( – promoted by Sue Prent)

Dear Governor Shumlin,

When you signed equal pay legislation into law last year, you said: “This law continues Vermont’s proud history of demanding equal treatment and basic fairness for all working Vermonters and their families.” We are proud of our government when it supports women’s rights and gender equity – and we expect it to do so. We therefore ask your administration to publicly support Vermont establishing earned sick days for all workers this year.

Women are the majority of workers in the industries and jobs that tend to lack paid sick days. While making up nearly half of the country’s workforce and doing two-thirds of caregiving nationally, about half of women are denied crucial rights at work – rights that would support our dignity, livelihoods, and families. By supporting paid sick days, we support equity and work with dignity for all. All people have the right to care for ourselves or our family members, or deal with the effects of domestic and sexual violence, without risking our livelihoods.

We officially invite you to pledge your support at the Women’s March for Dignity on March 8, 2014 – International Women’s Day – in Montpelier.

Sincerely,

[click the jump to see long list of signers]

Organizations:

350 Vermont

Peace & Justice Center

Rising Tide Vermont

UE Local 255-Unionized Workers of Hunger Mountain Coop

United Academics

Vermont Anti-Racism Action Team

Vermont AFL-CIO

Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals

Vermont Homecare United-AFSCME

Vermont-NEA: The Union of Vermont Educators

Vermont Network Against Domestic & Sexual Violence

Vermont Progressive Party

Vermont Woman Newspaper

Vermont Workers’ Center

Vermont Works for Women

Voices for Vermont’s Children

Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom-Central VT

Individuals*

Martha Allen, President, VT-NEA

Tiffany Bluemle, Executive Director of VT Works for Women

Regina Christianson, Rector at Calvary Episcopal Church

Mari Cordes, President, Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals

Representative Johannah Donovan

Eliza Cain, Co-Owner of Red Hen Baking Co.

Representative Michelle Fay

Carlen Finn, Executive Director of Voices for Vermont’s Children

Natalia Fajardo, Immigrant Rights Organizer

Rickey Gard Diamond, Editor of Vermont Woman

Mary Gerisch, President of Vermont Workers’ Center

Stephanie Hainley, President of Burlington Business & Professional Women

Representative Susan Hatch Davis

Representative Helen Head

Carin Hoffman, former Commissioner for VT Commission on Women

Lucy Ijams, Bennington Pastor

Elizabeth Jesdale, President of UE Local 255

Trinka Kerr, Chief Healthcare Advocate at VT Legal Aid

Peter Knowlton, President UE Northeast Region

Representative Jill Krowinski

Karen Lafayette, VT Low Income Advocacy Council

Sarah Launderville, Executive Director of Vermont Center for Independent Living

George Lovell, President of VT AFL-CIO

Eliza Lucozzi, Pastor of North Congregational Church of St. Johnsbury

Donna Macomber, Executive Director of Women’s Freedom Center of Brattleboro

Elaine McCrate, UVM Professor of Economics & Gender Studies

Jean McDonald, Rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Representative John Moran

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, Chair of Vermont Progressive Party

Susan Ohlidal, Episcopal Church of Vermont

Marjorie Power, Older Women’s League

Representative Barbara Rachelson

Representative Kesha Ram

Janice Santiago, Employment Advocate at Women Helping Battered Woman

Heather Riemer, AFT Vermont

Stephanie Seguino, Professor of Economics at UVM

Amanda Sheppard, VT Homecare United-AFSCME

Rachel Siegel, Executive Director of Peace & Justice Center & Burlington City Councilor

Naomi Smith, Executive Director, WomenSafe

Representative Tom Stevens

Reverend Auburn Watersong

Representative Suzi Wizowaty

Representative Michael Yantachka

Denise Youngblood, President of United Academics

Senator David Zuckerman

*Organizations listed for identification purposes only

Individuals Who Signed on from Across the State:

Valerie Abrahamsen

Kit Andrews

Laura Austan

Cathy Austrian, UE Local 23

Arlene Averill

Carolyn Baker, CIRCLE

Sheyanne Baker, NALC Branch 521

Beth Barndt

Adam Barnett

Alex Barnett

Colleen Beal

Carol Beatty

Elizabeth Beatty-Owens

George Bennis, Sr.

