VSEA Straw Poll Coming June 1 To Home Emails!

VSEA is reminding you that a nonbinding straw poll is being emailed on June 1 to all VSEA members who have provided your union with a valid home email address. For weeks, WIA has been urging members to submit their home email addresses to headquarters for just this reason. VSEA is prohibited from sending emails of a political nature, such as the straw poll, to state email addresses.

> Submit your home email address here!

The straw poll will provide your VSEA Board of Trustees with better insight on how VSEA members feel about all the declared candidates for statewide office in 2016. This is the first of two straw polls your union’s Legislative Committee will be conducting; one before the primary election and another before the general election. The Board of Trustees governs VSEA’s political process, so input to the body from as many members as possible is very important.

The straw poll will be emailed to you via a third party, "SimplyVoting.com" with the subject line "VSEA Political Endorsement Straw Poll"

The deadline to complete and submit your straw poll vote is 4:30 p.m. Monday, June 6

Thanks in advance for your participation in the first VSEA straw poll of 2016.

> Read Questionnaire Responses From The 2016 Gubernatorial Candidates Here!

Meet Your New Boss! VSEA Hosting Gubernatorial Candidates’ Forums Next Week!

Informational, Educational, Non-Partisan

Please come and join VSEA on the following dates to meet and learn more about the candidates who could be your next boss.

June 1 – Montpelier

Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center
100 State St.
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Lunch will be served
> Facebook Event Page

June 2 – South Burlington

Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center
870 Williston Rd.
5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Hors d’oeuvres served
> Facebook Event Page

> These events will be live streamed on VSEA’s Facebook.

For more information, contact VSEA Organizing Director Vinnie O’Connor at voconnor@vsea.org

Help Spread The Word:

Print and post flyers in your worksite!
> Download Color Flyer Here
> Download Black and White Flyer Here

NMU Members Receive New Contract Summaries & Comparison Of Proposals

The Chair of the Non-Management Unit Bargaining Team emailed a comprehensive contract summary to all Unit members on May 23, highlighting the Teams’ gains achieved in this past round of bargaining and providing a comparison sheet of the State’s bargaining proposals versus what the VSEA Teams proposed. If you belong to the NMU, but don’t recall receiving the summary email, go here to read.*

*You will need to log into your VSEA.org account to view this page.

Time Is Now To Self-Nominate For Seat On Corrections Bargaining Team

VSEA members working in Corrections should have received a letter in the mail recently, informing you about the self-nominating process for a seat on your Unit’s Bargaining Team.

Any Corrections Bargaining Unit VSEA member can self-nominate for a seat, and you can also nominate a Unit co-worker(s)* for a seat. In either case, the nominee must work at the specific facility/office in order to represent the seat.

Your form must be received at VSEA no later than 4:00 p.m. on June 30, 2016. Elections, if necessary, will take place in July 2016.

> Go Here to Find a Form.

Submit the form to: VSEA ERN Committee, 155 State Street VT. 05602

If you have questions, please email ERN Chair Rubin Jennings at RJennings@vsea.org or Ray Stout at Rstout@vsea.org.

*To save time, please check with the individual(s) being nominated to ensure their approval.

Vermont State Colleges Ratification Ballots Due June 24!

On Friday, May 13th the VSCSF Bargaining Team reached a tentative agreement with the Chancellor’s office for the unit’s successor contract. Since then, members of the Bargaining Team have been hosting informational meetings on each campus to discuss the potential changes to the contract. Ballots will be sent via U.S. Mail to the homes of all VSCSF members, and the deadline for VSCSF members to cast their ballots is Friday, June 24th.

Please let your Campus Chair know if have recently moved or do not receive a ballot. If you were unable to attend your campus meeting or have questions about the tentative agreement please contact a member of your Bargaining Team.

VSCSF Bargaining Team Members:

Billie Langlois, Castleton Campus Chair

Deb Ballantine, Castleton Negotiator

Sandy Noyes, JSC Campus Chair and Unit Vice Chair

Ken Moore, JSC Negotiator

Janis Henderson, Unit Chair

Jay Bona, LSC Negotiator

Monique Prive, Unit Secretary

Travis Allen, VTC Negotiator

Karen Tetreault, VTC Campus Chair and Unit Treasurer

Support Vermont’s Docket Clerks: An Open Letter To Court Administrator Patricia Gabel

The following was submitted to WIA by Members of the VSEA Judicial Unit Executive Committee:

As employees of the Vermont Judiciary and leaders of the Judicial Unit of the VSEA, we wanted to share this open letter asking Court Administrator Patricia Gabel to address a critical situation facing the Vermont Judiciary. We urge you to contact Ms. Gabel and to tell her to act now to support the 100 Docket Clerks, mostly women, who keep the courts running but earn poverty wages.

