August 24
Steward Training: Vermont State Colleges’ Unit
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin, VT
9:00 a.m.
August 24
Meet w/Bennington Union Representative Rachael Fields
Bennington State Office Building
Third-Floor Conference Room
Bennington
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
August 25
Retirees’ Chapter Meeting
VSEA HQ
Montpelier
9:30 a.m.
August 25
Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital Chapter Annual Meeting
VPCH Round Room
Berlin
2:00 p.m.
August 25
Barre Chapter Member Appreciation Day Event
Free Ice Cream!
Barre City Place
Fourth-Floor Fishbowl
Barre
Noon
August 26
Corrections Unit Meeting
VSEA HQ
Montpelier
8:00 a.m.
Quote of The Week!
“It’s frightening. It just keeps going up.”
St. Albans DCF Family Services Division Director Alix Gibson, commenting on frontline DCF workers’ caseloads continuing to rise, especially in Franklin County.
Deadline Extended To Register For VSEA Annual Meeting!
VSEA’s Special Events Committee met this week and decided to extend the deadline to register for VSEA’s 2016 Annual Meeting to Tuesday, August 30. The Annual Meeting is Saturday, September 10 in Killington.
All VSEA members are encouraged to attend the meeting and to participate in the festivities. Friday night there will be a dinner banquet followed by a dance. “Good Times Music” DJ Allen Brown is a VSEA member and an AOT worker! Also, for the first time, there will be a caricature artist to do drawings! On Saturday, members meet to discuss and vote on your union’s annual budget and its bylaws, as well as prioritize and set goals for VSEA.
Membership Recruitment Committee Creates Survey To Determine What Kinds Of Group Outings Appeal To VSEA Members
VSEA’s Membership Recruitment Committee is actively arranging trips for members to see a NASCAR race in New Hampshire and a Red Sox game in Boston. These are the kind of group events the Committee would like to offer more of in the future, but VSEA’s membership is broad and there are a lot of interests, so the Committee recently created a simple survey to guage interest in some suggested outings and for members to submit their own ideas.
On the heels of scheduling VSEA NASCAR Day, VSEA’s Membership Recruitment Committee is now scheduling “VSEA Day at Fenway” for interested members and your families.
The game will be the Red Sox vs. the Yankees on Sunday, September 18, at Fenway Park in Boston, beginning at 1:35 p.m..
The package price is $80 per member/family member and that includes your ticket and transportation to and from the ballpark.
A chartered bus will pick members up members at:
7:30 a.m. – Waterbury
8:00 a.m. – DOL, Montpelier
9:00 a.m. – White River Junction
This Campaign Season, Ask Yourself: “Is It Fact, Or Is It Myth?”
With Vermont’s general election cycle now gearing up, it means there will now be a lot of rhetoric flying around about why Vermont continues to have budget deficits, with some candidates almost certainly talking about having to “streamline” or “modernize” government” or they will propose giving more tax breaks to corporations to entice them to do business here. VSEA has listed some of the more prevalent myths we hear each election about Vermont’s economic and social climate, and included a fact to counter each. During the campaign, VSEA members are urged to question candidates who continue to promote some of the more common myths.
Here’s an example:
Myth: Too many Vermont young people are leaving the state.
Fact: From a July 15, 2016, VPR story: “According to data from the Internal Revenue Service, nearly as many young people are moving to Vermont as those leaving, dispelling the popular notion that Vermont is losing young people in droves.”
Lamoille Valley Chapter Announces Annual “School Supply Challenge”
Last year, VSEA’s Lamoille Valley Chapter launched a successful effort to get Chapter members to donate school supplies to help children in need. This year, the Chapter is hoping to build on last year’s initial success.
The Chapter is distributing collection boxes to Lamoille worksites, and the goal is to collect as many items as possible by Tuesday, August 23. All supplies collected will be given to children currently in the custody of DCF Morrisville Family Services. All types of supplies are needed, including: backpacks, lunch boxes, pencil cases, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, notebooks, folders, rulers, scissors and markers, to name a few.
Information About Upcoming VT State Retirement Board Elections
Elections for two full Vermont State Retirement Board seats (each w/ two-year term) will be conducted at this year’s VSEA Annual Meeting on September 10. If you are interested in serving on the Board—and wish to have your name on the printed ballot for Annual Meeting—you must submit a letter of intent to the VSEA Elections Committee no later than September 1, 2016. You should send an email to Rubin Jennings VSEA (RJennings@vsea.org), or mail your letter to:
VSEA Elections Committee
c/o Rubin Jennings
VSEA Headquarters
155 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05602
Special Note: VSEA asks that interested candidates consider if they really have the ability to dedicate the time needed to fulfill the role of this position. For more information about the position, please contact Ray Stout at VSEA HQ, 223-5247. If you cannot ensure your attendance at the Retirement Board meetings, and fulfill the other requirements (including outside reading, conference calls, workshops, etc.), you may want to reconsider applying for this role.
