Rally To Support Vermont Public Schools & Teachers!

From the Vermont NEA’s Rally Facebook:

Have you been watching as your peers in Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and West Virginia have taken to state capitols by the tens of thousands to stand up for their schools? They have demanded an end to shortchanging their schools and students, as well as stand up for fair pay and decent working conditions.

Join your colleagues and others for a rally to show how much we love Vermont’s public schools – and to let the governor and lawmakers know we won’t stand for this attack on our schools, educators,
and students.

VSEA Members Included In Castleton University Layoffs

Citing a need to align Castleton University’s budget with its “enrollment realities,” Dean of Advancement Jeff Weld told the Rutland Herald on May 17 that 10 support staff employees had been laid off, five of whom were VSEA members. Seventeen employees retired, including five VSEA members.

From the story:

CU President Karen Scolforo said she was proud(?) of the work done to put Castleton “on a positive trajectory for the future.”

Note: VSEA staff has visited the Castleton campus on several occasions, since learning the administration was discussing employee layoffs and retirements, advising VSEA members about their rights, helping guide them through the process and answering
any questions.   ​

Get Involved! Seats Up For Election To The VSEA Board Of Trustees. June 1 Deadline To File Your Petition!

VSEA’s Elections, Rules and Nominating Committee is reminding that June 1 is the deadline for interested members to submit a petition to run for a seat on the VSEA Board
of Trustees.

As set forth in VSEA Bylaws, the following seats on the VSEA Board of Trustees are up for petition and election:

1. Non-Management Unit Trustee
    
2. Judicial Unit Trustee
    
3. District 3 Trustee (Newport/ Island Pond, Lamoille, Northeast Kingdom, St. Johnsbury)
    
4. District 6 Trustee (Brattleboro, Springfield, White River Junction)

Trustees elected in the above Districts must reside or have an assigned workstation, and continue to reside or have an assigned workstation, in the respective District. Trustees that represent units must stay a classified employee in that unit during the duration of their term.

If you are interested in placing your name into nomination to run for election for a seat on the VSEA Board of Trustees, please complete the attached petition and return it to VSEA headquarters by the deadline date of 4:00 p.m., June 1, 2018. To be eligible for candidacy for this position, you must be an active member of VSEA. In order for your petition to be accepted, it must have the signatures of at least 25 VSEA members. Please note that “agency-fee payers” are not full-fledged members and their signatures are not valid for inclusion on your petition. Therefore it is suggested that you obtain more than 25 signatures.

Role of a Trustee:
The VSEA Board of Trustees manages the internal affairs of the union and ensures that the policies of VSEA are followed. It reviews and approves the union’s budget for submission to the membership, and it reviews committee reports and recommends action by the Council and members. The Board also sets policy for VSEA.

The Board meets monthly and Trustees are expected to attend all the meetings as well as all quarterly Council meetings and the VSEA Annual Meeting. Release time from work is authorized under the unit collective bargaining contract. Each Trustee is also assigned to at least one VSEA Chapter to attend meetings and provide any necessary assistance.

If you have questions regarding your petition to fill a VSEA Trustee seat, please email the ERN committee (vsea@vsea.org). The deadline to submit petition to fill one of the three VSEA Trustee seats is 4:00 p.m., Friday, June 1, 2018."

> Click here to download a petition.*

Send your petition to:
VSEA
ERN Committee
155 State Street
Montpelier, VT. 05602

No faxes /or scanned documents will be accepted.

*If you are unable to access a petition online, please contact VSEA headquarters at 223-5247 to request to have a hard copy petition mailed to your home. Petitions are also available on the VSEA website in the Members Only Documents.

VSEA Judiciary Unit Members Overwhelmingly Ratify New Two-Year Agreement With Courts

The Judiciary Unit’s new contract includes first-time hourly pay of 60 cents for "Relief from Abuse" stand-by assignment (starting in year two) and improvements to overtime and to the Unit’s designated education and development fund. The Unit’s contract mirrors the wage and benefit package just imposed on the VSEA Executive Branch Bargaining Teams.

VSEA State Colleges’ Unit Members Upcoming Raise To Match CPI

From Noyes’ email:

According to Article 28 [Wages, paragraph 1 c)] of our current VSCSF bargaining agreement:

Additionally, as contained in Article 13 [Evaluations, paragraph 8], Unit members with satisfactory evaluations are eligible for an additional 1.5% salary increase, raising your total increase on July 1, 2018, to 4.0%.

Fire Claims House Where VSEA State Colleges’ Member & Her Daughter Were Tenants

They Are Okay, But, Tragically, Their Pets & All Belongings Were Lost

Caledonian Record Story

VSEA State Colleges’ Unit Chair Sandra Noyes has been in contact with Monique and she says she is grateful for any help VSEA members and retirees can offer.

• Monique wears size 12-14 pants and medium to large shirts.
   
• Tiffany wears size 7-9 pants and medium shirts.

For anyone wanting to send a donation and/or a card, the address is:

Monique Prive
312 Depot Street
West Burke, VT 05871

Monique’s mail will be held at the post office where she will pick it up.

Upcoming Steward Training Dates

Trainings begin at 8:30 a.m.

