VSEA Intervenes In Lawsuit In Order To Protect All State Employees' Privacy Rights

VSEA took action this week, after learning that AHS Secretary Mike Smith was considering releasing "selected and redacted" parts of a state employee's personnel files to the press. If allowed to proceed unchecked, VSEA fears Smith's action could open the door to more employees having their personnel files released.

Here is an important paragraph from VSEA's complaint it filed as part of the intervening process:
 

VSEA Statement On Why Union Intervened In Pending Lawsuit

On January 16, the VSEA intervened in a pending lawsuit brought by the Vermont Journalism Trust, which seeks disclosure of certain records relating to investigations of Edward Adams. Adams is a Probation Officer in White River Junction who demoted voluntarily from a prior job as Superintendent of the Southern State Correctional Facility. Probation Officers are in the Corrections Bargaining Unit, represented by VSEA. He has a clean disciplinary record and has been cleared of wrongdoing in several internal investigations. Having already expressed a desire to leave the position of Superintendent in the summer of 2018, he took a voluntary demotion, prior to any due process, after allegations that had been investigated—but before any decision had been made—as to whether his conduct merited discipline. 
 
VSEA has intervened on behalf of Adams and every one of its 7,000 members, in order to protect vital due process and privacy rights of public employees in Vermont. VSEA’s decision to represent Adams in this dispute was made by our Grievance Committee, made up of VSEA Union Stewards representing the entire membership. Both the public and the VSEA-represented government employees who serve them share an interest in allowing employees to step away from disciplinary disputes and settle cases without costly and time-consuming litigation. That kind of resolution is impossible if those allegations are tried in the press after the employee was never found to have committed misconduct and after they waived their due process rights. 
 
VSEA proudly defends our members’ due process rights, including the right to be free from discipline without just cause. For example, discipline should be based on actual evidence, applied consistently, and proportionate to the proven misconduct. Most disciplinary actions in our bargaining units are either imposed without grievance or settled informally. In a contested case, the Grievance Committee decides whether to provide representation to the Vermont Labor Relations Board, based on the evidence. We also proudly defend the rights of members to have their personal employment records remain private. 
 
We expect that Judge Teachout will review the materials “in camera” (meaning in private chambers) at some point in these proceedings, and will agree that the balance of interests weighs against disclosure. That is the position that the State has long taken in this matter. Because Mr. Adams is no longer a superintendent, and since he has not been accused of any misconduct in his current job, it is hard to imagine what purpose is served by a trial in the media. A superintendent who had become a lightning rod for complaints, often brought by the VSEA, is now a rank and file probation officer in a small Upper Valley city. The public interest has been more than adequately represented.

Woodside Solidarity Action!

VSEA members at the Barre ESD Reach Up office sent this great picture to headquarters on Wednesday, featuring them wearing (one on her face!) and holding "Woodside Are You On?" stickers in a show of solidarity for employees working at Vermont's sole facility to house and care for at-risk youth.

The future of the Woodside facility is still in question, and it's a main topic of discussion inside the State House-- especially with the Governor's budget address next week--so now is a great time for this show of solidarity.

Thanks Barre ESD members! 

Call your lawmakers today and urge them to keep Woodside open and operating. You can find your lawmaker's contact information online!

VSEA Legislative Team Posts First Update Of The New Session

VSEA's legislative team at the State House has emailed and posted its first update of the 2020 session, which began on January 7. 

View January 16 Legislative Update

Interested VSEA members can find more information about the 2020 legislative session by visiting VSEA's 2020 Session Online Hub. Here you will find a collection of resources, reports and tools to help VSEA members navigate the Vermont Legislative Session, including:

• 2020 Legislative Session Reports;
   
• 2020 Legislative Session Agenda;
   
• Find/Contact Your Legislator;
   
• Virtual Vermont State House Tour;
   
• Become A VTPAC Member; and
   
• VSEA Legislative Committee Profile.

The hub will be updated with new information as it becomes available.

Governor's Budget Address Is January 21!

Many VSEA members are once again waiting to hear what this Governor will include in his annual budget address to the General Assembly.

"This is where the rubber hits the road in terms of the annual budgeting process," explains VSEA Communications Director Doug Gibson. "And there's a lot for VSEA members and retirees to keep an ear open for when listening to this address. Things like what's the plan for Woodside, will State Colleges' funding be increased, will there be a threat to pensions, will there be increased investment in our severely strained mental-health services and are any service or staff cuts being proposed--just to name a few." 

Governor's Annual Budget Address
Tuesday, January 21
2:00 p.m.

2020 VSEA Legislative Dinner Series Continues

VSEA Members' Chance To Meet Face-To-Face With Key Decision Makers Outside
The Dome

New Enrollment Period For VSEA Vision Insurance Program Begins February 1!

2020 VSEA Scholarship Application Available Now!

The VSEA Awards/ Scholarship Committee is currently soliciting applications from students seeking financial assistance in the pursuit of post-secondary educational goals.

The Committee will announce the recipients of the scholarships at the June Council Meeting.