Jen Berger

Marissa Bieg

Stauch Blaise

Theodore Blodgett

Karrie Bowen

Tina Bradley

Amy Brady

Carolyn Bronz

Tonda Bryant, AWARE

Geraldine Burke

Kimball Butler

Mary Cain

Bill Capasso

Nick Carter, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

Jonathan Chapin

Jill Charbonneau, VT State Labor Council AFL-CIO

Peter Chase, Episcopal Priest

Ana Cimino

Mary Claire Carroll

Betty Clark

Cim Clark

Meghann Cline, Parents for Change

Wendy Coe

Selene Colburn, Vice Chair, Vermont Progressive Party

Josie Colt

David Connor

Kristen Connors

Kathleen Cooper

Judy Copa

Donavee Copenhaver

Liza Cowan

Linda Cramer

Karen Cribari, Youth Services of Windham County

John Crowley, VPIRG

Kelly Cummings

Joanne Davidman

Sarah Davis

Melissa Davis-Bourque

Mary Deaett

Corey Decker

Briee Della Rocca

Partice DeMarco

Lindsay DesLauriers

Karol Diamond

Liane Duda

Joan Eckley

Marie Eddy

Cassandra Edson

Dawn Ellis

Laurie Essig

Sylvia Fagin

Marigo Farr

Gus Feldman

Kieran Ficken

Rachael Fields, Vermont Veterans Home

Lois Flanders

Anna Fleishman

Colin Flood

Greg Forcier

Emily Fredette

Naomi Freedner-Maguire

Jessica Fuller

Sandra Gaffney

Joseph Gainza, Vermont Action for Peace

Jamie Garvey

Tara Gauding

Anna Gebhardt

Connie Godin

Pauline Gosselin

Steve Gould

Anna Grady

Rachel Grandon

Dawn Hancy

James Haslam, VT Workers’ Center

Rebecca Haslam

Jeffrey Haslett

Mark Heald

Kathy Heikel

Robert Henderson

Devin Henry

Jennifer Henry

Steve Hingtgen, Small Business Owner

Matthew Hogan

Steven Howard, Legislative Director for VSEA

Tonya Howard

Phyllis Humez, state employee and VSEA member

Daniel Jantos, North Chapel Universalist Society

Rachel Jolly

Annie Jordan

Margaret Joyal

Mary Lou Judas

Kate Kanelstein

Taylor Katz, Free Verse Farm

Renee Kelly, Umbrella

Jon Kennedy

Mary Kirkpatrick, RN of Local 5221

Meg Kuhner

Karen Lafayette, VT Low Income Advocacy Council

Damon Lane

Jennifer Larsen

Amy Leavitt

Amy Lester

Rebecca Lendvay

Alice Leo

Deborah LePore

Lodiza Lepore

Arleen Levinson, Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals

John Lewis

Kiera Lewis

Laura Limoges

Shela Linton

Marcia Liotard

Traven Leyshon, VT AFL-CIO

Brenda Lindemann, VT Alliance of Retired Americans

Vicki Litzinger

Jean Lowell

Majka Luksza

Kris Lukens, Voices Against Violence

John MacLean, IWW

Alicia Maddox

Trevor Madore

Corey Mallon

Darya Marchenkova

David Martin

Autumn Martinez, Chief Steward UE Local 255

Jeri Martinez

Elaine McCrate, UVM Professor of Economics & Gender Studies

Ned McEleney

Matt McGrath

Jordan May

Karoline May

James McGurn

William McMaster

Gina Mangiafico

Stephen McArthur, CIRCLE VT

Wendi McNaughton

Kerby Miller

Mark Montalban

Ryan McDonald

Andrea Mills

Phillip Mixon

Ann Moore

Ashley Moore

Denise & Michael Moore

Representative John Moran

Donald Morrison

Jessica Morrison

FaRied Munarsyah

Major Munson

Rilla Murray

Jennifer Nachbur

Sam Nelis

Joyce Niksic

Adam Norton

Lee Oberg

Erika Osorio

Jean O’Sullivan

Romni Palmer

Krista Panosian

Emma Paradis

Charles Parent

Amanda Payne

Deborah Peaslee, Resource Specialist at Mary Johnson Child Care Services

Kristin Pepoon

Cindy Perron

Sarah Petrokonis

Gloria-lee Phelan

Heather Pipino

Anna Pirie, AWARE

Avery Pittman

Bethany Pombar

Jo Poquette

Karen Porter

Kate Post

Nancy Potak

Anisa Potvin

David Przepioski

Kelli Prescott

Sharon Racusin

Diane Ravenscroft

John Reese Jr.

