You’re Invited To VSEA’s 72nd Annual Meeting!

Killington Grand Resort Hotel
Saturday, September 10, 2016
9:00 a.m.

> Make your room and meal reservations online here!

To request a hard-copy reservation form or if you have any questions, please contact Amy Haskins at 223-5247 or ahaskins@vsea.org.

Deadline to reserve your room and meals is August 8, 2016!

Up-To-Date Schedule Of Chapter Annual Meetings

It’s that time of the year again. Time for all VSEA Chapters to be scheduling their Chapter Annual Meetings in advance of VSEA’s all-inclusive Annual Meeting on September 10 at Killington.

Here are the scheduled Chapter Annual Meetings to date:

Addison County – TBD

Barre – Wednesday, August 3

Bennington – TBD

Brattleboro – Wednesday, August 17

Central Vermont – TBD

Chittenden – TBD

Franklin/Grand Isle – Friday, August 12

Lamoille— TBD

NEK/ St. Johnsbury – Wednesday, August 17

Newport/ Island Pond – TBD

Retirees – Thursday, August 18

Rutland – Thursday, August 4

Springfield – Thursday, August 11

Vermont State Hospital – TBD

Waterbury – Wednesday, August 10

White River Junction – Wednesday, August 10

WIA will update this each week with times and locations, as they are learned. If your Chapter has scheduled its meeting, please make a note of the date and try to attend, as your voice is important.

VSEA State Housing Authority Members Prepare To Bargain

VSEA’s Vermont State Housing Authority (VSHA) Bargaining Team will sit down at the table with the State on June 28 to begin negotiations on a new contract. VSHA workers join the Judiciary and Vermont State Colleges as the only VSEA Units left still working to reach new agreements.

Vermont State Colleges members’ contract ballots were due back to headquarters today, and the union’s ERN Committee will convene soon to count the ballots. Check VSEA’s website and Facebook page to learn the State Colleges’ ratification vote result, or read it in next week’s WIA.

June 30 Is Deadline To Self-Nominate For Seat On Corrections Bargaining Team

VSEA members working in Corrections have until June 30 to self-nominate for a seat on your Unit’s Bargaining Team. Any Corrections Bargaining Unit VSEA member can self-nominate for a seat, and can also nominate a Unit co-worker(s)* for a seat. In either case, the nominee must work at the specific facility/office in order to represent the seat.

Your form must be received at VSEA no later than 4:00 p.m. on June 30, 2016. Elections, if necessary, will take place in July 2016. Go here to find a form.

Submit the form to: VSEA ERN Committee, 155 State Street VT. 05602

If you have questions, please email ERN Chair Rubin Jennings at RJennings@vsea.org or Ray Stout at Rstout@vsea.org.

*To save time, please check with the individual(s) being nominated to ensure their approval.

VSEA Docket Clerks Wonder What Happened To Woman Who Received An Award In 2010 For Advocating For Women

VSEA posted the following on its Facebook page on June 21:

Patricia "Pat" Gabel is the current Vermont Court Administrator, or head of the Judicial Branch. In 2010, the Stowe Reporter published a story about her, titled "Patricia Gabel Recognized For Leadership."

The story is about Ms. Gabel being honored in 2010 by the prestigious women’s advocacy group, the International Women’s Forum of Canada. She won an award for her commitment to identifying and promoting women leaders in the workplace.

Segue to 2016, and Ms. Gabel finds herself as the target of a campaign by approximately 100 Vermont VSEA Docket Clerks (all but two of whom are women) to address the Judiciary’s steadfast resistance to addressing the continuing impact of historic wage discrimination for this overwhelmingly female workforce. She continues to prevent the Docket Clerks from bargaining over any pay increase over the cost of living. She has also prevented them from achieving a fair system of appeals to ensure that they are appropriately classified and paid for the work they do.

