda Coan Memorial Award — Outstanding VSEA Staff Member

Print nomination forms out here.

Winners announced at Annual Meeting banquet on September 12.

Brattleboro Chapter Hosts EAD

VSEA’s Brattleboro Chapter held its Employee Appreciation Day event and Chapter Annual Meeting on August 5. Pictured here are some of the participants in the EAD event, including (left to right) VSEA Union Rep. Rae Fields, Mike Arace (DOC), Lynn Winchester (DCF), Brattleboro Chapter President Robin Rieske (VDH), Caleb Judy (DCF), Jim Agate (BGS) and VSEA Legislative Director Ben Palkowski.

VSEA Judiciary Unit Members Urged To Take Action! Petition & Survey

If you haven’t already, please join VSEA Judiciary Unit members across Vermont to call on the State to respect Judiciary employees by agreeing to commence bargaining in a timely manner. You can help the Unit collect more names by printing out the “2015 Respect for Coordinated Bargaining Petition” here and circulating it in your worksite for signatures.

Judiciary Bargaining Team members are also urging Unit members to fill out a 2015 bargaining survey, if you have not already completed one. To date, nearly a third of all VSEA Judiciary employees have filled out a survey, but the Team is hoping for even more in the coming days and weeks. Judiciary workers can take the survey by clicking here. 

VSEA Clerk Featured In Story About AHS IT Switch From ACCESS

 
A July 25 Times Argus story about the Agency of Human Services looking to replace the Agency’s 32-year-old ACCESS computer system with a newer and “sleeker” Integrated Eligibility Solution” system, features the voice of frontline ESD worker and VSEA Clerk Katelyn Chase, talking about her experience with ACCESS.
 
“[Workers] biggest concerns from a long-term care perspective is that when you input information into ACCESS, I would say seven out of 10 times the notice that it spits out to the client is incorrect because it’s incapable of doing the kind of computing of what you just told it to do,” Chase tells the reporter. “It doesn’t always do what it’s supposed to do.” State workers are “constantly reaching out to our IT team to have them fix things,” she adds, but often the system “gets to a point where it’s on overload where it locks us out of cases and you can’t do anything at all.” Still, Chase says the aging, workhorse system does work; “it just takes a lot longer than I think we’d like with high caseloads. And it’s frustrating to the clients.”
 
The bulk of the story is devoted to implementation and financing of the new IT system’s four components, which AHS’s Chief Financial Officer says is estimated to cost $470 million. That’s a lot of money and the paper notes that Vermonters have concerns, especially after the state’s recent, well-documented trouble with setting up the Vermont Health Connect (VHC) system. AHS Secretary Hal Cohen agrees in the story that the VHC debacle is not helpful, saying, “What’s really important is to learn from your mistakes. On the other hand, what VHC has done is kind of put a cloud over our work, a dark cloud. So, it’s hard to gain the trust after something like that.” He adds that the two projects are “very different.”
 
VSEA’s Chase supports an effective, new computer system, but she too has concerns after hearing about the series of setbacks with the VHC computer system.
 
“We feel like we just don’t want to see a repeat of what happened to Heath Connect,” Chase says. “We want to make sure the proper steps are in place and the experts are brought in to really iron out the process before it’s put in place.” She adds, “We don’t want to see a catastrophe with our caseloads and not being able to get benefits to our clients, because that’s what we care about most.”

Questions Remain About A 911 Dispatcher’s Response To Call From Campus Security Guard In Crisis

Early this week, several members, one who posted to VSEA’s Facebook page, alerted VSEA that a security guard at the College of St. Joseph’s in Rutland had been assaulted over the weekend and that the 911 dispatcher he contacted for help could not determine his location right away. This is important because one of the primary allegations VSEA 911 dispatchers who are being displaced this year due to budget cuts made when opposing the cuts is that closing the Rutland and Derby PSAPs would cause delays and situations where a dispatcher in Rockingham or Williston would not be as familiar with the locations.
 
In an August 4 Rutland Herald story that focuses specifically on the 911 response to the incident, the Interim Director of the Vermont Enhanced 911 Board, Barb Neal, tells the paper that during the 1:26 time it took the dispatcher to determine the guard’s location and send help, the dispatcher was “following procedure.” She adds that she has to “be vague” about the content of the 911 call because it is considered confidential in Vermont and that she is not familiar with the average turnaround time for a 911 call.