Virginia Renfrew

Sheila Reed

Jane Reese

Dottye Ricks

Susan Ritz

Denise Rixie

Michelle Robbins

Jami Robertson

Marianne Robotham

Sharon Rotax, Women Helping Battered Women

Amy Ruddy

Susan Rump

Lee Russ

Gina Ruth, Women Helping Battered Women

Amanda Sanderson

Greg Sands

Sandra Schlosser

Don Schramm

Paula Schramm

David Shiman

Ellen Schwartz

Natalie Seelig

Megan Sheehan

Sophia Shems

Rebecca Sheppard

Patricia Shine, Lyndon State College Professor

Griffin Shumway

Kyle Silliman-Smith

Lindsay Simpson, Vermont Public Health Association

Susan Skolnick

Ivan Smith

Jennifer Smith

Ikey Spear, Women Helping Battered Women

Moise St. Louis, Educator

Carmyn Stanko, UE Local 267

Kevin Stewart

Representative Tom Stevens

Brandon Stroup

Sarah Suscinski

Alison Sylvester

Linda Tarr-Whelan

Mason Taylor

Kimberly Thevenet, Women Helping Battered Women

Catherine Thomas

Nina Thompson

Christina Tran

Karen Tronsgard-Scott

Julie Theoret

Dwight Tuinstra

Judith Unger Murphy

Edwin Wageman

Jessica Walker

Goldie Watson

Reed Webster

Marlene Wein

Joyce Werntgen

K.C. Whiteley

Sue Prent

Paij Wadley-Bailey

Marian Wagner

Michael Walker, Teamsters Local 597 CCTA Bus Driver

Nancy Welch

Susan Werntgen

Willow Wheelock

Bill White

Chris Wilusz

Kellyann Wolfe

Dana Woodruff

Lynn Wurzburg, Umbrella

Barbara Wynroth

Representative Michael Yantachka

Judith Yarnall

Dinah Yessne

( – promoted by Jack McCullough)

Check out www.workerscenter.org/may1

For the fifth year in a row over well over a thousand people from all over Vermont will participate in at a huge May 1st Statehouse Rally. In 2009, we came to change what was politically possible in healthcare reform. In 2013, its become clear that what we really need to make possible is real democracy itself.

Please join us at 11:30am at the Statehouse to gather for march and rally to remind the legislature and governor that they don’t work for the Chamber of Commerce or only represent wealthy people. The legislature has a real opportunity to stand up for our communities, and we have some ideas of what they should and SHOULD NOT do is they were to do that.

A Budget that Advances Dignity & Equity



The governor and (to date) the legislature failed to meet the purpose of the state budget, which the law now mandates must “address the needs of the people of Vermont in a way that advances human dignity and equity” (32 V.S.A. § 306a). Instead, they are set to undermine people’s dignity and increase inequity by:

– impoverishing more people through capping the essential Reach-Up program

– making the tax code more regressive by reducing EITC and assessing new regressive taxes which affect low-income people more than wealthy people

– increasing healthcare costs for people moved from VHAP and Catamount into the exchange, which effectively makes it harder for low-income people to access health care.

Meaningful Public Participation in our State Budget Process



The governor and legislature have also failed to meet the legal requirement for “a process for public participation in the development of budget goals, as well as general prioritization and evaluation of spending and revenue initiatives” (32 V.S.A. § 306a). Instead, they are ignoring the principles of participation, accountability and transparency and increasing the disconnect between people and government because:

– budget priorities were developed without meaningful engagement from our communities

– the budget process starts with the result of past tax policy decisions (the revenue estimate) rather than an assessment of real needs

– the failure to measure progress and outcomes makes it hard to see what effect specific spending and tax initiatives actually have on people’s lives

A Healthcare System that Meets All Our Health Needs

Both governor and legislature have failed to meet the principles of universality and equity in Act 48, Vermont’s universal health care law, by:

– failing to set out an equitable financing plan for Green Mountain Care

– erecting new barriers to accessing health care by increasing out-of-pocket costs for low-income people

– failing to stop leading health care providers from forming a for-profit conglomerate, OneCare, that will profit from selling access to care rather than providing health care as a public good, as required by Act 48

The Way Forward: As the Put People First campaign made clear at the beginning of the 2013 session, we are dedicated to advancing public policies focused on meeting the fundamental needs of all people in Vermont, which is at the heart of what human rights mean in practice.

Policy decisions that put people first would look very different from the governor’s and legislature’s positions, because they would be based on principles, such as equity and universality, and developed in a transparent and accountable process with the participation of the people of Vermont.

