Roller Coaster Week For Pay Act Ends With Year-One Funding

VSEA is thanking all the members, retirees and supporters who flooded Vermont lawmakers phones and mailboxes this week with messages to oppose a last-minute move by one legislator to defund the Pay Act entirely, and then a message to lawmakers to support another legislator's amendment to fund the negotiated contract's year-one wage and step increases. 

First up was a House vote Wednesday on a harmful Pay Act amendment introduced early in the week by Rep. Cynthia Browning (D-Arlington). If passed, Browning's amendment would have stripped state employees of their negotiated wage increase in both years of the contract. It also would have sent VSEA Bargaining Teams back to the table with the State, but, thanks to your calls and emails to lawmakers, the Browning amendment was soundly crushed by a vote of 129-16.  

Next up for debate by the full House on Wednesday was a Pay Act amendment introduced early this week by House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Mary Hooper (D-Montpelier) to fund year one of the Collective Bargaining Agreements for the Executive Branch, State’s Attorneys and Judicial Units. Thanks again to your calls and emails to lawmakers, Hooper's amendment passed overwhelmingly 133-6, and the House moved the debate to the Senate. 

Yesterday, the full Senate convened to discuss the House's full budget proposal that includes the Hooper amendment to fund year one of the negotiated contracts. After brief debate on the amendment, the Senate voted 28-0 to include year-one funding for the negotiated contract.  

After a little housekeeping, the lawmakers' budget proposal moves to the Governor's desk for final sign off, which is expected before midnight, June 30. 

What About Year Two Of The Contract?

The Legislature’s plan reads that it will take up the issue of funding year two of the Executive Branch, State’s Attorneys, and Judicial Unit contracts at a later date. This could be in the fall, or it could be this coming winter when the new Legislature convenes in January 2021. Either way, VSEA and its members, retirees and supporters will continue to fight for full funding of the negotiated contract.

• What Is The “Pay Act”?

Important Deadlines Approaching!

• State Colleges' Unit

• Defender General; and
• States Attorneys Office 

• Supervisory;
• Corrections; 
• VSHA/DG; and 
• District 4 – Franklin / Grand Isle / Chittenden / Addison    

New Inmates Spark New COVID Concerns For VSEA Members Working In Vermont Prisons

Just a few weeks after declaring the Vermont Corrections system essentially COVID-free, several new cases have been diagnosed just this week at three Vermont prisons, brought into the facility by newly arriving prisoners, according to Secretary of human Services Mike Smith. 

Here are press stories about each of the new diagnosis:

• VTDigger - New Inmate at Women’s Prison Tests Positive – After Contacting Three Others;
   
• St. Albans Messenger - New COVID Case at St. Albans Prison; and
   
• VTDigger - New inmate at Marble Valley in Rutland Tests Positive for COVID-19

Northern Vermont University Group Announces Proposal For School's Future

VSEA Brattleboro Chapter Pickets With Brattleboro Retreat Workers! 

Monday afternoon, VSEA Board of Trustees' member Robin Rieske (pictured here with VSEA sign in hand) joined a picket line with United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5086 members working at the Brattleboro Retreat. In addition to raising awareness about workers' multiple complaints against Retreat management, the picket was also to highlight the recent, unjust firing of UNAP leader Sy Creamer. 

Statements of solidarity were shared by VSEA, AFT VT, UFCW Local 1459. The VT Workers Center also joined in solidarity.

The next picket is scheduled for Monday, June 29, beginning at 2:00 p.m. If you want to join the picket and need signs, hats or t-shirts, contact Robin by email: robin.rieske@vermont.gov.

Background:

United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5086 represents workers at the Brattleboro Retreat. There has been a toxic work environment there for several years, with more than 300 staff leaving in the last 17 months; some quitting to take jobs at lower pay so they can work in a healthier environment. They have also fired union leaders, tried to discipline them for exercising legal rights, botched the Retreat's response to COVID and PPE procurement, and engaged in numerous contract violations leading to protracted grievances.

At this point the Retreat using mandated overtime and contract workers (“travelers”) in place of core staff. These practices are unsafe for patients and staff alike.

UNAP is calling for the termination of chief nursing officer Meghan Baston as a first step in turning things around.

President Bellini's Primary Email Account Hacked

U.S. Ranked Worst for Workers’ Rights Among Major Economies

Bloomberg News reports this week on the terrible reality that the United States "has the worst record among major developed countries when it comes to workers’ rights, according to a survey of labor unions."

Europe dominates the top-ranked countries for workers, with the list including Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Ireland and Germany. Uruguay is the only non-European nation in the group.

Group Gives States Failing Grades For Corrections' Systems' COVID Response 

The Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) issued a bleak assessment this week of how the nation’s corrections systems have coped with COVID-19, saying the overwhelming majority of states have failed to take basic steps that might have saved the lives of hundreds of incarcerated individuals and staff.

“Despite all of the information, voices calling for action, and the obvious need, state responses ranged from disorganized or ineffective, at best, to callously nonexistent at worst,” the PPI said in a report released Thursday.

Using publicly available information from state corrections department websites, the report found no state earned a grade higher than “D” —while the majority were given failing grades of “F” or at most “F+”.

Note: Vermont received a D- grade. 

Hundreds Of Frontline Food Service Workers Dying From COVID

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) held a press conference this week to express the union's great concerns about the thousands of frontline food service workers contracting COVID-19 at work, and, worse, the hundreds dying later as a result.

From a UFCW press release:

Today, the UFCW, which represents 1.3 million workers, is highlighting the impact and growing danger of COVID-19 on our nation’s frontline workers. Over the last 100 days, 238 UFCW frontline workers have died from COVID-19 and nearly 29,000 workers have been infected or exposed to this killer virus.

UFCW International President Marc Perrone also announced three new initiatives in response to the growing increase of COVID-19 cases in states across the country. The initiatives to address the impact on frontline workers include: (1) Reinstating hazard pay and establishing a $15 per hour wage for all frontline workers, (2) Establishing a public mask mandate in all 50 states, and (3) Creating a new national public registry to track COVID-19 infections in frontline workers which would require companies with more than 1,000 employees to submit monthly reports on their worker deaths, infections, and exposure.