Senate Passes Budget Bill With Full Contract Funding In Year One!

Amendment To Protect Risk Management Workers Narrowly Fails

VSEA members and staff have been busy at the State House since the Vermont Labor Relations’ Board (VLRB) ruled in favor of the union’s last-best contract offer on April 19. This week, the bulk of VSEA’s lobbying efforts were targeted at senators, asking the Senate Appropriations Committee and then the full Senate to fully fund the VSEA contracts.

The efforts proved mostly successful, and VSEA members were happy the Senate’s Appropriations Committee voted on April 25 to unanimously to fully fund the contracts, but the vote wasn’t all good news. The Committee left in a proposal to privatize the state’s Risk Management Division (Worker’s Comp, Liability & Safety), saying the projected (yet unconfirmed) $500,000 savings will help fund the contracts. That didn’t sit well with Sen. Anthony Pollina (P/D-Washington), who countered by introducing an amendment to delay the Risk Management privatization, calling for the creation of a panel “to study the pros and cons of outsourcing the service.” Pollina’s amendment was debated on the floor of the Senate on April 26, prior to a full vote by the body on the entire budget bill. Sadly, it narrowly failed by a 15-13 vote.

In a story about Pollina’s amendment, Seven Days writes, “Tuesday afternoon, during the Senate’s consideration of the budget bill, Pollina offered an amendment to prevent the administration from outsourcing the worker compensation processing until a new panel had studied the pros and cons of privatization. Pollina argued that the state had experimented with privatizing this work two decades ago, and it didn’t work. ‘We are really concerned we could end up with another disaster,’ he warned. ‘What we are looking for is to answer the questions before we go forward.’”

VSEA Executive Director Steve Howard voices the union’s opposition to the Risk Management privatization proposal in the story, saying VSEA will now move its fight to the House (which did not include the Risk Management privatization proposal in its budget bill) and hope that something can be done to prevent the service and job cuts in conference committee. "[Those who favor privatization] barely won," Howard argued. "I think that bodes well for our position in the House."

The budget bill, which the Senate passed 23-5 on April 26, includes many VSEA priorities, such as:

• Full funding of the Executive, Judicial and Legislative Branches;
• Restoration of $500,000 in security funding for state government;
• Requires the Department of Corrections to reach an agreement to continue the operations of the St. Johnsbury Work Camp;
• Funding for the Community High School of Vermont;
• Funding for the Vermont Veterans’ Home, with a requirement that the Home submit a report about the use of temporary workers, overtime, and call outs;
• Adding the Department of Corrections and the Agency of Natural Resources to the Position Pilot Program; a successful program that allows agencies and departments to hire more classified employees and reduce reliance on temporary workers and mandatory overtime;
• Mandating that E911 call-taking continued to be provided by State PSAPs unless otherwise directed by the legislature;
• Including a base funding increase of $600,000 for the Vermont State Colleges; and
• Adding funds for the replacement of cruisers for the Vermont State Police.

The budget approved by the Senate now goes to the House for review and required funding and it will then end up in a conference committee, where Senate and House leaders will hammer out a final budget bill that will go to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

WIA and VSEA’s Facebook page and website will keep members updated on the progress of budget discussions and the status of funding.

VSEA Legislative Committee & State House Team Thank Members For Calls

VSEA’s Legislative Committee and State House team are thanking all the members who responded to email alerts this week, asking you to call or message your personal senators, and senators on the Appropriations Committee, to urge their support for full contract funding. Thanks also to everyone who made calls to voice opposition to privatization of Risk Management and the Veterans’ Home.

This fight is not over, so please continue to watch your inbox for VSEA alerts and calls-to-action.

Thanks in advance for the support and solidarity.

Happy Public Service Recognition Week!
(May 1 – May 7)

VSEA President Dave Bellini and the entire VSEA Board of Trustees are wishing every state and public employee a happy Public Service Recognition Week 2016 (May 1 to May 7) and offering a huge thank you for your service to the people of Vermont.