Policies that put people first would:

– commit to eliminating poverty and ensuring a dignified standard of living for all

– assess people’s needs, such as access to healthcare and jobs, and require that those needs be taken into account in the budget process

– inform and engage the public in developing budget goals

– collect taxes in a more equitable way, so that wealthy people no longer get away with paying proportionally less taxes than those with low and middle incomes

– ensure that we all get what we need and give what we can

Learn more at workerscenter.org

( – promoted by Jack McCullough)

[Note: Public hearing on Paid Sick Day Bill H.208 6-8pm, Thurs, April 18, Statehouse]



Ever since the Vermont Workers’ Center started the Workers’ Rights Hotline in 1998, we have heard from countless workers and their families about the hardship and suffering caused by the lack of paid sick days. It has become clear that the right to paid sick days is critical for the well-being of workers, their families and our communities. It is core to our human right to a safe and healthy workplace, our human right to health and healthcare, and our need to hold down a job and take care of our family at the same time. We have heard from all too many people whose health got worse as they continued to work rather than get care, who lost their job because they took their sick child to the hospital, or who struggled to pay rent after losing a few days’ wages.

What kind of society do we live in where ill people who desperately need to get healthcare and recover at home, or care for a sick family member, must instead go to work because they can’t afford to miss a day’s pay, or risk losing their job? We all have a human right to dignified work, which requires safe and healthy workplaces and the ability to provide and care for our loved ones. We have a human right to health that includes our right to get healthcare as well as our right to heal and recover. Sick workers must be able to go to the doctor and stay at home when they need to, instead of being forced to work. Parents and other caregivers must be able to seek medical attention for their child or family member and to care for them at home, without risking their jobs. That is why we need to secure the right to paid sick days in Vermont.  

Becoming a parent has given me a whole new perspective on paid sick days. Hearing from people through our Workers’ Rights Hotline raised my awareness of this issue, but experiencing it first hand has been a real eye opener. When the childcare center informs you that your kid has a fever and has to stay at home, you realize this means you can’t go to work. This affects all of us who care for children or other family members. As a society, we cannot afford that only those with higher incomes and certain types of jobs are able to care for their loved ones. It is not right that those who most depend on a day’s wages must choose between keeping their job or caring for their child. I am reminded of the sad story one of our VWC members told when she testified about the proposed cuts to the Reach Up program. Here’s what she said:  

“Someone asked me the other day why I don’t have a job instead of being on Reach Up. Let me tell you what I told them. … I was working at a restaurant in New Hampshire, about 40 minutes from where I live. I was making just $7.25 an hour. I was only getting 20-25 hours each week, and many of the shifts were nights and weekends so I had to find additional childcare. … Then I actually ended up losing that job because I had to stay home with my daughter when she was sick with tonsillitis and a fever. I couldn’t send her to school, so I had no choice.”

As workers, we are more than just employees. We are parents, caregivers, and members of our community. We are human beings. We take pride in work done well, we rely on our wages to pay rent and buy food, we are responsible for caring for others, and we take part in building healthy communities. We need paid sick days to live and work with dignity. This is a right that Vermont must ensure for all of us.

Join me for a public hearing on the Earned Paid Sick Days Bill, H.208, on April 18th at 5:30pm at the State House in Montpelier.  

James Haslam is the Executive Director of the Vermont Workers’ Center, which was founded in 1998 and has grown into a statewide community-based workers organization with thousands of members committed to standing for justice and organizing for human rights. Website: workerscenter.org

( – promoted by Jack McCullough)

Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign renews call for legislature to move forward, not backward, on healthcare reform

The Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign calls on our legislators to fulfil their obligation to protect access to healthcare for all people in Vermont. “First, do no harm” should guide our legislators’ actions at a time when low-income people are forced into the federally-mandated health insurance “exchange” marketplace. Nobody should have to suffer from reduced access to healthcare because of the federal reform requirements.

We are deeply disappointed that the House Health Care Committee has failed to improve on the Governor’s inadequate health insurance subsidies proposal, which will reduce access to care for low-income people. The failure to protect people who are forced into the exchange violates human rights standards in two ways.

First, it violates the responsibility of government to make continuous progress toward improving the human rights of all people in Vermont. Forcing people into a private marketplace where they have to pay even more for healthcare than they do now is a step backward not forward in the transition to universal healthcare. It puts people’s health at risk.

Second, the failure to provide adequate support to low-income people violates the principle of equity, because it increases obstacles to low-income people receiving the healthcare that they need, and it fails to ensure payment levels that are based on ability to pay. When forced from Catamount or VHAP into the exchange, low-income people will face sharp cost increases – especially in their deductibles and co-pays – which will make it harder for them to get the care they need. At the same time as people with low incomes have to pay more, businesses and insurance companies will pay less under the House Health Care Committee’s proposal, while payments to healthcare providers will increase.