Help VSEA Docket Clerks convince Court Administrator Pat Gabel to support this fight for wage fairness by a group of Vermont workers who are mainly working women; many on public assistance to supplement their meager pay.

VSEA Docket Clerks are working to elevate their public campaign about their low wages, and all VSEA members and the public are urged to help this group of workers by continuing to share the Docket Clerks’ open letter to Court Administrator Pat Gabel, which can be found here.

Thanks for your support and your help with educating all Vermonters about the economic plight of this group of workers.

> Read the Stowe Reporter story

Another VSEA Member Declares As Candidate In Vermont House Race!

Add past VSEA Executive Director Judy Rosenstreich’s name to the growing list of frontline state employees who will be campaigning this year to win a seat in the Vermont House. Rosensteich joins VSEA members Rachael Fields, Cheri Goldstein, Evan Hill and Aimee Towne as a declared candidate for the House.

Rosenstreich is running for the Chittenden 6-4 House seat. She is currently a Senior Policy Analyst in the Department of Mental Health.

> Read Judy Rosenstreich’s Announcement

VSEA is asking members who live in Judy’s district to consider casting your vote for a fellow state employee. The more rank-and-file worker voices in the State House, the better!

Discounted 2016 Great Escape / Splashwater Kingdom Day Tickets Available Online & At VSEA!

Park Open Now!

2016 Regular Day Tickets: $34.60 (42% savings!)

Discount tickets are now available to purchase online here, but in order to access the discount page, which also includes the required VSEA username and password, you must be a registered “member-only” VSEA website user (you can sign up here!).

Please note that there is a service charge for purchasing online.

VSEA also has tickets available for members to pick up at headquarters, and there is no service charge attached.

Questions? Feel free to contact Laurie Hassett by emailing lhassett@vsea.org or calling 802-223-5247

VSEA AOT Members Holding “AOT Union (Motorcycle) Ride” On July 30

All VSEA Members Invited
To Ride!

A group of VSEA AOT members are planning a motorcycle run on July 30 to celebrate recent gains they made in the new contract and to demonstrate solidarity with all Vermont workers. While the ride is being coordinated by AOT members, all VSEA members with a motorcycle are invited to join.

Riders are meeting on the State House lawn in Montpelier, beginning at 9:00 a.m., and the run will commence at 10:00 a.m. After touring through Morrisville, West Danville, Groton and Barre, riders will end back in Montpelier on Main Street at roughly 1:00p.m.

VSEA members interested in participating in the run can RSVP to Union Representative Dave Van Deusen by email at dvandeusen@vsea.org.

> Go here for downloadable/printable AOT Ride flyer.

VSEA Member Receives Public Safety Award

At a special awards ceremony on June 17, Vermont State Police Lieutenant and VSEA member Kraig LaPorte received a “Director’s Award” from the Department of Public Safety, in recognition of his leadership of the VSP’s Major Crime Unit (MCU). An announcement about LaPorte’s award says the MCU has handled a total of 13 homicides and four officer-involved shootings.

Congratulations Lieutanant LaPorte!

Bennington Chapter Meeting/Member Appreciation Event Is June 28!

VSEA Bennington Chapter President Victoria Thorpe asked WIA to remind Chapter members that your next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, June 28, beginning at 5:10 p.m. The meeting, which is doubling as a Member Appreciation event, is being held at the Tap House, located at 309 County Street in Bennington.

Want To Support Unions This Summer?

Here’s the AFL-CIO Cookout Shopping List with union made brands. Support fellow unions members by purchasing these products!

> View Larger Image Here

Thousands Of NNU Nurses In Three States On Strike

Across the United States, unionized nurses affiliated with National Nurses United (NNU) are striking to educate the public about the real need for improved patient safety and increased quality care in the hospitals where they work.