Discounted 2016 Great Escape / Splashwater Kingdom Day Tickets Available Online & At VSEA!
Please note that there is a service charge for purchasing online.
VSEA also has tickets available for members to pick up at headquarters, and there is no service charge attached.
Questions? Feel free to contact Laurie Hassett by emailing lhassett@vsea.org or calling 802-223-5247
Threatened While On The Job? VSEA Wants To Know.
VSEA President Dave Bellini is asking all state employees who are threatened while performing your job duties to provide an account of the threat not only to your supervisor or the State, but also to VSEA.
“VSEA wants to begin to compile its own record of threats against frontline state employees, no matter your occupation,” explains Bellini. “I’m asking all employees who are threatened, especially those working in AHS, to take a few minutes to fill out an online form VSEA made to collect your report. The information will help us provide a firsthand account of the number of threats being made and where they are being made, in addition to some other things.”
DCF Caseloads Continue To Rise, Especially In Franklin County
Despite the warranted and well-deserved attention lawmakers and elected officials paid this year to VSEA members working for the Department for Children and Families, VTDigger reports on August 14 that the number of children in state custody is continuing to rise across Vermont, but especially in Franklin County.
The story features a great breakdown of the numbers of children in custody and possible reasons why, but the director of the DCF Family Services Division in St. Albans makes a point to explain the impact of the rise on an already beleaguered workforce. “It’s frightening,” explains Alix Gibson. “It just keeps going up.” She labels the impact of the caseload increase on frontline workers as “tremendous,” adding, “[DCF workers are]scared for their safety, and they all acknowledge if they had more time to develop relationships with clients they might not feel so scared for their safety all the time.”
As for the rise in the number of children in state custody, Franklin County State’s Attorney Jim Hughes tells the reporter that he too is at a loss for how to address the increase, saying, “I don’t know how to fix it. If I did I probably would be in a more expensive chair.”
The story does remind that (thanks to VSEA members’ lobbying at the State House), the St. Albans DCF office will be getting three new social worker positions. In addition, they are in the process of trying to fill an additional six social worker positions that are currently vacant.
VSEA Labor Educator Announces Fall 2016 Training Schedule
VSEA Labor Educator Tim Lenoch asked WIA to announce a new round of trainings he has scheduled for the fall of 2016. If you are interested in registering to attend one or more trainings, you can do so by clicking here. All trainings begin at 9:00 a.m. Please direct any of your training questions to Tim at tlenoch@vsea.org.
Trainings in blue are for all members.
Steward Training: Representing Co-Workers In Disciplinary Meetings & Investigations
Friday, September 30
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward 1: Introduction & The Basics
Tuesday, October 4
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward Training: Judiciary Unit
Friday, October 7
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward Training: Health Care Facilities
Friday, October 14
Rutland/Mendon – TBD
Steward 2: Protecting The Contract & Building The Union
Tuesday, October 18
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward Training: Department for Children and Families
Friday, October 21
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward 3: The Contract & Challenges in the Workplace
Tuesday, October 25
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward Training: Health Care-Related Departments
Friday, November 4
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward Training: The Labor/Management Committee
Thursday, November 10
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward Training: Protecting Bargaining Unit Work
Friday, November 18
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward 1: Introduction & The Basics
Wednesday, November 30
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward Training: The Grievance
Wednesday, December 7
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward 2: Protecting The Contract & Building The Union
Wednesday, December 14
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
Steward 3: The Contract & Challenges in the Workplace
Wednesday, December 21
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin
VSEA AOT member Jerold Kinney was one of several Vermonters whose accent was featured in a new series this week on Vermont Public Radio, called Brave Little State. The show’s premise is to take a question(s) from a listener(s) and then work with them to find the answer(s). The show premiered with a question about the history of the Vermont accent, and the moderator reached out to Kinney because she had heard his accent in a recent AOT ad. When asked about his accent in the piece, Kinney jokes, “I’m not sure what a Vermont accent is. I think everybody else talks funny. I’m not really sure where it comes from.” It’s an entertaining and educational piece. Worth a listen.
VSEA To Conduct General Election “Endorsement Survey.”