The effect of these decisions is that this stage of healthcare “reform” will be funded on the backs of the most vulnerable among us and will reduce their access to care – which is not reform at all. The Committee lets employers off the hook for financing our healthcare system and protects insurance companies from tax increases, yet it imposes a regressive soda tax, which patronizes and punishes poor people.

For these reasons, the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign rejects the proposed funding changes to healthcare, which will shift costs from businesses, insurance companies and providers to people with low incomes and to those who get sick. We call on our elected representatives to reverse the disturbing trend of raising revenue in an inequitable way that burdens poor and low-income people the most.

Vermont already has the money needed to protect people’s access in the exchange. Catamount and VHAP are fully funded, and there is no reason not to continue supporting access to care for low-income people. Channeling money away from Catamount and VHAP participants to businesses and providers puts special interests above people’s needs. This redirection of funds decreases equity and threatens people’s dignity, in violation of the intent of Vermont statute, which calls for a state budget that advances dignity and equity.

Finally, the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign strongly objects to the Governor’s and House Health Care Committee’s neglect of the impact of deductibles and co-pays on access to care. In order to maximize federal matching funds, they have prioritized the subsidizing of premiums while allowing user fees to increase dramatically. This decision forces people to purchase health insurance that they may not be able to use once they get sick – in effect subsidizing insurance companies, rather than providing healthcare to those who need it. Instead of more corporate subsidies, what Vermont needs is support for people’s access to healthcare when they need it, and that means eliminating user fees. We need health care not health insurance. Coverage is not care.

We call on our elected representatives to stop shifting costs to sick and low-income people and move forward, not backward, on the path toward realizing our human right to healthcare.

James Haslam is the Executive Director at the Vermont Workers’ Center which coordinates the Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign. Learn more: www.workerscenter.org/healthcare

( – promoted by Jack McCullough)

Why the “Report Card”?

Many people rely on the mainstream media (TV and Newspapers) to know what’s going on in their communities and in politics. Having worked for years on workers’ rights and economic justice issues, we’ve gotten used to shaking our heads at the lack of coverage and/or the negative spin that the media outlets put on our events. After all, these media outlets are themselves, employers, often flush with their own workers’ rights issues. They make their money selling ads to the big corporations.

This year’s coverage of the historic May Day rally gives us an opportunity to analyze how the media covered the event, to hold our state’s media outlets accountable, and applaud those who got it right. Media coverage was all over the place as to the purpose of the rally, but were fairly consistent in under-reporting the size of the rally. A few outlets estimated around 2,000, most left it at hundreds and the Vermont Press Bureau went as low as to say “more than 300.” Several volunteers counted almost 2,000 at the peak of the day. With people were coming and going throughout the day, at any given point the crowd was at least 1,500. The Ben & Jerry’s scoopers who arrived an hour after the march said they served 600 people on a cold, wet day. The media also tended to quote only “big name” personalities, not everyday Vermonters who have joined Put People First to make their voices and demands heard.

Ultimately, we are the ones who are going to tell our own stories, so we started our own People’s Media Project. You can check out the May Day podcast to compare it with the reports below.

Among the criteria we employed in grading were:

   Their reporting on the numbers,

   How they described the purpose of the event,

   Whose voices they lifted up/ quoted, and

   The nature of the photo and video they included from the rally (how well did it convey the energy, purpose, and people at the event).

Please email us if you have read, seen, or heard additional media coverage of May 1st: avery@workerscenter.org

Associated Press – Grade A



Article: “Vt. lawmakers confer on key bills; end in sight”

Photographer: Tony Talbot, Reporter: Dave Gram

Weblink: http://www.boston.com/news/loc…

Photo carried in nationally in May Day stories: http://www.nola.com/politics/i…

Vermont Papers that Ran AP Article: Brattleboro Reformer (http://www.reformer.com/latestnews/ci_20521515/hundreds-turn-out-may-day…),

Grade Rationale: Tony Talbot gets an A+ for capturing the energy of the day with a number of strong photos that were used in a wide array of media outlets as the feature photo on national stories reporting on May Day rallies throughout the country. Dave Gram’s story had a great quote from VWC member Melissa Bourque and even mentioned the awesome salsa band:

“This May 1st is the culmination of a collective sense of unrest,” Melissa Bourque, a member of the Vermont Workers’ Center from St. Johnsbury. The Workers’ Center was one of more than 30 labor, environmental and other groups that joined to organize the rally on a chilly May Day, one of dozens of similar events around the country. “People are realizing that the system isn’t fair,” Bourque said, referring to disenchantment with government and business. “People are being awakened to that, and that we can join forces to do something about it.”

