As Anniversary Of Lara Sobel’s Death Nears, A Harsh Reminder That DCF Workers’ Safety Concerns Are Still Very Real

The State had to place armed security guards outside two state office buildings on Wednesday, after a man threatened “violent attacks against the state,” allegedly for losing custody of his daughter. It’s a harsh reminder of the danger that still exists for frontline DCF workers, three years after Social Worker Lara Sobel was tragically killed outside the DCF Barre office.

“We take these matters very seriously and as soon we hear any threat of violence we react swiftly and try to get protection for folks who need it,” AHS Secretary Al Gobeille tells VTDigger on July 18. “As we’ve seen these issues are real and serious and can never taken lightly.” After learning about the threat, Gobeille sent an email to DCF workers, instructing them to “call police, do not attempt to engage.’”

In the article, VSEA Executive Director Steve Howard appropriately reminds that the threat this week “underscores that security upgrades made following Sobel’s death remain lacking at state office buildings and parking lots.”

“We have these incidents that keep popping up, but we don’t have the kind of response from management that shows that they value the lives and safety of state employees,” Howard says, adding, “The pace of which state government has moved to secure employees and the worksites they work in has been a snail’s pace.”

Update! The man responsible for the threat was arrested Thursday by Shelburne Police and is being held in the Chittenden facility. VSEA thanks these Shelburne public employees for their quick apprehension of this individual.

VSEA Facebook Page Reaches 2500 Likes

More than 2500 VSEA members, retirees, Vermonters and others now “like” the VSEA Facebook page, and the VSEA Communications Department could not be happier.

“Big thanks to the entire VSEA Facebook community for not only liking and helping us promote the page, but also for sharing what you read with your colleagues and other supporters and sometimes even using a post thread to publicly educate folks about the issues important to Vermont state employees and retirees,” says VSEA Communications Director Doug Gibson. “Given the recent Janus decision, it’s been uplifting to see an increase in the number of people liking the VSEA page. It gives you a lot of hope that there are still a lot of people out there who still believe in unions and collective bargaining. Thanks again. Next stop…3000.”

New Education Tool!

VSEA Posts First In Short Video Series, Titled “Why I’m Sticking With
My Union”

At the direction of the Board of Trustees, VSEA’s Communications Department is providing a new tool for members and retirees to share with anyone who is on the fence about their union, post Janus ruling. The first of three short “Why I’m Sticking With My Union” video clips posted to VSEA’s Facebook page on July 19, and it features DOC Community High School of Vermont Educator John Vorder Bruegge, explaining why he is sticking with his union. Two additional clips will post soon.

Video 1: Why I’m Sticking With My Union – John Vorder Bruegge

Any VSEA member interested in appearing in a future video can send an email to vsea@vsea.org and write “I’m Sticking With My Union” in the subject line. And if you decide you want to sit down for a few minutes to share your thoughts with your union brothers and sisters, VSEA thanks you in advance.

In Age Of Alleged Fiscal Restraint, Auditor Again Calls Out
Lack Of Accountability For State Dollars Spent On Tax Incentives For Businesses

No one is reminded more about Vermont’s fiscal woes on an annual basis than state employees, especially VSEA Bargaining Team members, who in recent contract negotiations heard repeatedly about how the State lacked the funds necessary to award the raises and many of the other contract enhancements sought by the Teams. It’s a tough pill to swallow, and it’s made even tougher when the State Auditor’s Office is releasing reports that call out the State for a lack of accountability when it comes to whether or not the millions of dollars Vermont spends on tax incentives for businesses are working.

From a July 19 VTDigger story:

It’s impossible to independently measure whether Vermont’s economic development programs are working, according to a new report from the state auditor.

But in a wide-ranging report compiling peer-reviewed research from across the country, the state auditor says he can’t verify whether these programs — and programs like them in other states — are helping to drive economic development.

Note: In a Seven Days story on the Auditor’s report, the only concrete reason offered by the State to continue blindly funding these tax incentives is because every other state is doing it.