“It’s important for America to designate a week each year to officially celebrate the outstanding work that public service workers do, but VSEA appreciates your contribution 365 days a year,” said Bellini. “VSEA is proud to represent you, and we take great pride in providing all the support and assistance we can. This includes bargaining help, complaint and grievance assistance, steward support, legal help, legislative lobbying, skills training and assistance with many other work-related issues.” He continued, “Sadly, the essential services provided by America’s public sector workers are often overlooked and undervalued, and it’s unfortunate that many citizens do not think about their daily use of public services and the people that provide them. One of VSEA’s top priorities will continue to be highlighting the value of the essential services you provide. On behalf of VSEA and the more than 5,500 public service employees we represent, we thank you for your commitment and service to Vermont.”

Chittenden State’s Attorney’s Office Workers Say “VSEA Yes!”

VSEA is celebrating yesterday’s vote by workers in the Chittenden State’s Attorneys (SA) to join VSEA, making it the first of several SA offices across Vermont to unionize since the Vermont Supreme Court ruled in January 2016 that the workers could be organized.

“When the Court ruled that VSEA could organize these workers under MERA, it opened a door that had been closed to these workers for far too long,” VSEA Organizer Tim Boyle tells WIA. “Now that the workers have spoken, we’ll be working with them to form a bargaining team and we’ll be strategizing about next steps and discussing what issues they want to bring to the table in first-ever negotiations. We’re very pleased to be welcoming these workers to the VSEA family, and we look forward to similar results in upcoming elections.”

Here are the upcoming elections that Boyle references:

Franklin – May 6
Rutland – May 12
Windsor – May 13

Background

In January 2016, the Vermont Supreme Court overturned a 2014 ruling by the Vermont Labor Relation Board that SAs, Victims Advocates and Secretaries in the State’s Attorneys Offices cannot be organized under either the under the Municipal Labor Relations Act (MERA) or the State Employee Labor Relations Act (SELRA). The Court ruled they could under MERA. At the time, VSEA President Dave Bellini said, “This is an important victory for VSEA and working Vermonters, as it addresses a number of significant labor law questions and allows VSEA to now organize most of the employees in State’s Attorneys Offices. Under the Court’s ruling, we’ll have to do it on a county-by-county basis in in offices with five or more workers, but it’s a start.”

Upcoming Trainings:

Steward 2: Protecting the Contract and Building the Union
Wednesday, May 11
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward 3: The Contract and Challenges in the Workplace
Wednesday, May 25
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

> Register for trainings here!

DCF Worker Safety Enhancement Bill Moving In House

Since the gavel banged to open the 2016 legislative session, VSEA DCF members have joined with staff to lobby for passage of S. 154; a bill that would enhance the penalty for assaulting a DCF worker. The workers had been seeking enhanced safety measures from management for years, without a lot of luck due to funding. The debate changed though following the August 2015 tragic murder of Social Worker Lara Sobel. Her death elevated the issue in the public and at the State House, prompting the drafting of S. 154, which the Times Argus reports on April 29 is moving now in the House, after passing out of the Senate.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

The House gave preliminary approval Thursday to S.154, which originated in the Senate in response to the killing of DCF worker Lara Sobel outside Barre City Place in 2015.

“Violence against social workers has become an inherent risk to the profession, and while the social worker is there to help, they are not always seen that way,” said Rep. Barbara Rachelson, D-Burlington, who reported the bill for the House Judiciary Committee.

VSEA Welcomes New Administrative Assistant Susan DeVoid

VSEA is welcoming new Administrative Assistant Susan DeVoid to your headquarters’ staff.

Susan is a seasoned administrative assistant who has worked a variety of senior positions in the health care industry and for a short time in the non-profit housing sector. She has extensive experience, and both her parents were IBEW members right here in Vermont. Susan says she remembers walking picket lines with her mom and dad as a child.

Susan can be contacted at sdevoid@vsea.org.

DCF FSD Worker Teams Honoring Lara Sobel At This Year’s Corporate Cup

Lara Sobel’s DCF colleagues working in a half-dozen Family Services Division offices across Vermont— including the Barre office, where Lara was based—are sponsoring teams in this year’s Corporate Cup race on Thursday, May 12, and each team member will be wearing a t-shirt like the one pictured here.

