Hey WCAX! Just Five Months Ago, Chittenden DOC Members Were Educating Legislature’s Women’s Caucus About Staffing

It was just five months ago that VSEA Corrections members from the Chittenden facility were at the State House to educate lawmakers and press in the room about their current work situation.

Here’s what appeared in VSEA’s weekly email newsletter from March 1, 2019:

After touring the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility last week, members of the Legislature’s Women’s Caucus asked to meet today with VSEA DOC members who work at the facility to discuss staffing and other employee concerns, as well as get some perspective on how it is to work with female inmates who are detoxing and the challenges associated. The workers lobbied for additional funding to help resolve the facility’s chronic staffing issues.

Note: Staffing is identified as a primary cause for concern at every Vermont corrections facility.

Continue Reading Here…

WCAX Story Outrages VSEA Corrections Members

VSEA Corrections members are fired up after WCAX aired a story that featured DOC Commissioner Mike Touchette telling the reporter that staffing is not an issue in Vermont prisons.

Say what?

VSEA Corrections members have delivered countless hours of testimony in the past few years to lawmakers and committees about chronic understaffing, mandatory overtime and temp usage–with press in the room. And President Bellini, a Corrections member himself, has penned commentaries on the topics. 

WCAX’s story is unfortunate and misleading and VSEA members are questioning the motivation behind WCAX airing the story(?).

VSEA will be responding to this light-on-facts story.

Strength In Numbers! VSEA Membership Drive 2019 Ends September 1!

A reminder that your union’s 2019 membership-recruitment drive is underway. Rewards for recruiting new members between now and September 1:

  • 2 new members – Dunkin Donuts gift card;
  • 5 new members – VSEA insulated coffee mug; or
  • 10 new members – $50 VISA gift card!
  • Bonus! Recruit a new member and receive an entry in a drawing to win one of four $300 prizes to be awarded at VSEA’s 2019 Annual Meeting! Each new recruit earns you an additional entry! Just be sure to have your recruits add your name in the "Recruited By" line of the VSEA Membership Application.

Need a quick reference to help with your recruiting? You can view an informational webpage with some recruitment tips and advice here.

Learn more about the 2019 membership drive…

VSEA’s Week In Action Newsletter: August 9, 2019

Top Stories This Week:

 

Read the entire newsletter here!

Download Print Edition (PDF)

Subscribe to Week In Action here!

Stop & Shop Strike Leader Is Keynote Speaker At VSEA’s Annual Meeting

Just a few days remain for VSEA members to register to attend your union’s 75th Annual Meeting on September 14 at the Okemo Resort in Ludlow. Register online here.

 

Members attending will be hearing from United Food & Commercial Workers’ Local Union 1445 President Jeff Bollen, this year’s keynote speaker.

 

Here’s a piece about Brother Bollen from the Annual Meeting WARN, which emailed this week to VSEA members:

“We told the workers in advance when we were training them, ‘Don’t worry about how much food gets into the store; don’t worry about how many scabs they bring in from the outside. All you have to do is win over that customer that you wait on every week, and you will win.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”

Continue Reading Here…

1 138 139 140 141 142 404