> Read the open letter here

Help us spread awareness of this situation by sharing this email. You can easily share this email with this link here.

State Auditor’s Commentary Promotes Demanding Accountability For The Millions Vermont Gives To Private Corporations For Economic Development

State Auditor Doug Hoffer penned a commentary for May 22 Times Argus/Rutland Herald, titled "Oversight of Economic Programs Lacking.” In it, Hoffer questions why there is not accountability for the millions of dollars Vermont awards annually to private corporations operating in our state. His question is merited, especially given the recent calls from some in Montpelier to help reduce the deficit by putting public services and their funding under an even more intense microscope.

Auditor Hoffer’s commentary ends with:

"Clearly, the state has an important role to play in creating and enhancing conditions for job creation. As the Legislature and the new governor consider their options as to how best to allocate scarce resources, I hope they will insist that all programs are designed to provide the evidence necessary to measure their effectiveness. Without that critical information, how can Vermonters know whether we are getting a fair return on our investment? If we can’t measure a program’s performance, we’re left with faith, which I can’t audit."

The Auditor’s points are important, especially in this era of ongoing budget deficits and an unfortunate anti-worker mindset in some circles that rewarding corporations and cutting public services are the only answers. The Auditor has been making this argument for years, and it’s time for elected officials to listen.

Ask the candidates for office this year how they feel about what Auditor Hoffer is saying. Their answer is important!

Longtime VSEA State Colleges’ Chair Retiring!

The Vermont State Colleges’ (VSC) Executive Committee took time today from its regularly scheduled meeting at VSEA HQ on May 24 to say goodbye and thank you to retiring VSEA VSC Unit Chair Janis Henderson, presenting her with the cake in this picture.

For 18 years, Janis has been a dependable VSEA activist and leader, and she will be missed. Her last day is June 10.

VSEA thanks Janis for her service to Vermont and to VSEA.

Happy Retirement!

Important Notice! VSEA Union Representative Territories Are Changing!

New Approach To Pair Union Reps With Specific Agencies/Departments

VSEA Organizing Director Vinnie O’Connor and Field Services Director Gretchen Naylor announced this week, via email to all members, that, beginning Monday, May 23, VSEA’s six Union Representatives will now be assigned to specific state agencies and departments, as opposed to regions and territories, which has been the practice.

Here is a list of the new Union Representative assignments:

Rachael Fields

Health Access Eligibility Unit
Department of Aging & Independent Living
Department of Health
Department of Mental Health
Department of Vermont Health Access
Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital
Vermont Veterans’ Home

Brian Morse

Judiciary Unit
State Colleges’ Unit
Supervisory Unit (except AOT)

Mike O’Day

Department of Corrections (North)
Department of Public Safety (North) – Civilian
Military Department
Sworn Law Enforcement (North)
Williston 911 Dispatch

Bob South

Buildings & General Services
Criminal Justice Training Center
Department of Corrections (South)
Department of Liquor Control
Department of Liquor Control Warehouse
Department of Public Safety (South)
Emergency 911 Board
Rockingham 911 Dispatch
Sworn Law Enforcement (South)

Nikolas Stein

Agency of the Administration
Agency of Agriculture
Agency of Commerce and Community Development
Agency of Education
Agency of Human Services (Central)
Agency of Natural Resources
Department for Children & Families
Department of Financial Regulation
Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (Civilian)
Department of Innovation & Information
Department of Labor
Department of Libraries
Department of Taxes
Green Mountain Care Board
Public Service Board
Secretary of State’s Office
Treasurer’s Office
Vermont Lottery

Dave Van Deusen

Agency of Transportation
Agency of Transportation Supervisors
Department of Motor Vehicles (Except Sworn Law Enforcement)
Office of the Defender General
Vermont State Housing Authority

VSEA History Lesson

1957

Here’s the entry in the booklet from 1957:

VSEA proposes “all institutional employees who are now working a 60-hour week be reduced to 40-hour week and that they receive no reduction in pay.” The Legislature adopts a base 40-hour week and that they receive no reduction in pay. Legislation passed provided for State’s payment of ½ employee-only premium for group Hospital-Surgical-Medical coverage and ½ employee-only premium for retired employees, receiving retirement allowance. The Pay Act provided a 10% increase for all employees and an additional $2.00 per week for employees in pay scales 3, 4 and 5 (pay scales 1 and 2 had been eliminated by the Personnel Board).

In his annual report to the membership, the [VSEA] President recommends” “an Executive Officer, either on a part time or full time basis to carry out the needs and coordinate association activities and programs” and “an association office.”