View/download the 2020 VSEA Scholarship Application.

Deadline: 4:30 p.m. on May 8, 2020

Note: Depending on your settings, the link above will open a PDF in your web browser or download the PDF to your computer or device. If you have any questions please email vsea@vsea.org.

Applications will be considered from persons entering or engaged in:

• Educational or vocational degree or licensed programs;
• Course(s) to further skill development; and
• Self-improvement courses.

Those persons eligible for scholarship consideration follows:

• VSEA members;
• VSEA members’ dependents;
• VSEA members’ dependent step-child; and
• VSEA members’ spouses/domestic partners.

The Scholarship Committee will base its decision for the scholarship eligibility on the following criteria:

• Career goals;
• Financial need;
• Abilities and initiative;
• Life experiences;Class standing (recent graduates); and
• Community and school involvement.

Chapter Meetings:

Legislative Dinner Reception:

Working Vermont Hosting January 22 Event With AFT’s National President Randi Weingarten 

Another Group Of Unpaid Miners Forced To Block Company's Railroad Tracks In Kentucky

Update... Settled!!

For the second time in six months, a group of Kentucky coal miners is blocking the company's railroad tracks to try and force the company to pay them what they are owed.

From Lexington Herald Leader story:

Soon after the protest began, more miners arrived. By nightfall, about a dozen miners and several of their wives had assembled on the tracks. Families living in the area offered coffee, firewood and other supplies.

“We just want paid, that’s it,” [striking miner] Davidson said. “We don’t want to block this train, but it comes to a point that we have to.”

“You go three weeks without a payday, you gonna let that train go through here so they can put the money in their pocket and just say to heck with us? No, they can’t do that,” he said.

Note: Solidarity!

Update!

From Lexington Herald Leader story this morning:

Earlier Wednesday, a representative of Quest Energy, a subsidiary of American Resources Corporation, had come to the protest site with about a troop of about 30 company employees and asked the protesters to leave the tracks, Davidson said. 

The protesting miners, which had reduced to a group of five, refused to leave until they were paid, he said.

“They went back and said, ‘Just pay them guys and get them the hell off the track,’” Davidson said.

Later that day, the five men who remained were paid in full, and were given an advanced paycheck that was originally scheduled to be issued Friday.

Note: Congratulations!

Colorado Lawmakers To Vote On Bill, Granting Public Employees The Right To Bargain!

The website ucommblog reports this week that Colorado could soon become the nation's 37th state to grant public employees the right to bargain a contract (yep, believe it or not, in 2020, there are still 14 states that don't grant this right). Last Friday, Colorado's Governor voice his support for a bill granting this right and its passage.

From the post:

Governor Jared Polis announced that he would support a bill to give the state’s 28,000 public employees the right to collectively bargain. Colorado is one of 14 states that currently forbids public employees from negotiating a CBA.

Polis’ support for the bill is huge since he killed a similar bill at the end of the 2019 session. That year, the bill was introduced late in the session and Polis announced he wouldn’t sign it because he had concerns about some of the details in the bill and it was too late in the session to make changes. He said at the time that he didn’t have a problem with the concept of the bill, just some of the details in it.

For the last few months, the Governor’s office and legislative leaders have been hashing out their differences on the bill. Insiders believe that the main sticking point was over allowing public employees to strike. The original bill would have allowed them to strike, but the new bill will not. The new bill also does not repeal the state’s right to work law or require public employees to join the union or pay dues, which would be in violation of the Janus decision.

The bill would allow unions to bargain for working conditions, pay, and benefits. It would also guarantee negotiations with state public employee unions who would be represented under a single statewide unit. The workers are currently represented by Colorado WINS, which is affiliated with both SEIU and the AFT, which was formed in 2007 when then-Governor Bill Ritter signed an executive order allowing workers the ability to form “employee partnerships.” These groups functioned as a union but could not negotiate contracts or take formal action against the state, like going on strike.

Note: The bill is expected to pass in both chambers. Congratulations to VSEA members' Colorado counterparts.

New State Of Utah Office Complex To Include Childcare Center

Delaware State Legislature Employees Want To Become America's First To Unionize 

The American Prospect reports this week that legislative staff at the Delaware State House want to unionize, which they say would make them the nation's first to do so.

From the story:

For what appears to be the first time ever, the legislative staff of a state is announcing its intent to unionize. 

On Tuesday, state legislative workers in Delaware announced a union drive on the first day of the new session, requesting voluntary recognition from state legislative leaders. Organizers from the Delaware General Assembly Union said on Monday night that a majority of legislative workers have already signed union cards, although Republican legislative staffers—as well as legislative leaders—only found out about the union drive on Tuesday morning. The proposed unit would be affiliated with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 81, and would include 44 staffers, including two nonpartisan staffers who work for the Delaware House and Senate clerks. 

In a release, the workers say their effort “aims to create the first fully-inclusive state legislative union that cuts across partisan lines in the history of the United States—a historic step forward for public service workers across the country.”