Let’s Protect the Right to Organize
Supporting working-class people and their unions has always been a core priority of the Vermont Progressive Party. We know everyone does better when working people organize unions to demand and win fair wages and benefits. That is why this week's legislative update focuses on legislation that will build power for working-class people and their unions in Vermont in order to make things better for all working people.
House Caucus Update
This Tuesday, January 30th, the Progressive House Caucus will focus its public caucus meeting on workers rights and protections. The caucus begins at 12pm and is always open to all for in-person attendance or to view via live stream. RSVP here for the livestream link and directions for the in-person caucus.
The Progressive Caucus will be joined by:
Liz Medina, Vermont AFL-CIO
Kristin Warner, Vermont Business for Social Responsibility
Susan Garcia Nofi, VT Legal Aid
Steve Howard, Vermont State Employees Association
The labor movement is thriving in Vermont and across our Nation. Big wins by hospital workers, university employees, and retail workers have reversed the decades-long trend of declining union membership in our state. These victories have boosted the number of workers represented by a union from 13.2% in 2013 to 15.4% today.
This is a positive trend, but it’s not good enough. According to a Gallop Poll in 2017, nearly half of non-union workers would join a union today if they could. Workers are smart. They know that union members, on average, make 18% more than non-union workers, and unionizing is good for all workers and their families.
Why, then, haven't more workers formed a union?
Intimidation and illegal union-busting tactics by management are far too common in union elections. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “Employers were charged with violating workers’ legal rights in 41.5% of all NLRB-supervised union elections.”
That’s why we’re taking action in Vermont to protect workers who want to organize and improve the wages and working conditions of workers across our state. Here’s what we’re working to pass this year:
S.102, The PRO-ACT, represents the most significant expansion of worker rights in the modern history of Vermont. When passed, the Act would improve worker protections for organizing and collective bargaining so that workers can organize free of intimidation or interference from management. This bill has already passed the VT Senate and now awaits action in the VT House.
H.297 would support state employees in high-risk positions who experience PTSD by presuming that their condition was caused in the line of duty, thereby enabling quicker and easier access to benefits.
H.781/H.636 would protect Vermonters from penalties and repaying unemployment payments to the state when they are overpaid unemployment benefits through no fault of their own. H.92 is another bill designed to allow Vermonters to qualify for unemployment when they must voluntarily quit their job due to personal illness, family illness, and/or loss of child care and are ready to reenter the workforce.
Learn more about these and other important issues for working people at our House Caucus tomorrow at 12pm.
Senate Update
Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky is our Progressive Leader in the VT Senate. She sits on the Senate Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Government Operations
This week The Senate Committee on Judiciary is taking up two important bills.
S.278 is a civil rape shield bill that was introduced by Progresisve Sate Senator Tanya Vyhovsky.
S.155 would end life without parole, create second look sentencing, and expand elder and hospice furlough.
The Senate Judiciary is also continuing conversations about pretrial release and bail but that could either expand the current cash bail system or eliminate it and instead create a structure for pretrial services.
Update from Lt. Governor David Zuckerman
Lt. Governor David Zuckerman puts out a weekly newsletter. Friday’s newsletter focused on responding to the Governor’s budget address and provided an alternative vision to address the housing , public safety, and affordability crisis. You can read the full newsletter here.
Upcoming Events
Public House Progressive Caucus
RSVP here for the live stream link and info for attending in
Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Chittenden County Spaghetti Dinner
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Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 06:30 PM
Progressive Statewide Meeting
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Saturday, March 09, 2024 at 10:00 AM
