The Vermont AFL/CIO elected a new President, denying incumbent Jill Charbonneau a second term. The results were:

Ben Johnson: 3203

Jill Charbonneau: 2548

At 36, AFT Head Johnson may well be the youngest Vermont AFL Chief ever (anybody know?). Johnson’s ascension within and AFL that has been working to enhance it’s limited historical clout signals increasing influence for the Vermont AFT, and likely more resources for the AFL, given AFT’s deeper pockets.

Readers may recall the controversy that arose in labor circles around Charbonneau last election, in regards to Vermont Yankee:

When the IBEW announced it would participate in a press conference opposing the efforts in the Senate to hold Entergy accountable, the AFL did not release a statement.

And yet, here was the newspaper photo from the press conference… (where you can see) see the director of the state AFL-CIO (participating in the pro-Yankee display).

So what was he doing there?

To put it mildly, some members of the AFL Executive Board were not happy.

…After the AFL convention, who directed AFL staff to stand in support of relicensing at the press conference, in defiance of the desires of the group?

According to insiders, that was likely acting Vermont AFL President Charbonneau