Three VSEA Units Ratify New Contracts

VSEA issues press release, announcing that the union’s Supervisory, Corrections and State Colleges Units have voted to ratify new contracts with the State of Vermont!

“Judging by the votes, it’s pretty clear that VSEA members in these three Units are very pleased with their new contracts,” said ERN Chair Mary Poulos, herself a DOC employee. “It’s a great testament to the hard work of the rank-and-file VSEA bargaining team members who negotiated the agreements.”

Three Vermont State Employees’ Association Bargaining Units

Ratify New Contracts

Members of the Vermont State Employee Association’s (VSEA) Election, Rules and Nominating (ERN) Committee counted ballots at union headquarters today and announced the ratification of new contracts by VSEA members belonging to the union’s Supervisory, Corrections and State Colleges Units.

“Judging by the votes, it’s pretty clear that VSEA members in these three Units are very pleased with their new contracts,” said ERN Chair Mary Poulos, herself a DOC employee. “It’s a great testament to the hard work of the rank-and-file VSEA bargaining team members who negotiated the agreements.”

VSEA President Shelley Martin hailed the votes and the fact that each contract features respectful and well-deserved pay increases as well as very sought after improvements in benefits and working conditions.

“After some intense negotiating, State negotiators finally came to the table with agreements that VSEA bargaining team members and leadership believed were fair,” explained Martin. “The contracts, we feel, are the State’s recognition of the dedication of Vermont’s state employees and the valuable contributions we make to Vermont each and every day.”

Martin said VSEA is especially pleased with the new three-year agreement reached by VSEA’s State Colleges’ rank-and-file bargainers, who waged a broad-based public and statewide contract campaign to protect and enhance the employees’ pay and working conditions in the face of draconian takeaway demands by management.” The new contract, for the first time ever, establishes a “living wage” for all VSEA members belonging to the Unit.

“This new contract raises up the unfairly low wages of roughly 20 percent of the VSEA State Colleges’ Unit members,” Martin hailed. “It’s huge because all State College workers are now guaranteed a base salary of $26,000 a year.” Martin said the contract ratification will result in some workers receiving retroactive payments as large as $2700.”

In addition to the “living wage” language, VSEA’s State Colleges members will also receive 2% wage increases in 2013 and 2014 and a 2.5% increase in 2015. VSEA’s bargaining team members also successfully defeated proposals by the Chancellor that would have cut workers’ retirement benefits and retirees’ health care benefits.

VSEA members belonging to the union’s Supervisory and Corrections Units ratified new, two-year contracts that include 2.5% wage increases each year and a major improvement to the workers’ dental coverage. Effective July 1, 2014, employees’ maximum covered dental expenses will be updated from 2001 to 2014 rates and, thereafter, coverage amounts will be updated annually.

“The dental issue has been festering across our membership for years, so the State’s agreement to move to the current year’s rate is welcome and, frankly, long overdue,” said Martin. “Each of these Unit bargaining teams also secured improvements that, while parochial to certain lines of work with each Unit, are important and wanted by our Supervisory and Corrections members.”

Approximately 800 VSEA members will be covered by the new Supervisory agreement; 900 by the Corrections agreement; and 200 by the State Colleges’ agreement.

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