The reporter notes that “a study of the 911 system in Austin, Texas, found it took an average of just under 70 seconds from when a call comes in to when an ambulance is dispatched. A similar study in Riverside, Calif., found calls almost always got to ambulances in less than a minute. New Jersey had a 90-second turnaround until efficiency measures cut that down to a minute. All those statistics are for emergency medical dispatching. The National Fire Protection Association recommends a 90-second standard. Recommendations for police dispatching were not as easily found.”

Vermont State Police Chief Donald Patch tells the paper he reviewed the 911 call due to press inquiries and “did not have a problem with the call.” Rutland’s City Police Chief deferred comment to Ms. Neal.
 
WIA urges members with additional information about this incident to send your input (confidentially) to VSEA Communications Director Doug Gibson at dgibson@vsea.org.
 

VSEA & State Sign MOU, Concerning Transfer Rights For Displaced Dispatchers

 
The August 3 Burlington Free Press published a story about the State and VSEA reaching agreement this week on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to govern the transition of VSEA 911 dispatchers from Derby and Rutland to Rockingham and Williston. The MOU was necessitated after lawmakers were seemingly able to ignore the outcry earlier this year from dispatchers, local law enforcement, EMS and the public against saving money by closing Derby and Rutland’s dispatch centers. Lawmakers instead voted to close the centers, displacing dozens of experienced and trusted 911 dispatchers.

The MOU’s key component’s include:

• Derby and Rutland dispatchers may transfer to open positions in Williston and Rockingham;
   
• Transfer volunteers will have 60 days to change their minds, in which case they will be considered to have been laid off; and
   
• For those who choose to work in Williston and Rockingham, the State will pay for up to six months of mileage reimbursement “for travel between home and the PSAP or their original duty station and the PSAP, whichever distance is shorter.”

 
As the paper notes, it’s not clear yet how many of the impacted 911 dispatchers will be accepting the offer. The story also contains a PDF of the entire MOU signed this week.

Even With New State Hospital, Physicians & Mental Health Advocates Say Vermont’s New System Still Lacks Enough Acute-Care Beds

(Which Is What VSEA Frontline VSH Workers & Others Told The State Would Be The Case Back In 2012)

Now more than two years into the State’s new decentralized approach to treating Vermonters in acute mental health crisis, doctors and mental health advocates across the state are sounding the alarm about a lack of acute-care beds in the new system and about how many patients are still languishing in hospital emergency rooms because there are not enough beds.
 
In an August 2 VTDigger story, Dr. Peter Weimersheimer, the ER chief at UVM Medical Center recounts how he had to recently had to have a patient in mental health crisis held in the ER for 130 hours because there was not an acute-care bed available. Porter Medical Center ER Dr. William Nowlan echoes his colleague’s concerns, telling the paper “The system just doesn’t work anymore. The new state hospital has clearly met a need but it has been maxed out.” In fact, a new report by the Department of Mental Health found that a core group (25% of the most acutely ill patients) who find their way to Vermont’s ERs are continuing to have to wait longer than 24 hours for a bed.

The lack of beds has not gone unnoticed by Rep. Anne Donahue, who is considered the legislature’s in-house mental health expert. She tells Digger, “We put a solution together but we still have a big chunk of the problem, even if it is less than it was two years ago. In theory it should have been solved.”

Jack McCullough, an attorney with Vermont Legal Aide who represents people with mental illness, tells the paper that he agrees the new system created is failing Vermonters in crisis because too many still have to spend hours waiting in an ER. “It is, at times, cruel and unusual treatment for this patient. The system is broken and the thing that is discouraging is that it doesn’t seem like anyone is accepting that or working very hard to fix it,” he says, reminding that “There was a time before Waterbury closed when it was really rare for people to be waiting in the ER for any time at all. They would be taken almost immediately to Waterbury or one of the other psychiatric hospitals and be admitted.”

In the story, interim Department of Mental Health Commissioner Frank Reed says it’s too early to start saying there are not enough beds, saying, “We are within range to make the 45 beds work. It’s getting that flow fine-tuned. It’s a little premature to say we don’t have enough.” But Rep. Donahue disagrees, saying, “I think we probably reached the lowest point we could get in patient care and the expectation that we could reduce it more and still meet the needs for inpatient care was overly idealistic.”
 