The dates are:

• June 8: Holiday Inn, Rutland; and
   
• September 18: VSEA HQ, Montpelier

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

UVM Nurses Rally In Advance Of June Contract Negotiations

Several Vermont media outlets reported this week on a Saturday rally by hundreds of UVM Medical Center nurses to raise awareness about their contract issues in advance of formal negotiations with the boss. The primary bargaining issues for the group are working conditions, pay and staffing levels. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a speech and his support to the nurses in their upcoming
contract fight.

"What we’re fighting for is giving our nurses a voice in how hospital executives allocate resources," Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals Local 5221 President Julie MacMillen tells the Free Press. "We’ve seen a lot of investment in properties expanding our network and in electronic health records, but unfortunately nurses’ wages have been stagnant for about a decade."

She adds that “UVM Medical Center has a ‘huge vacancy rate’ for nurses, with 180 open positions. She says the hospital is having a hard time retaining nurses because of relatively low pay and difficult working conditions.

CCV Faculty & Supporters Picket Chancellor’s Office

It was pouring down rain on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop Community College of Vermont faculty and supporters from conducting a spirited picket outside the Chancellor’s office in Montpelier. According to a May 16 VTDigger story, members of the CCV faculty’s newly formed union are “seeking a new contract for part-time adjunct faculty.”

“The contract would be a first for the 538 educators who work at CCV’s 12 campuses. Part-time faculty members are asking for higher wages and job security. Workers at the lowest end of the pay scale earn about 2 percent less than their full-time colleagues; faculty at the highest end earn 43 percent less, according to data from the union.”

Co-Worker Schools
Anti-Union
Mark Janus About How His Union Helps Him

Unionized workers across America are right now nervously waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a decision on a lawsuit, titled Janus vs. Illinois. If the Court rules as expected, public-sector unions will be harmed
the most.

The man who brought the anti-union lawsuit is named Mark Janus, who claims, in part, that his union dues are spent promoting an agenda that he doesn’t support.

Recently, a co-worker of Mark Janus, who works in the same building, penned a commentary in Labor Notes that spells out exactly how Janus’ union’s agenda is helping him.

• Without our union, Mr. Janus’s job would probably have been outsourced by now;
   
• Mr. Janus has received $17,000 in union-negotiated raises.
   
• The public—including the parents and kids Mr. Janus serves—has access to resources like childcare that our union has fought to defend.
   
• Our union blocked the employer from doubling the cost of Mr. Janus’s health benefits.
   
• We make sure Mr. Janus’s office is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
   
• Thanks to our union, Mr. Janus will retire with a pension.
   
• Mr. Janus can get sick and still have a job when he comes back; and
   
• Our union ensured that Mr. Janus could be fairly hired, regardless of his politics.

VSEA is sure members sometimes encounter state employees like Mr. Janus, who constantly grouse about the union and ask aloud what it does for me. It’s important for VSEA members to respond with a list of examples like the ones Mark Janus’ co-worker writes about in his commentary. 

Here are some of the examples VSEA promotes on its website:

• Yearly wage increases totaling more than 45% in cost-of-living and step increases since 1990;
   
• Improved health benefits, comprehensive dental insurance including benefits for domestic partners;
   
• A 30-year/no-penalty retirement plan with five-year vesting;
   
• Enhanced mental health benefits;
   
• Double-your-salary life insurance;
   
• Time-and-a-half overtime benefits for over 4,600 employees;
   
• Guaranteed maternity/paternity and adoption leave;
   
• A strong grievance procedure to guarantee your rights;
   
• Layoff (RIF) rights; and
   
• Protection from polygraph exams and drug testing.

Wisconsin Corrections’ OT Costs Rise Exponentially After Elimination Of Collective Bargaining Causes Hiring To Drop Off

The Journal Sentinel reports on May 18 that Wisconsin is currently grappling with how to fill 920 vacant Corrections positions, or 12.5% of the state’s entire Corrections workforce.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) tells the paper that the problem was caused by Act 10, the 2011 law championed by Governor Scott Walker that all but eliminated collective bargaining for correctional officers—and most other employees—and required them to pay more for their benefits. Workers have not wanted to take or stay in prison jobs when the pay is low and they can’t negotiate over safety conditions, he says.

“The whole idea of Act 10 worked as far as Walker was concerned because it busted unions, but it’s costing taxpayers more in the long run because you can’t hire workers,” Erpenbach says.

West Virginia Lawmaker Who Mocked Striking Teachers Not Re-Elected—Thanks To Teachers

The RawStory reported recently that a West Virginia state lawmaker who was openly mocking state teachers for going on strike has lost his re-election bid, mostly thanks to teachers turning out to vote.

When the WV teachers first decided to go out on strike, the lawmaker belittled the effort, saying, “I can’t say that it will have zero effect, but I don’t think it’ll have any significant effect…” How wrong he was.

“Teachers showed up and they were voting in their ‘55 united, 55 strong shirts,’” one teacher says in the story. “Once the results started rolling in, it was phenomenal. Teachers were really empowered to say, if we stick together we can make a difference.”

Note: Teachers are mobilizing, and across the nation they are leading get-out-the-vote efforts like this one in West Virginia in advance of mid-term elections and other important state and local races as they are contested. Looks like their efforts are already paying dividends.