VSEA Members Conduct “Worker Safety” Action

Taking advantage of the especially balmy temperatures that graced Vermont on Tuesday, VSEA members packed a small courtyard outside the Supreme Court and Pavilion Buildings in Montpelier to conduct a “worker safety” rally in advance of the 2016 legislative session, which begins on January 5. Holding signs reading “We Support Our State Employees” (which are now available for pickup at VSEA HQ!), VSEA members, supporters and the press heard firsthand accounts of the need for worksite safety enhancements from Economic Services Division Benefits Program Specialist (and VSEA First VP) Aimee Towne, Green Mountain Psychiatric Care Facility Mental Health Specialist Beverly Ordway, Judiciary Family Case Manager Bill Capasso and Department for Children and Families Social Worker Kara Haynes.

VSEA First Vice President Aimee Towne addresses the crowd on Tuesday

Towne reminded members that the time for action on this important issue is now and she related how she had recently been frightened by a Vermonter who loudly challenged her work in a not so nice way in the middle of a convenience store. She was not officially on the job but had forgotten to remove her state ID badge. Ordway spoke about the high number of patient-on-staff assaults just this year at the GMPCF (160 through October 2015), and she reminded that this workforce couldn’t report these incidents the same way a DCF or other worker can because the assaults are kept confidential. “For workers at the State Hospital, the issue of worker safety is something all of us think about nearly every day,” Ordway said. “We’re told sometimes that the nature of our work is dangerous, but that doesn’t make an assault on a staff person any easier.” Capasso reminded that Judiciary workers have been waiting for some or all of a report’s recommended safety enhancements to be implemented in courthouses across Vermont. That report, he reminded, was delivered to lawmakers in January 2015. Capasso pleaded, “We’re the ones that make the judiciary run, we want respect, we want to feel safe when we come to work.” Finally, Haynes reminded about the terrible tragedy in Barre in August and how workers had recently come forward with recommendations for safety enhancements that they will be lobbying hard in 2016 to get implemented. “If we can’t protect the children we’re supposed to be protecting, what’s the point of state government?” Haynes asked.

VSEA President Dave Bellini and VSEA Treasurer Coniff on their way to meet Secretary of the Administration Justin Johnson

Following the speakers’ remarks, a delegation of rank-and-file VSEA leaders, led by President Bellini and Treasurer Coniff, walked in to the Pavilion Building and hand-delivered a letter listing VSEA’s top three legislative priorities (number one being worker and public safety enhancements) to Secretary of the Administration Justin Johnson, who would not discuss details of what the State is doing to address safety now, and he cautioned that nothing the State does will ever make things 100 percent safe. When asked by Bellini about the possibility of installing metal detectors in Probation and Parole offices, Johnson replied, "We will be doing something, absolutely.”

Here’s some press on the workers’ rally:

VTDigger "State workers rally for safety"

WCAX: "Vt. lawmakers discuss safety of state workers"

View more photos from the action here!

VSEA Council Members Hear About Grievance Procedure & State Budget Deficit

Many of the VSEA members attending Tuesday’s “worker safety” rally were Council members who were in town to attend the body’s quarterly meeting. It was VSEA First VP Aimee Towne’s first meeting, acting as the Council’s Chairperson, and she did great, continuing her predecessor Michelle Salvador’s efforts to provide Council members with the knowledge, material, resources they need to mobilize and activate VSEA members back in the worksites on important issues. At Tuesday’s meeting, VSEA General Counsel Tim Belcher provided Council members with a comprehensive overview of the grievance process, how VSEA members function within the process and the system challenges VSEA members periodically confront and how your union Is working to overcome them moving forward. Council members also heard a informative presentation about creating a “moral budget” from the Public Assets Institute’s Jack Hoffman, who, like VSEA members, understands the way the State and lawmakers are confronting Vermont’s yearly budget deficits is not working. Hoffman told members he is a proponent for asking Vermonters with the capacity to pay a little more to protect Vermont’s public services and state employee jobs, noting that employed state workers are key to helping drive our economy.

Council members also received updates from President Bellini, Executive Director Howard and Treasurer Manchester Coniff.

DCF Workers Continue To Meet With Lawmakers In Advance Of Session

On the heels of last week’s DCF frontline workers meeting with lawmakers in Burlington to discuss safety, DCF workers in Williston held a similar meeting this week with their area lawmakers, including Rep. Ann Pugh (D-S. Burlington), who chairs the House Human Services Committee. The meeting was very well attended and the discussion was productive.

This was the first opportunity for frontline workers to discuss last week’s serious threat against DCF in Williston. Workers told legislators that news reports of offices being on lockdown were incorrect, as no lockdown protocol currently exists within DCF to direct employees.

Alerted To Risk Of Privatization, Group Of VSEA Members Mobilizing To Defend Their Service

If you asked one of the nine VSEA members left working in the State’s Risk Management Division what the odds are the State is actively trying to privatize their service, they would tell you 100 percent. That’s because the workers were recently able to verify that the State had drafted a formal proposal to privatize Risk Management and was actively shopping it.

