Weekly News From Your Union: November 6, 2015

November 6, 2015  4:34 pm

Read this issue of Week In Action!

View the Week In Action Newsletter Archive!

Subscribe to Week In Action Here!

In this week’s issue:

DCF/FSD Social Worker Shannon Morton Delivers Heartfelt Testimony To Lawmakers On Worker Safety

November 5, 2015  4:23 pm

Prefacing her testimony by identifying herself as a "a nearly maxed-out social worker," DCF Family Services Division Social Worker Shannon Morton delivered emotionally charged testimony to lawmakers about the need for them to address safety issues through increased staffing and resources, enhanced (or first-time for some) safety training, and providing frontline DCF social workers with the lead time they need to prepare for individual cases. Morton also stressed the need for increased community outreach and involvement.

Morton told lawmakers she was testifying on behalf of "my practice and the practices of my colleagues." We think she did a really great job on everyone’s behalf!

Hear Shannon’s Testimony Here

Read the VTDigger Story

Weekly News From Your Union: October 30, 2015

October 30, 2015  5:06 pm

Read this issue of Week In Action!

View the Week In Action Newsletter Archive!

Subscribe to Week In Action Here!

In this week’s issue:

Times Argus Editorial Promotes “A Moral Budget”

October 30, 2015  12:06 pm

Excerpt:

"In hard-nosed political terms, this debate is about power. Raising revenues has its own implications for justice; ever higher taxes may create their own injustice. And in raw political terms, some people don’t want to pay higher taxes, no matter what.

But a full understanding of what is just cannot be achieved without a full understanding of the struggles of Vermonters. Protecting the tax privileges of the wealthy should not be the priority that determines the state budget."

The Vermonters who use the public services provided by VSEA members agree with that last line!

Read The Full Editorial Here

Congratulations VSEA Members Working For Forests, Parks & Recreation! You Guys Do An Amazing Job

October 30, 2015  11:11 am

Rutland Herald Story:

Vermont State Parks Annual Visitation Passes 1 Million

MONTPELIER — More than 1 million people have visited Vermont state parks this year, which hasn’t happened in 27 years.

The state will receive an estimated $6.1 million in direct revenue from this year’s visitation. The statewide economic impact from those visits is about $88 million.

State park attendance has been growing steadily over the last several years. Commissioner Michael Snyder of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation attributes that to park staff.

Vermont’s 52 state parks are fully operated from mid-May through mid-October. Attendance is not tracked during the offseason.

Park officials recorded more than 1 million visitors only four other times over the 91-year history of the park system.

1 … 259 260 261 262 263 … 403