Well done FSD workers! This is a beautiful design and a wonderful tribute to Lara. We’ll be cheering for you!

Annual Corporate Cup Seeks Volunteers!

Join The Fun!

Serious and not-so-serious runners and their assembled teams will be participating again in this year’s Corporate Cup & State Agency Race in Montpelier on Thursday, May 12. In past years, many VSEA members and staff have put together dozens of running teams, but just as many VSEA members and staff have volunteered some time to help with the popular event, and it’s the volunteers who event organizers tell VSEA are desperately needed now.

Corporate Cup organizers are putting the call out for volunteers to help with registration, the food tent, the water stop (mid-way thru course), course director assistants, start and finish line personnel, Elm Street course monitors, race result posters, time keeping assistants, walking judges, pre-race cone placement, and post-race baggage, tent, etc. pack up.

Click here to go to the Cup’s volunteer sign-up page. If you have questions, please contact Cindy at chier@zclpc.com. Volunteer arrival times vary, but most duties require you to arrive on the State House lawn anywhere from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Spread the word! The Corporate Cup cannot succeed without you!

Article Highlights The Shortcomings Of Vermont’s Mental Health Delivery System, Citing Several VSEA Attempts Since 2007 To Warn Against Actions Being Taken

An online article this week titled “Vermont’s Mental Health Crisis” takes aim at some recent decisions by the State, concerning mental health services, that the writer alleges are now pushing people suffering with mental illness into emergency rooms and prisons. The story also reminds about the nearly decade-long pushback VSEA has given the State on many of its mental-health decisions.

Vermont has relied heavily on designated agencies for community-based services since the 1960’s, but until 2011, there was still a state-run psychiatric facility, Vermont State Hospital (VSH), to care for the most acute cases.

After being decertified in 2003, VSH lost access to Medicaid funding, making the hospital a significant financial burden for the state. Conservatives had been trying to close the hospital for years, but they had been unsuccessful, due in large part to opposition from the VSEA.

Back in 2007, VSEA argued that the plan was "nothing more than an attempt by the Administration to wash their hands of the mental health system through privatization."

It wasn’t until Hurricane Irene flooded VSH in 2011 that the political balance of power shifted. [The State] used the disaster as an opportunity to close the hospital and further privatize the system. Instead of a large state-run facility, the [State} would create a decentralized system of smaller psychiatric units run by run by non-governmental service providers like Howard Center.

Shifting to designated agencies had the double advantage of regaining access to Medicaid funds and removing roughly 200 workers from the pool of state employees represented by the VSEA. The Ethan Allen Institute, a conservative think tank in Vermont, advocated for closing the hospital in part because it would "diminish the VSEA’s breadth and reach, i.e. membership base and dues."

Since the financial crisis began, the VSEA had been a strong source of opposition to budget cuts. As a result, the [State] tried to minimize cuts to public agencies. By contracting with designated agencies the government was able to bypass the VSEA altogether, making mental health services a prime target for the budget axe.

[The State] framed the new, decentralized system as a more ethical and cost-effective alternative to institutionalization. The only problem was that [it] never had any intention of providing the financial resources needed to make this vision a reality. What [it] was really doing was packaging neoliberal policies as leftwing reforms.

Designated agencies were, in theory, going to provide enough community support that the need for psychiatric beds would be minimal but the reality has been very different. Since the closing of VSH, there has been a chronic shortage of psychiatric beds throughout the state. Many of the people in need of psychiatric placement wind up in the ER.

President Bellini Promotes DOC Work Crew Job Opening!

VSEA President Dave Bellini is a seasoned Department of Corrections Work Crew Leader, and he asked WIA to share a job notice about an open Work Crew Leader position with all members.

The position is a Pay Grade 20. View the full Department of Human Resources’ job description here.

May 9 Deadline Approaching To Apply For A 2016 VSEA Scholarship!

VSEA’s Scholarship & Awards Committee asked WIA to remind members that the deadline to apply for a 2016 VSEA scholarship award is May 9, 2016. The scholarship program is open to members and their spouses, dependents and domestic partners. The application process is easy. All it requires is for the applicant to write a couple of short essays, as well as provide a grade history, employment history, personal references and a few other things. All applications received before the May 9, 2016, deadline will be reviewed and ranked by Committee members to determine who this year’s winners will be. Winners will be announced at VSEA’s June Council meeting.