“It appears the State wants to privatize this important service and, in the process, throw away more than 100 years of combined and very specialized knowledge,” one Risk Management worker who wished to remain nameless tells WIA. “We are Vermonters serving Vermonters, and we know the people we serve. We also know state worksites and the nature of state employee work, across the board. And we know the system’s challenges. Most important, we are the ones helping state employees get back to work after suffering a work illness or injury. Privatizing our service is, quite frankly, a risky move by the State, in my opinion.”

VSEA’s Risk Management members add that they have worked hard recently to streamline the claims process and “smooth out the bumps.” They also stress that when state employees contact their office, they are talking with a fellow state employee and not some person representing a private company that may not even be based in Vermont.

“VSEA is providing staff resources to the workers’ fight to stop privatization, and we will be bringing members from Risk Management to the State House early in the session to make their very strong case to lawmakers to retain this important division of state government,” VSEA Executive Director Steve Howard tells WIA.

WIA will keep readers updated on how you can help the Risk Management workers protect their service.

DII Service Also Being Threatened With Privatization

Through a freedom of information request filed recently, VSEA was able to confirm a rumor this week that DII is actively soliciting private vendors to provide bids to administer the State’s mainframe, which is currently maintained by a dozen or so state employees. VSEA received a report, titled “A Mainframe Outsourcing: Financial Impact Analysis For the State of Vermont,” which outlines four different scenarios, two that retain existing employees and two that do not. In the two scenarios that do not include retaining state employees, nearly every frontline worker is replaced.

WIA will keep readers updated on any developments with this privatization effort.

Auditor’s Findings Answer VSEA Members’ Question:

Are Taxpayers Getting Maximum Bang For Their Buck When State Contracts With Private Vendors?

It’s no secret that Vermont public services and the men and women who provide them are constantly called upon to help solve the state’s budget woes. Every year, state employees are told there’s just no money to be found anywhere else, so “trim the fat,” “do more with less” and “suck it up.” You watch as seasoned workers “retire” from critical positions, wondering how that experience will be replaced and, worse, if it will be replaced. Meanwhile, demand for the services you provide has increased over the course of America’s economic recession, but the cuts just keep coming. This year, however, VSEA members will be able to punch back with a way for the state to find potentially millions in new savings, and that’s thanks to a new audit from the Auditor’s Office that exposes the flawed system currently governing the way agencies and departments award contracts to private vendors.

Released late last Friday, Sole Source Contracts: Extraordinary Use in Ordinary Times, contains findings like:

• The State has required a competitive bidding process when contracting with private vendors for more than 20 years, yet, the awarding of “sole-source” (a.k.a. “no-bid”) contracts today by State agencies and departments is “commonplace”;
• The total amount awarded through no-bid contracts for 2015 was $68 million, or 27 percent of all;
• The Legislature enacted rules in 1995 to ensure that the no-bid contracts were limited to “extraordinary” circumstances, yet the Auditor’s Office found that, in the five agencies audited, 41 percent of the 1000 contracts awarded were no bid. The five agencies were: AHS, AOE, BGS, DCF and DVHA;
• Many of the contracts “lacked evidence” to warrant being called “extraordinary” and be granted no-bid status; and
• Knowing a contractor personally took precedence over an “open and competitive” process.

In a December 15 VTDigger story, State Auditor reacts to his team’s findings, saying: “The high frequency of sole source contracts reviewed for this analysis raises questions about the effectiveness of the state’s contract management. The State’s longstanding policy to competitively bid for contracts is meant to ensure taxpayers receive the highest values for their contracted dollars and Vermont businesses are afforded an equal opportunity to obtain contracts.”

In advance of the upcoming 2016 session, VSEA members are urged to contact their lawmakers and ask them to find savings this year by reforming the State’s contracting practices with private vendors and not cutting services and jobs.

VSEA Chapter President Pens Letter To The Editor: Support Your Road Workers

The following letter to the editor by VSEA Brattleboro Chapter President Robin Rieske was published this week in the Brattleboro Reformer. It’s in response to a previous writer’s letter that was critical of AOT workers.

“I wanted to offer a different perspective to a letter that was written about Agency of Transportation workers in Vermont ("Not Enough Workers," Dec. 9). Every time I hit the highway during a snowstorm, especially in the early hour travel to Burlington, I am grateful to the men and women who work for the AOT doing their best to get me there safely. These workers have one of the most challenging jobs; laboring long hard hours to give Vermonters and those who visit our state, a safe passage on our roads and highways. These workers risk their own safety on a daily basis and deserve more compensation than they will ever make, which isn’t much. As a taxpayer, I support every dollar that is spent on these workers and know that many state workers, including those at AOT, need more than one job just to get by. In fact, I support all state workers and appreciate how much they do every day to keep Vermont working.”