VSEA President Shelley Martin tells WIA that many of the issues and problems now being experienced throughout Vermont’s new mental health care system were predicted years ago by frontline VSH workers and advocates for the mentally ill.
 
“After Irene wiped out the State Hospital and the State announced its plan to decentralize services, VSEA frontline workers stood side by side with mental health advocates at the State House and in the press to warn that the plan was not going to work because there would not be enough acute-care beds—or adequate, trained staff to care for patients. Well, I hate to say we told you so, but I will in this instance. Now it’s a still question of how to fix a problem that should have been properly addressed from the beginning.”
 
Martin is right that VSEA and advocates did warn the State that its proposed system had big holes in it. Here’s a couple of quotes from 2012 1nd 2013 that still ring true today:
 
 

Valley News – March 24, 2013

“Dr. Robert Pierattini also describes the difficulty his staff is having handling some of the individuals in acute crisis who are being brought to them for care. He explains that these are not patients that can be treated in ‘outpatient settings based in a community, and he cautions that the number of beds Vermont is planning to build won’t be enough to accommodate the anticipated need.’”

From a 2012 WIA post:

“[VSEA President John] Reese reminded that while VSEA is welcoming the building of a new State Hospital, the union and its VSH members still have concerns that the redesigned mental health system will not provide enough acute-care beds. Working with a broad coalition of mental health advocates and care providers during the last legislative session, VSEA successfully advocated to increase the proposed number of acute beds at that the new state hospital from 16 to 25. Reese notes ‘While VSEA is excited to move forward with the 25 bed facility, we agree with the position of the Vermont Psychiatric Association and Dr. Jay Batra, who just left his position as VSH’s medical director, that 25 beds is inadequate.’”

Note: Click here to view 2012 "Vermonters For Quality Health Care" press conference, where participants, including frontline VSH workers, warn about many of the system’s problems being highlighted today

VT Chapter Of The Alliance for Retired Americans Cordially Invites ALL To Attend 80th Birthday Party For Social Security!

 
For 80 years, Social Security recipients have had their monthly checks delivered reliably and on time. That’s a record that few organizations, public or private can match. For those of us who rely on this benefit for basic financial security, it is one piece of security in an otherwise uncertain financial world.
 
As we know all too well, efficient and effective public programs and the workers behind them are rarely celebrated. Well, the VT ARA thinks this accomplishment should be celebrated!
 
So, please join us for birthday cake, balloons, face painting, music, and just plain FUN next FRIDAY, August 14, on the State House lawn, beginning at 12:30 p.m. and ending around 2:00 p.m. (or until the Birthday Cake runs out!). Birthday hats, noisemakers, etc. are encouraged.
 
See you there!
 
Jane Osgatharp
President, VT Chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans  

VSEA Labor Educator Announces Fall 2015 Training Schedule

VSEA Labor Educator Tim Lenoch asked WIA to announce a new round of trainings he has scheduled throughout the fall 2015. If you are interested in registering to attend one or more trainings, you can do so by clicking here. Please direct your training questions to Tim at tlenoch@vsea.org.

Health Care Facilities’ Stewards

VTrans District Office, 61 Valley View, Mendon, VT (five miles east of Rutland)
Wednesday, September 2

Department of Corrections Stewards

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday, September 9

Steward 1: Introduction and the Basics

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday September 16

VSEA Council Members and Chapter Officers

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday, September 23

Steward 2: Protecting the Contract and Building the Union

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday September 30

Steward 3: The Contract and Challenges in the Workplace

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday, October 14

The Labor Activist (open to all members and union officers)

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Friday, October 16

Health and Safety Issues

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday, October 28

The Grievance

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Friday, November 6

Steward 1: Introduction and the Basics

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Friday, November 13

VSEA Council Members and Chapter Officers

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday, November 18

The Labor Activist (open to all members and union officers)

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday, November 25

Labor Management Committees for Stewards and Labor Team Members

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday, December 2

Steward 2: Protecting the Contract and Building the Union

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Friday, December 4

Representing Co-Workers in Investigations and Disciplinary Meetings

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Wednesday, December 9

Steward 3: The Contract and Challenges in the Workplace

VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Rte. 302, Berlin
Friday, December 18

Click here to register for a training(s)!