In Minnesota, a walkout by nurses that began on June 19 is going strong. The walkout was by nurses working at hospitals owned by Allina. In addition to resolving contract issues, the nurses are asking Allina “for better planning by hospitals to ensure safe environments.” In California, NNU nurses working at Kaiser’s Los Angeles Medical Center struck over staffing issues on June 22. “We need Kaiser to focus on providing us the resources we need to properly take care of our patients,” explains one nurse. And NNU nurses working at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston are planning a one-day strike for June 27, citing “inadequate staffing of the hospital’s Tertiary Care center, short staffing for critically-ill children and lack of proper staffing to allow nurses to take rest and meal breaks.”

Read AFL-CIO Post About The Strikes Here!

Finally Asked, Washington State Capitol Groundskeepers’ Simple Advice Is Being Successfully Implemented

Heeding their Governor’s call to improve the state’s environmental practices, unionized groudskeepers at the Washington State Capitol suggested that if they didn’t mow certain areas of the Capitol’s grounds, it would improve their efficiency by allowing them to spend more time focusing on sustainability. Also, by not mowing in a few out-of-way areas on the grounds of the State Capitol, groundskeepers say they can reduce water use and cut down on “the amount of fertilizer, pesticides and fossil fuels required for the upkeep.” So far, the public response is running two to three in favor of leaving the grass high in some areas, and the state knows this because the public can scan a code on signs outside each unmowed area and register their feelings.

From a story about the experiment:

“The employees are the ones we depend on to really put forward the ideas,” said Chris Liu, Washington’s director of enterprise services. “Instead of having just 10 percent of the people participating, we wanted to have 100 percent of the people participating. This project is one of the outcomes of having everyone participate.” He adds, “I’ve worked for a lot of Governors. This is the first time I’ve ever had a Governor meet with the grounds people, get their ideas and laud them for coming up with new innovations.”

Note: Sometimes you just have to ask!

Reporter Spends Four Months Working As CO In A Private Prison & Writes About Disturbing Experience

Mother Jones Magazine published a story in its most recent edtion, titled “My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard,” detailing reporter Shane Bauer’s experience working at a facility owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). The article is long, and it contains profanity, but it is worth a read, especially for VSEA members who support housing all Vermont inmates in state-operated, in-state prisons, as opposed to warehousing them in out-of-state, for-profit private prisons, operated by groups like CCA and the Geo Group.

One paragraph in the story is especially alarming, describing the toll being a correctional officer in either a public or private facility can take on a person. It reads:

“Research shows that corrections officers experience above-average rates of job-related stress and burnout. Thirty-four percent of prison guards suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a study by a nonprofit that researches ‘corrections fatigue.’ That’s a higher rate than reported by soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. COs commit suicide two and a half times more often than the population at large. They also have shorter life spans. A recent study of Florida prison guards and law enforcement officers found that they die 12 years earlier than the general population; one suggested cause was job-related stress.”

WARNING! This story contains language that could offend.

VSEA Labor Educator Announces Summer Trainings – Four Open To All

VSEA Labor Educator Tim Lenoch asked WIA to announce a new round of trainings he has scheduled throughout the summer 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.

There are four trainings open to all members, please invite folks who may be interested:

Stewards and Labor Management Committees
Friday, July 15
Register For This Training Here

Protecting Bargaining Unit Work
Friday, August 5
Register For This Training Here

Health and Safety Issues in the Workplace
Friday, August 12
Register For This Training Here

The “Hostile Work Environment”
Friday, August 19
Register For This Training Here

> Go here to view the full schedule of summer trainings.

VSEA History

1947

Here’s the entry in the booklet from 1947:

“Average State employee annual salary is $1,860.00. VSEA decides to form a Credit Union to function in cooperation with the Association but administered by its own members. Act No. 156 becomes law, establishing self-insurance for injury on the job. The VSEA Council votes to loan the Credit Union $50.00 interest free “to be repaid when the Credit Union found it possible to get started, contact employees and purchase supplies. Governor Ernest W. Gibson establishes and implements the first Personnel Rules and Regulations and names a “Personnel Director and Merit System Supervisor.”