Highlight: This Talbot photo at the Statehouse could be the best of the day: http://www.vpr.net/uploads/pho…

Burlington Free Press – Grade C

Article: Vermont lawmakers joust over labor legislation



Weblink: http://www.burlingtonfreepress…

Reporter: Nancy Remsen

Grade Rationale: The article was a focused on the early education bill and only mentioned the broader significance of the rally and what it was about briefly in the opening. It’s a decent article, but the Free Press failed to really cover the rally.

Highlight: They did include a AP photo and photo collage on website which was good.

FOX44/ ABC22 – Grade: A-

Reporter: Louisa Moller

Weblink: http://www.fox44now.com/story/…

Grade Rationale: Two great interviews with VWC leaders (Linda Limoges and Sandy Gaffney), great framing (“time for change is now,” making the link between personal stories and systemic problems). The only “knock” is that they described the numbers as “hundreds” instead of the 2,000 that actually turned out.

Highlight:

“Rising health care prices and surging student debt, these are just some of the issues brought up at today’s rally, and the people I spoke to said these are issues they’ve had for a while, but the time for change is now.”

Labor Notes – Grade A

Article: Vermont Poised to Issue Driver’s Licenses to Farm Workers

Reporter: Michael Feiner

Weblink: http://labornotes.org/print/bl…

Grade Rationale: This article focuses on Migrant Justice’s struggle “Drive for Justice” and puts it into the context of its movement building work with VWC and Put People First campaign.

Highlight:

“In barely over a month, Vermont’s Governor Peter Shumlin went from refusing to support licenses to endorsing the legislation, in the process rejecting the federal government’s call to enforce its failed and short sighted immigration policies. “As Shumlin said in an interview with Vermont Public Radio, ‘It’s not fair to ask them to be isolated, living in fear on the farms, when we would like to have them as part of our communities. So I think a basic right should be that they can get to the store, get to the doctor and get around while they’re here.'”

Seven Days – Grade B

Article: “Noisy and United on a Raw May Day in Montpelier”



Reporter: Kevin Kelley, contributions from Paul Heintz (photos by both)

Weblink: http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2012…

Grade Rationale: Overall good, but consistent with other outlets in under-reporting the numbers as in the “hundreds.” They also led by focusing on the two “big names:” Bill McKibben and Bernie Sanders, before providing any quotes from emerging grassroots Put People First leaders. They did convey the tone of the event well: “The spirit of the event felt more like the tulips and apple blossoms on the Statehouse lawn than like the sullen sky above the golden dome.” The goals of the event were also accurately reported: “The ambitious aim of the May Day action was to unite these varied voices into a single chorus calling for progressive change in Vermont, the United States and the world.” Unfortunately, the reporter then goes on to discredit some of the new and emerging leaders by saying, “Many of the faces at the protest were as familiar – and as worn – as the rhetoric of many of the speakers.” Another “whoops!”: in describing Bernie Hernandez’s speech, the reporter inaccurately identifies the photo of Bhutanese parents and grandparents as Bernie’s farmworker “compatriots.”

Highlight: “

Bernie Hernandez, a farm worker from Mexico, was ringed by a dozen of his compatriots (pictured), mostly women, as he told the crowd, ‘I am one of the invisibles who’s becoming visible and being heard.’ Hernandez’ speech, delivered in Spanish and translated into English, drew laughs and applause with the line, ‘Without us, there are no creemees!'”

Toward Freedom – Grade A

Article: Photo Essay: Thousands Rally in Vermont Capitol for International Workers’ Day

Weblink: http://www.towardfreedom.com/labor/2810-thsounds-rally-in-vermont-capita… Reporter: Ben Dangl

Grade Rationale: Great photos that told a powerful story and that were up that afternoon.

Highlight: This is the only outlet that included a “group photo.”



Vermont Press Bureau (Times Argus/Rutland Herald) – Grade D

Article: May Day rally draws hundreds

Weblink: http://www.rutlandherald.com/a… (subscriber only)

Reporter: Jenna Pizzi

Grade Rationale: In addition to the absurd turnout estimate (see above), there were a number of inaccuracies and the reporter failed to actually quote any of the rally speakers other than Sen. Bernie Sanders. It falsely reported that he had a tent for his campaign (although we did hear there were campaign organizers circulating in the crowd). The reporter also got it wrong saying that the previous three rallies organized by the VWC were focused on our Put People First initiative. They were Healthcare Is a Human Right rallies, but this year we did broaden the message to Put People First.

