VSEA is pleased to invite all VSEA members and retirees to participate in your union’s 78th Annual Meeting!
This is VSEA’s most important meeting of the year because it’s where an operating budget for the new fiscal year is adopted, proposed changes to bylaws governing union business are debated and voted up or down, and members from across state government, as well as retirees, meet as one body to discuss current union-wide fights, educate each other about our worksite-specific or Unit issues and determine next steps, if any.
This year’s VSEA Annual Meeting and September Council Meeting (one day prior) are both being offered in-person and online. For members attending in person, both meetings are being held at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, located at 36 College Street in Montpelier.
To determine how much food to order for the in-person meetings, please let VSEA know in advance whether you will be attending this year’s Annual Meeting and/or Council Meeting in-person or online, via Zoom. Once registered, VSEA will send the Zoom link and call-in information prior to the meeting to those who opt to participate online.
With the VSEA Central Vermont Chapter’s support, VSEA Member Jonathan Goddard participated in and completed the grueling Harpoon Point-to-Point Race on August 6! The race raises money for the Vermont Foodbank.
Congratulations to Jonathan (especially given the heat!), who was surprisingly re-energized enough by week’s end to pen an excellent, first-person account of the race.
Goddard begins:
Arriving at Bragg Farm early last Saturday morning to begin the 100-mile route of the Point to Point ride to benefit the VT Foodbank, I was filled with excitement and anticipation having ridden a century a few years prior, yet fully aware of the challenge ahead. As the other thirty or so riders made their final preparations; pumping tires, grabbing one last cup of coffee and looking over the assortment of energy bars, carbohydrate goos, gels, and breakfast sandwiches spread out on a long table and trying to decide which to stuff in the back pockets of their jerseys, Kip from Onion River Outdoors, made some last-minute shifting adjustments to my bike. As is often the case at local cycling events and races, he and his staff provide technical support both at the start and at various rest stops located along the route to riders that experience a “mechanical” issue or other equipment mishaps that inevitably occur as riders test their mettle and bikes.
VSEA has produced a webpage and flyer that explains how the Task Force’s pension legislation impacts state employees. Please share this information with your colleagues who may not have seen it.
VSEA announced recently, via press release, its list of endorsed candidates in the 2022 primary election
“These are an outstanding group of committed, pro-state employee candidates whom we feel we can rely on to stand with us when the going gets tough,” said VSEA President Aimee Bertrand Towne in the release.
VSEA’s member-driven endorsement process involves multiple stages of review of the elective and legislative history of candidates, and of questionnaires crafted by VSEA members. This round of the union’s endorsements only considered candidates with contested primaries; all other candidates will be considered for endorsement during VSEA’s general election endorsement process later this year.
VSEA has begun hosting “Union Appreciation Day” events in Chapters across Vermont. This Central Vermont Chapter event was held yesterday on the State House lawn in Montpelier. Keep an eye open for your Chapter’s UAD!