With Mediation Pending, New Contract Printing & Posting On Hold

VSEA members continue to inquire to headquarters about the status of the new NMU, Supervisory and Corrections’ contracts and where they can find them online to review and understand.

To date, the contract the VLRB ruled in favor of has not been printed or posted because, as many VSEA members and retirees know, the VLRB ordered VSEA and the State last week to enter into mediation to see if there is any room for compromise. If so, it may open a door to preventing the State’s last-best-contract-offer from being imposed in its entirety.

In the interim, members with specific questions about the new contract should contact a Steward or a Union Representative.

VSEA Members Invited To March In July 28 Barre Heritage Festival Parade

VSEA members and retirees are invited to march with your colleagues in the 2018 Barre Heritage Festival Parade.

Here’s the information:

Parade: Saturday, July 28

VSEA Members GatheringAt: Barre Auditorium, 16 Auditorium Hill, Barre

Parade Start Time: 1:00 p.m.

Details: March in solidarity with VSEA in the 2018 Barre Heritage Festival Parade!!! Marchers each get a VSEA t-shirt to wear during the parade, and you can help hand out candy, balloons and stickers to the crowd. Member’s and retiree’s family and friends are welcome to join in the fun!

Please RSVP—or direct any questions—to VSEA Barre Chapter President Sue LaFleche by email to suzanne.lafleche@vermont.gov.

Bernie Invites VSEA Members & Retirees To Celebrate Vermont’s Labor Community
With Him! 

Senator Sanders is extending an invitation to VSEA members and retirees to join with him to celebrate Vermont’s labor community with an evening of dinner and dancing. 

When: July 29, 2018 

Where: Hilton Burlington 

60 Battery Street 

Burlington, VT 

Cocktail Hour: 5:30 PM 

Dinner: 6:30 PM 

Music/Dancing: 8:00 PM

Question? Email: DINNER@BERNIESANDERS.COM

Submit Your 2018 VSEA Annual Meeting Award Nominations Online Today!

Learn more about the VSEA Annual Meeting Awards here. The deadline to submit nominations is Wednesday, August 8.

VSEA’s Awards and Scholarships Committee is urging members to give some thought to each of these awards and if you know of a deserving state employee—or a deserving Chapter—then please don’t hesitate to submit your nomination(s).

Winners will be announced at VSEA’s Annual Meeting in September.

VSEA’s Awards And Scholarship Committee Needs You!​

VSEA members interested in becoming a member of your union’s Awards And Scholarships Committee should email the committee’s staff liaison, VSEA Communications Specialist 
Kris Lizzari at klizzari@vsea.org

Upcoming Chapter Annual Meeting

• Waterbury Chapter
  Wednesday, July 25
  12:00 p.m.
  State Office Complex
  Oak Conference Room
  Waterbury

  Questions: Contact Waterbury Chapter President John Mangione at MangioneArt@comcast.net.

Upcoming Organizer’s Worksite Meeting

• White River Junction
  Thursday, July 26
  12:00 p.m.
  State Office Complex
  118 Prospect Street
  White River Junction
   

  Questions: Contact VSEA Organizer David Oppenheimer at doppenheimer@vsea.org.  

Upcoming VSEA Member Appreciation Day Event(s)

• Lamoille Valley Chapter
  Tuesday, July 31
  11:00 a.m
  State Office Building
  63 Professional Drive
  AHS Conference Room
  Morrisville

  Questions: Contact VSEA Organizer Carmen Scoles at cscoles@vsea.org.

Bus Is Full For VSEA 2018 “Day At Fenway” On August 17, But Waiting List Being Built

The bus to attend “VSEA Day 2018 at Fenway” on Friday night, August 17, sold out this week, but a waiting list is being built for any member or retiree who wants to be added to it.

The Red Sox are battling the Tampa Bay Rays, starting at 7:10 p.m., and the cost is $80 per person, which includes a bus ride to and from the park, as well as a ticket to the game. The bus is making stops in Waterbury (2:00 p.m.) and White River Junction (3:00 p.m.). ETA at Fenway is 5:30 p.m.