Highlight: Decent photo of the front of the march arriving at the Statehouse.

Vermont Public Radio – Grade A-

Weblink: http://www.vpr.net/news_detail… http://www.vpr.net/episode/535… (Melissa Bourque is interviewed starting ay 36:26)



Reporter: Jane Lindholm (news summary by Patti Daniels)

Grade Rationale: Great interview with Melissa Bourque on Vermont Public Radio’s signature program Vermont Edition, and then subsequent write up by Patti Daniels with quotes from the interviews.

Highlight:

Melissa’s quote: “The Workers Center and all of these other different groups that are here today are giving an outlet for people to come together and stand together and say, we’re not okay with this and we’re actually not just ‘not okay’ with it, we’re going to do something about it.”

VT Digger – Grade: C+



Article: Hundreds rally in Montpelier for May Day labor event

Reporter: Taylor Dobbs Weblink: http://vtdigger.org/2012/05/02…



Grade Rationale: By focusing on the two “big-name” speakers Sen. Bernie Sanders and author Bill McKibben the article missed the spirit of the day, the fact that there were so many powerful leaders of a growing people movement. A reader’s comment was on the mark about this line

“Speakers called for increased government assistance with education, child care, health care and land preservation for Native American tribes – all “basic human rights,” according to the speakers.” Reader Judith Levine wrote: “Providing education, health care, etc. is not “government assistance.” These are the FUNCTIONS of government – to provide, with taxpayer money – the services necessary to life. “

Highlight: Good photo.

WCAX – Channel 3 – CBS – Grade B



Reporter: Alexei Rubenstein (producer)

Weblink: http://www.wcax.com/story/18005367/put-people-first-rally-in-montpelier

Grade Rationale: The only knock on this report was that it was really short, but they did a great job of accurately saying who was there, why we were there, and even recognized that the lousy weather affected turnout.

Highlight:

“We need healthy communities, healthy workplaces, healthy planet we can live on. We need to fight for environmental justice, fight to end racism, fight for workers’ rights, fight for women’s rights, fight for disability justice, fight for immigrant justice, fight for democracy– that what we’re here for today,” said Shela Linton of the Vermont Workers’ Center. Organizers urged Vermont lawmakers to take action on several issues, including early educators’ right to organize, action on climate change and driver’s licenses for migrant workers. The event was billed as the largest weekday rally Montpelier has ever seen, but gray skies and drizzle may have accounted for a lower turnout.

WPTZ – Channel 5 – NBC – Grade B

Reporter: Stewart Ledbetter

Weblink: http://www.wptz.com/news/vermo…

Grade Rationale: The coverage of the rally was good, reported turnout at “perhaps, a thousand,” included a good clip of VWC member Shela Linton speaking on health care, but made a someone confusing transition from the rally to issues being debated inside the statehouse that weren’t really being talked about outside. Good footage of the rally, but interviews were only with lawmaker and one director of a nonprofit in the statehouse. The listing out of other issues at the end framed finished with a short description of the early educators amendment(s), and a description of these ongoing debates as “snags” to hopes of adjournment by the weekend.

Highlight:

Shela’s quote: “We do not only want universal health care, we are demanding it!” Also, they provide one of the more accurate counts of the size of the rally: “perhaps a thousand.”

(Keep it in mind: noon Tuesday in Montpelier. Bumped, bulk of content moved sub folda.   – promoted by kestrel9000)

The response to the devastation of Tropical Storm Irene should make us proud to be Vermonters. Thousands of people volunteered and contributed to efforts to get communities back on their feet. The new “I Am Vermont Strong” campaign has tapped into this community pride with the goal of rebuilding stronger than before the storm. To me, stronger communities means communities where we no longer have policies that leave so many people vulnerable or threaten the livability of the planet.

Even after we recover from Irene, we will still face an ongoing crisis. The economic crisis and the climate crisis both stem from the breakdown of democracy – the health of people and the planet have been undermined so that a tiny fraction of the population can accumulate enormous wealth.

Strong and healthy communities cannot exist in the presence of poverty and extreme inequality. If our neighbors are not safe and healthy, it affects us all. We need bold policies that ensure everyone has access to the health care, safe housing, nutritious food, healthy natural environment, education and child care they need. In the wake of Irene, we acted immediately to make sure people’s needs were met. This same primary goal should guide all our public policy: meet the fundamental needs of the people.

