VSEA.org

Good piece on just some of the many Vermont state employees working round the clock to return Vermont to where we were pre-Irene.

From an online media website:

"…as a employee at the State Hospital, who worked the night of flooding we indeed watched the water rise and rise. My fellow employees and I helped evacuate people to higher floors and keep everyone safe without power, running water or relief. Don’t patronize the effort and dedication of my fellow co-workers when you don’t know the facts."

"[Gov.] Shumlin says he is ‘sympathetic’ to the plight of flood victims in Waterbury, but he does not seem to have leant a sympathetic ear to the concerns of town officials who warn of dire economic impacts if state government doesn’t re-establish its main beachhead in Waterbury."

“The Shumlin Administration’s policy of ‘look the other way’ shouldn’t apply to the contract between the State and VSEA. Simply put, VSEA believes the Administration’s stance on this issue is misguided and contrary to the spirit of the State Employee Labor Relations Act. VSEA won’t get to decide the outcome of this matter and neither will the State. If the State’s interpretation of the emergency closure provision in the contract is correct then State officials have nothing to worry about should this case reach the Labor Board. To single out people for exercising their legal rights is an affront to fairness. From the highest level of government, people are being asked not to exercise their contractual rights – the same rights that union members are fighting to protect in Wisconsin, Ohio and across the country. Governor Shumlin defended these rights when he testified against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on Capital Hill. I’m calling on the Administration to end this war of words and let this matter be settled at the Labor Board where it belongs.”  

"Union officials reiterated that the state must send relocation notices to union members in order to avoid double-time pay. ‘Our position from Day 1 was, let’s avoid the added burden on taxpayers by doing it right,’” Michael Casey said.

“By law we have a duty to fairly represent our members if the state has engaged in activities resulting in members not receiving compensation they’re entitled to,” added Casey. “We don’t have choice, we have to pursue it. We were contacted by employees who said they were entitled to compensation.”