Participation Requires Member’s Home Email
VSEA’s Legislative Committee will soon be conducting an endorsement survey to provide your Board of Trustees with better insight on how VSEA members feel about all the candidates running for statewide office in this year’s general election. Your Board of Trustees governs VSEA’s political process, so input to the body from as many members as possible is very important.
IMPORTANT! In order for a member to participate in the upcoming general election survey, VSEA must have the member’s updated home email address. VSEA cannot send emails of a political nature, such as the endorsement survey announcement, to state email addresses. If you are unsure, or don’t remember ever providing VSEA with your home email, please take time today to submit your name and home email address by clicking here.
VSEA’s general election endorsement survey will begin on August 23 and run through September 5.
More information to come as date approaches. If you have any questions, please call 802-223-5247 or email vsea@vsea.org.
New Candidate VSEA Questionnaire Answers Now Online
In an effort to provide interested VSEA members with more information about a candidate’s positions on issues of importance to you, the VSEA Legislative Committee has collected responses from most statewide general-election candidates to a questionnaire, and their answers are now available online.
New responses have been posted by candidates running for Secretary of State, Auditor and Attorney General. Previous responses remain from candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor and other statewide positions.
Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital Chapter’s Annual Meeting Is August 25
VSEA’s Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital Chapter will hold its Chapter Annual Meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 25, in the Round Room inside the at the VPCH. Members with questions should contact VSEA Union Representative Rachael Fields by email at rfields@vsea.org.
Barre Chapter Schedules Two Member Appreciation Day Events
Barre Chapter President Sue LaFleche asked WIA to let Chapter members know that there are two Member Appreciation Day Events scheduled in the coming weeks. Each will feature free ice cream for VSEA members. The dates of the events are:
Thursday, August 25
Noon to 1 p.m.
Barre City Place, Fourth-Floor Fishbowl
Wednesday, August 31
Noon to 1 p.m.
McFarland State Office Building Lobby
Up-To-Date Schedule Of Remaining Chapter Annual Meetings
Here are the remaining Chapter Annual Meetings:
Addison – TBD
Vermont State Hospital – Thursday, August 25 – TBD – 2:00 p.m.
WIA will update this each week with times and locations, as they are learned. If your Chapter has scheduled its meeting, please make a note of the date and try to attend, as your voice is important.
In the weeks leading up to the Vermont’s August 9 primary election—and then to the November 8 general election—VSEA Legislative Committee members and HQ staff will be asking members to volunteer some time to assist candidates who have received VSEA’s endorsement and who deserve our support. A reminder that, this year, there are five VSEA members running for office, and each could use your help.
There are many ways for you to participate in VSEA’s Campaign 2016 activities, including:
Participate in a VSEA- or candidate-sponsored phone bank;
Participate in a VSEA- or candidate-sponsored honk-and-wave;
Participate in a VSEA- or candidate-sponsored door-to-door canvassing effort;
Participate in a VSEA- or candidate-sponsored candidate(s) rally;
Educate your family, friends and colleagues about the candidate and his/her positions on issues important to VSEA members;
March with a candidate in a parade;
Volunteer to help at a candidate’s headquarters (if applicable) with things like answering phones, filing, assembling educational packets/mailings, etc.;
Put a yard sign in your yard, or help the candidate distribute signs in your area;
Host a candidate house party;
Drive voters to the polls on Election Day;
Pen a letter to the editor in support of VSEA-endorsed candidate(s); and
Make a monetary contribution to a candidate(s).
If you would be interested in volunteering some time to help your union’s campaign 2016 efforts, please contact VSEA Organizing Director Vinnie O’Connor by email voconnor@vsea.org, or by phone at 223-5247.
Important Note: It is imperative that VSEA have your current home email address, so you can receive political material. This is because some messages could be labeled partisan, and therefore they are not permissible to send to work emails. When contacting Vinnie with interest, please be sure to let him know your current home email. Thanks!
VSEA’s Communications Department is happy to disseminate any and all communications the leadership, Chapters, Units, and others request, however, the lists the Department currently pull from are provided to the union by the State of Vermont. VSEA’s Communications Department has found the lists to be dated, incomplete and sometimes lacking key information that was entered by a VSEA staff person but later overwritten or deleted during a State data dump.
To help VSEA more effectively reach active members—and really all those members who want to know what’s going on in their union—VSEA will be working hard in the coming months to collect members’ emails on its own and begin to build contact lists that cannot be altered by a State download.
You can help us get started by clicking here and signing up for the VSEA communications you are interested in receiving.
Thank you in advance for subscribing. Please urge your colleagues to do the same.
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