BGS Security Webpage Posts New Video “Surviving An Active Shooter Event”

 
The director of the State Security Programs office asked WIA to let members know that a new video about how to survive an active shooter event is now available to view on BGS’ security webpage. The video, which is endorsed by the federal Department of Homeland Security, is titled “Run. Hide. Fight.” and is approximately six minutes in length.

Federal Judge Upholds New NLRB Rule To Expedite Union Elections

This week, a federal district judge in Washington D.C. ruled to uphold a new union election rule that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) implemented in April 2015. The rule, which will expedite the amount of time it takes for unions to conduct an election after petitioning, was being challenged by big business, via the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since the new NLRB rule went into effect, the average number of days between petitioning and an election has dropped from 38 days to 23, or a nearly 40% decrease in wait time. The wait time could actually be reduced to as little as 10 days under the new rule. 
 
In her decision, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson writes: “The Chamber and its allies mount a broad attack on the rule as a whole, claiming it ‘makes sweeping changes to the election process’ and that it ‘sharply curtails’ employers’ statutory, due process, and constitutional rights.’ But these dramatic pronouncements are predicated on mischaracterizations of what the final rule actually provides and the disregard of provisions that contradict plaintiffs’ (the Chamber’s) narrative. And claims that the regulation contravenes ‘labor law’ are largely based upon statutory language or legislative history that has been excerpted or paraphrased in a misleading fashion. Ultimately, the statutory and constitutional challenges do not withstand close inspection."
 
National AFL-CIO Counsel Lynn Rhinehart tells Press Associates that the ruling is a victory for working people.
 
"So far every judge to consider a challenge to the rule has rejected the challenge and found the rule is legal and within the NLRB’s authority. We think this shows the rules are reasonable, well supported, and well within the NLRB’s authority. There have been hundreds of petitions processed under the new rule. From what we hear, the process has gone smoothly and the rule has helped reduce unnecessary litigation and delay. We hope the courts will continue to reject legal challenges to the rule so it can remain in effect.”

VSEA Teams Continue Bargaining Overview Meetings

VSEA NMU, Judiciary and Corrections Unit Bargaining Team members and staff have scheduled a series of meetings across the state to give frontline workers an overview of upcoming bargaining with the State, talk with you about where to go for information and let you know how you can assist your Team throughout negotiations.

Here are the scheduled meetings to date by Bargaining Unit: 
 

Judiciary Unit– Contact: CC Reuge, creuge@vsea.org

St. Albans
August 11
36 Lake Street, Lunchroom
Noon

St. Johnsbury
August 12
1229 Portland Street, Jury Room, Main Floor
4:30 p.m.

Brattleboro
August 14
30 Putney Road, Brattleboro
2nd Floor Lunch Room
Noon

Morrisville
August 19
65 Northgate Plaza, Jury Room
Noon

Middlebury
August 21
7 Mahady Court, Probate Hearing Room,
Noon

Rutland
August 26
9 Merchants Row Lunchroom
Noon

Non-Management Unit – Contact: Tim Boyle, tboyle@vsea.org or 802 595-9106

Bennington
August 27
State Office Building
11:30 a.m.

Burlington
August 20
Health Department, 108 Cherry Street
11:30 a.m.

Burlington
August 24
ESD Office, Conference Room
Noon

Brattleboro
August 26
State Office Building
11:30 a.m.

Newport
August 28
State Office Building, 100 Main Street, Room 250
11:30 a.m.

Rutland
August 13
Rutland Bowlerama
5:00 p.m.

Waterbury
August 25
DDS Office, 93 Pilgrim Park
Noon

VSEA Insurance Representative In Chittenden Next Two Weeks

VSEA Insurance Representative Joanne Woodcock will be in Chittenden in the next few weeks at the following locations to talk with interested VSEA members about member-only insurance benefits.
 

August 11 & 12

Department for Children and Families
426 Industrial Ave.
Conference Room 101
Williston
12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
 

August 13 & 14

108 Cherry Street
Conference Room 3A
Burlington
12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
 

August 17 & 18

HEAU
IBM Complex
Bolton Conference Room
Essex Junction
12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
 
Receive information on disability coverage, family life insurance, family accident and cancer coverage. You must be a member paying full dues to be eligible for this VSEA benefit. If you are an agency-fee payer, Joanne can provide you information about signing up for full membership.