VSEA.org

The Times Argus recently covered Saturday’s VSC Board of Trustees meeting in Montpelier, where, during the public comment portion of the meeting, Board members received a lot of blowback for the administration’s recent library decision. Pictured here is VSEA VSC Unit Chair Billie Neathawk delivering her remarks to the Board opposing the plan.

From the Argus story:

Community members questioned why those within the system would seek feedback and input from them on certain topics, like libraries, when that input is ignored. They urged the board to listen to them and their desire to keep books in libraries. They talked about the damage this announcement has already caused to recruitment efforts, noting the announcement was made at a critical time in recruitment.

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Plainfield resident Glenda Bissex said while she had taught at Johnson previously, she was there to represent the community. Bissex said she was dismayed the sign-in sheet for the meeting asked the participant what institution they were part of and their title, as if the board did not want nor expect to hear from the community.

VSEA is encouraging members and retirees to support striking Goddard College employees, who called for the action last Friday after talks broke down on increasing workers’ wages. Members of the Goddard College Staff Union say college administrators want workers to give up their right to negotiate working conditions in exchange for a three-percent wage increase.

“VSEA stands with striking Goddard College workers in their fight for fair and competitive wages,” says VSEA Second Vice President Leslie Matthews. “The administration’s counter to give up negotiating rights is ludicrous and extreme, to say the least.” She adds, “VSEA will be helping these workers however we can.”

Sign a Petition “For a Just, Democratic, and Thriving Goddard College”

The Goddard College staff’s picket line is in the upper parking lot at the main entrance (not Pratt entrance) on route 214. The address is 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield, VT. Keep up-to-date with the latest on the workers’ Facebook page here.

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Here’s the release VSEA issued this afternoon:

The Vermont State Employees’ Association (VSEA) recently filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) that alleged violations of the State Employees’ Labor Relations Act (SELRA) by the Vermont State Colleges administration, specifically bargaining in bad faith and allegations of retaliation against union activists.

In their ULP, VSEA Bargaining Unit members alleged that administrators withheld information during a recent bargaining session, provided a misleading statement regarding anticipated layoffs, and within an hour after the bargaining session ended, announced that eight VSEA members were being laid off as a result of a plan to transition to an all-digital library. Four of the eight VSEA members being laid off are bargaining team members and union activists.

“We are pleased the Labor Board saw the merit in our unfair labor practice filing, and that they have issued an unfair labor practice complaint. They acted promptly due to the urgent need to get bargaining back on track and scheduled a hearing for May 4,” explains VSEA Bargaining Team member and Unit Chairperson Billie Neathawk, a librarian and one of the eight being laid off. “We look forward to making our case in person, and we’re hopeful the Board will agree with us and issue a strong remedy for this unfair labor practice.”

The VLRB hearing is scheduled for May 4, 2023, beginning at 9:00 AM.

In a commentary today in the Rutland Herald and Times Argus, former Castleton University President Jonathan Spiro shares his view of who, or better what private firm, may have influenced VSC administrators’ decision to go digital.

Spiro writes:

“[VSC Administrators’] pretext is an unsubstantiated claim that firing the library staff will save the system $500,000 per year. But I suspect their primary goal is not to save money. After all, in the last two years, they have accepted millions of dollars from the Legislature and created scores of new positions in the central office (vice presidents, assistant vice presidents, directors, executive directors, etc.), many of whom are paid well over $100,000 per year. If saving money is their goal, consider the fact President Grewal is paid $270,000 a year (plus a free house, and a free car). The librarians he fired “because we must save money” earn $40,000 a year (no free house, no free car).

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You may not have heard of Deloitte. But with over 400,000 employees and annual revenues of $59 billion, it is the largest professional services network in the world and the third-largest private company of any kind in the entire United States. In early 2021, an official with Deloitte sent a 20-page report titled “The Hybrid Campus” to several high-level administrators of Vermont State Colleges System, including the chancellor and the chair of the board of trustees. The thesis of the Deloitte report was universities should take advantage of the COVID shutdowns and quarantines to create “fully hybrid” campuses that would permanently digitize “everything an institution offers, from academic advising, to courses, to career services.”

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