If you and your family would be interested in placing your name(s) on a waiting list for the August 17 game, please contact VSEA Union Representative Bob South or VSEA Administrative Assistant Sue DeVoid. You can reach Bob by email at bsouth@vsea.org or by phone at 223-5247. You can reach Sue by email at sdevoid@vsea.org or by phone at 223-5247.

Payment must be received before tickets are released. 

No refunds on purchased tickets. 

Upcoming Steward Training

Training begins at 8:30 a.m.

To register, please email Gretchen Naylor: gnaylor@vsea.org

Ahead Of Missouri Right-To-Work Vote, EPI Spoon Feeds The Many Reasons To Vote “No”

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) issued a report to Missouri voters on July 10, and it lists a lot of good reasons for Missourians to strongly say “no” in August to a proposed right-to-work law.

From the EPI’s Website:

“Across the country, large sums of money have been devoted to backing RTW bills, with lobbyists claiming that an RTW law in their state would create jobs and boosts wages by attracting companies to the state.3 This report summarizes the evidence showing that these claims are completely without merit. RTW laws do not boost jobs—they restrict unions and hurt wages:

• Only 5.2 percent of private-sector workers in RTW states are union members or are covered by a union contract, compared with 10.2 percent in non-RTW states;
   
• Based on the impact of an RTW law in neighboring Oklahoma, we could expect that nearly 60,000 fewer Missourians working in the private sector would be covered by a union contract if RTW were implemented in Missouri;
   
• RTW laws have not succeeded in boosting employment in states that have adopted them. In fact, RTW laws have no causal impact on job growth or unemployment, contrary to the claims of its proponents;
   
• RTW laws are associated with lower wages and benefits for both union and nonunion workers. In RTW states, the average worker makes 3.1 percent less in hourly wages than the average worker with similar characteristics in non-RTW states. This pattern of lower wages in RTW states is also true for women workers and workers of color;
   
• Through weakening unions, RTW laws hurt the middle class. As union membership has declined in recent decades, the share of overall income received by the middle class is close to a post-WWII low; and
   
• By restricting the capacity of unions to bargain for workers and thus lowering wages and benefits, RTW laws lower tax revenues and reduce aggregate demand.”

&

“There are many organizations that, like unions, require membership dues. For instance, an attorney who wants to appear in court must be a dues-paying member of the bar association. Someone may dislike the bar association, but that person must still pay dues if he or she wants to appear in court. Unions in RTW states are the only organizations in the country that are forced to provide all benefits for free to people who opt not to pay for them. This is because unions in RTW states are banned from requiring those who enjoy the benefits of the union to pay their fair share of the costs of providing those benefits.”

New Study Links Declining Union Strength To More Worker Deaths

Salon posted a story this week about a new study that “focuses in particular on the extent to which state ‘right to work’ laws—which barred mandatory union dues for non-union members even before Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling— translate into more workplace deaths.

From the post:

“The study found that the rate of job-related deaths among U.S. workers from 1992 through 2016 was 14.2 percent higher than it would have been if union membership had not been undercut by right to work laws. That equated to roughly 7,300 extra workplace deaths over the 25-year period…”

The study’s author comments in the piece, “The overarching point is that unions are important in workplace protections, and the fact that they’re declining because of public policies like right to work is concerning.”

Nashville Metro Council Votes To Ask City From Investing In CoreCivic (Which Is Based In Nashville!)

You have to wonder what’s going on when the Council in charge of advising the city that is home to CoreCivic is asking city leaders to stop investing in CoreCivic and all other private prisons. But that’s just what the Nashville Metro Council voted to do this week, in the form of a resolution.

The Council’s resolution has many “Whereas” statements, including this last one, which reads, “WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the investment committee of the Metropolitan Employee Benefit Board be encouraged to seek divestment from entities engaged in operating private prisons.”

New Interstate Exit Numbering System Coming To Vermont?