Robin Rieske, Brattleboro VSEA Chapter President

Note: VSEA members are urged to follow Robin’s lead, especially if you see a letter about state employees that is factually wrong or mean spririted. Thanks in advance for the help!

See A VSEA Yard Sign?

Snap A Photo And Post It To VSEA’s Facebook Page

VSEA began distributing yard signs to Council members this week, in hopes the signs will soon start springing up in the communities where VSEA members live and work.

In the coming weeks and months, if you spot a VSEA yard sign, snap a photo and post it to VSEA’s Facebook page or send it VSEA Communications Director Doug Gibson at dgibson@vsea.org, and he’ll post it for you.

If you need signs, they are available for pickup at VSEA headquarters in Montpelier. VSEA will also be urging leaders, members and retirees visiting HQ to take some signs back to their worksites and their communities.

VSEA Labor Educator Announces Winter/Spring 2016 Training Schedule

VSEA Labor Educator Tim Lenoch asked WIA to announce a new round of trainings he has scheduled for winter/spring 2016. If you are interested in registering to attend one or more trainings, you can do so by clicking here. Please direct your training questions to Tim at tlenoch@vsea.org.

Trainings in blue are for all members.

The Labor Activist
Thursday, January 14
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward Training: Judiciary Unit
Wednesday, January 20
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Department for Children and Families: Workplace Safety
Wednesday, February 3
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward Training: Chittenden & Lamoille County
Thursday, February 11
DVHA Conference Room
312 Hurricane Lane, Suite 201
Williston

Steward Training: Supervisory Unit
Wednesday, February 17
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward 1: Introduction & The Basics
Friday, March 4
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward Training: Health Care Facilities
Wednesday, March 9
VTrans District Office,
61 Valley View
Mendon (five miles east of Rutland)

Steward 2: Protecting The Contract & Building The Union
Friday, March 18
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward Training: The “Hostile Work Environment”
Wednesday, March 23
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward 3: The Contract & Challenges in the Workplace
Friday, March 25
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward Training: Investigations & Working With Human Resources
Wednesday, March 30
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward Training: Corrections Unit
Wednesday, April 6
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward Training: The Grievance
Wednesday, April 13
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Steward Training: The Labor/Management Committee
Friday, April 15
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Diversity & Solidarity For Public Sector Union Members
Friday, April 22
VTrans Training Center
1716 U.S. Route 302
Berlin

Mark The Date!

VSEA Lobby Day Is
Thursday, February 25, 2016! 



VSEA’s annual Lobby Day will be Thursday, February 25, 2016.

This is the perfect venue for frontline state employees to meet face to face with their local lawmakers to talk about the service you provide and the challenges that confront you daily, especially when it comes to safety.

Register to attend VSEA’s Lobby Day by clicking here!

Congress Votes To Delay Obamacare “Cadillac Tax” Implementation For Two Years

Congress added language to the budget bill this week that will delay implementation of an excise tax (billed the “Cadillac tax”) contained in Obamacare from 2018 until 2020, buying many organizations more time to prepare for the impact the tax will have on so-called “high-end” health care plans, which VSEA members’ plan is considered. In fact, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, one in four employers expected to be adversely impacted by the tax’s implementation in 2018.

Speaking on behalf of most labor unions across the country, AFL-CIO health care lobbyist Tom Leibfried tells the Washington Post that this fight is not over, as working Americans will continue to lobby for outright repeal of the excise tax. This is because employers will still be forced to begin scaling back health plans in anticipation of the 2020 implementation of the tax, which Leibfried explains is the wrong way to be going, saying, “Increasing the workers’ pain through skimpier health plans is not the best way to target [the] problem. We are going to work to repeal the tax fully.”

Labor has been joined in lobbying against the Cadillac tax’s repeal by a large, diverse and bipartisan coalition, as the tax is expected to impact a large number of existing health care plans across the country.

This is further good news for VSEA members, as three Bargaining Units prepare to go to fact finding with the State in January. The Cadillac tax has been a serious concern of both sides.

Deadline Approaching!

Looking To Fill Open Supervisory Unit Seat On VSEA Board Of Trustees

All full-fledged VSEA members who belong to the Supervisory Unit are eligible and are encouraged to submit a petition.

The process is easy:

• Download and print a petition here;
• Collect the names and original signatures of 25 full-fledged VSEA members on your petition; and
• Submit your completed petition to VSEA by 4:00 p.m., Monday, December 28.

Looking To Fill Open Combined Unit Seat On VSEA Board Of Trustees

All full-fledged VSEA members who work for the Defender General’s Office and State Housing Authority are eligible and are encouraged to submit a petition.

The process is easy:

• Download and print a petition here;
• Collect the names and original signatures of 25 full-fledged VSEA members on your petition; and
• Submit your completed petition to VSEA by 4:00 p.m., Monday, December 28.