View and download a 2016 VSEA Scholarship application here!

Old Labor Hall’s Annual May Day “Primo Maggio” Event To Celebrate Barre’s Scottish Heritage

The Barre Historical Society is hosting a Primo Maggio Day celebration on Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1, at the Old Labor Hall. While the event has largely celebrated Barre’s Italian heritage in the past, this year’s focus is on the town’s Scottish population and how they too were active members of the Hall.

This year’s annual dinner will feature “Scottish fare” and will be followed by a concert of traditional Scottish music, featuring Norman Kennedy, Dominique Dodge and Ian Gauthier.

Here’s a full schedule of events:

Saturday, April 30 (Tickets $25)

6:00 p.m. – Traditional Community Dinner

7:00 p.m. – Traditional Scottish Music

Sunday, May 1 (Free & Open To Public)

4:00 p.m. – Illustrated Talk w/Prof. Robert Weir: Solid Men In The Granite City: Barre’s Socialist Mayors

Tickets: $25 ($20 for union members, seniors & students) at the door, or purchase online at www.oldlaborhall.com.

For more information or reservations: 802-479-5600 or info@oldlaborhall.com

U.S. Supreme Court Strengthens Free Speech Protections For Public Employees

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week to strengthen protections for public employees to protect them from being fired or demoted for supporting a political candidate who is not favored by the employee’s supervisor.

“The Constitution prohibits a government employee from discharging or demoting an employee because the employee supports a particular candidate,” commented Justice Stephen Breyer, adding that the protection applies even if a supervisor mistakenly assumes an employee is supporting a particular candidate. “What counts is the employer’s motive,” he said.

The case that caused the Court to rule was brought by a New Jersey police detective who was demoted to patrol officer because he was seen carrying a sign supporting the mayor’s opponent. In fact, the officer was only putting the sign in his car to deliver to his mother.

Cities & States Employing Apps To Report Government Waste, Fraud & Abuse

A story this week in the publication Stateline reports on how some cities and states are employing the use of apps that allow taxpayers and state workers to report perceived incidents of governmenwaste, fraud and abuse.

Companies promoting their whistleblower Apps say the technology allows people to submit photos and video to support their claim. In some cases, auditors can use the app to respond and ask follow-up questions, “all while protecting the tipster’s anonymity.”

To date, app developers have been unable to discern how much of a difference the technology is making, versus traditional telephone hotlines.

Prince Fought For Worker Rights

Many across the nation mourned the death of musician Prince on April 21, and, since, there have been a ton of articles written about his life and legacy. The AFL-CIO penned one of the articles, and it talks about Prince being a union member for 40 years, belonging to both the Twin Cities Musicians Local 30-73 (American Federation of Musicians) and the Screen Actor’s Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Arts.

Excerpt from story:

The music industry has a deeply troubled past, with stories of corporations exploiting musicians, especially African-American musicians, being plentiful enough to fill libraries. At the height of his popularity, Prince decided that he would fight back. He was set, financially and career-wise, and had nothing to gain from taking on the onerous contracts that artists were saddled with when they were young, inexperienced and hungry. If he lost everything by taking on the industry, he still had money and fame to rely on. But he knew this wasn’t true for many other musicians, and Prince was always a fan of music, and he knew that taking on this battle would help others. So he took on the recording industry on behalf of music. On behalf of the industry’s working people—the musicians themselves.

Winter/Spring 2016 Training Schedule

VSEA Labor Educator Tim Lenoch asked WIA to announce a new round of trainings he has scheduled for winter/spring 2016. 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.

Trainings in blue are for all members.

Steward 2: Protecting the Contract and Building the Union
Wednesday, May 11
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward 3: The Contract and Challenges in the Workplace
Wednesday, May 25
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

> Register for the above trainings here!

All VSEA Steward Summit Training
Friday, May 20
8:30am to 4pm
Best Western Waterbury
(45 Blush Hill Road, Waterbury)

> Register for the May 20 All VSEA Steward Summit Training here!