We must also recognize that climate change and severe weather events are upon us and will likely escalate. Vermont must lead the way – as we have begun to do in economic and social justice – by adopting necessary policy solutions to address the climate crisis, end our dependence on fossil fuels and find sustainable energy solutions.

These deep-seated problems need to be addressed at their roots. For too long, our policies have addressed symptoms, not causes, of the problems. For example, our health care system treats health care as a commodity. Some people can afford to buy health insurance while many cannot or are underinsured. The “solutions” have been to expand taxpayer supported programs and attempt to regulate insurance companies. Yet this approach does not solve the root problem. Insurance companies can continue to pocket premiums, avoid paying for care when people get sick, and then shift the costs onto taxpayers. In Vermont, we have realized that the only real solution is to put the health of everybody first – to treat health care as a public good. We can do this by getting rid of the health care insurance companies and other profiteers and by investing health care dollars into healing people and keeping Vermonters healthy.

What’s next? The Vermont Workers’ Center has joined with organizations across the state in a new initiative called Put People First. Put People First means working to realize a universal health care system, fighting for workers’ rights and putting the needs of our communities and the planet first. It includes creating a People’s Budget in which state spending and revenue policies reflect the true values of our communities and are based on the human rights principles of universality, equity, accountability, transparency and participation.

We are demanding that our elected representatives put people first, but policy makers will not be able to stand up against powerful corporate interests until we organize enough people power to give them the strength to do it.

I am asking you to join thousands of Vermonters at noon on Tuesday, May 1, to make our democracy Vermont Strong. Join us for a major statewide march and rally in Montpelier, beginning at noon at City Hall. This year’s rally is also part of an international day of action called for by the Occupy Wall Street movement – “A Day Without the 99%” – for people to come together across all those lines which too often divide and weaken us, to build a better world. Bring your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors as we join together to make Vermont stronger by demanding that our elected representatives put people first.

—

James Haslam is the director of the Vermont Workers’ Center. More details about the May 1 rally can be found at www.workerscenter.org.

October 5, 2011

The Vermont Workers’ Center and its members from every corner of this state join with you to stand in solidarity with those who have taken to the streets in New York and other cities around the country.

We stand with our brothers, with our sisters and with all people, because we all are struggling. We are homeless or losing our homes to the banks. We lack access to the healthcare that we need. We work in jobs that do not pay us enough to survive; we work in jobs that are not fulfilling or dignified, or we do not have work at all. We are drowning in student debt. We are watching the services that we depend on – our schools, our fire departments, mental health services – be cut deeper and deeper every year. We are told that there is not enough for us, while Wall Street makes record profits.

Systems of oppression keep us divided and ruled. We will confront these systems so that we will not be divided. We will not be divided by the color of our skin, by the language that our parents speak or by the gender of the person we choose to love. We will not be divided young against old or student against laborer. We will not be divided against our neighbor who is a little more or a little less poor then we are.

We see clearly that our and our neighbors’ poverty is the same – that our small differences amount to nothing compared to the obscenity of wealth accumulated by a corporate ruling class whom we must not continue to allow to make all the rules.

We will no longer fight against our neighbor over the crumbs that fall from the table upon which the corporations feast, because we recognize that it is the feast – not the crumbs – that belongs to us, and there is plenty to share, once we are all at the table.

Here in Vermont, we have learned that people joining together can overcome the politics of greed. The people of Vermont have demonstrated that healthcare is a human right, and we will demonstrate that ordinary people joining together can make a government that puts people first.

We have much to do. We must end war and the militarization of our borders. We must end the destruction of the natural environment – the environment upon which our lives depend. We must build our economy, so that useful work – not greed – becomes its foundation.

We have much to do, but we have the power of masses of people joining together with a common vision of building healthy communities, realizing democracy and winning justice. We stand here today, and we resolve that we will keep organizing so that tomorrow we will be standing with even more of our friends, neighbors and co-workers.

We are the 99%. We will no longer be divided. We will no longer be distracted. We will no longer blame ourselves for our suffering. We will not stay home, now that we understand that, by struggling together, we can achieve our vision. We will organize until we can create a society where we put people first, where our needs our met, and where we, the 99%, are in charge, and not Wall Street and the wealthiest in our society.

We stand in solidarity with the brave people in New York and other cities. We stand here because we share a vision and because we understand that we have the power to make our vision become real. We stand here because we know that our futures and our children’s futures depend on us. We stand here together now because the time has come.

We are the 99%. We are too big to fail.

In Solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street Protests, the Vermont Workers’ Center is co-organizing rallies across the state as well as a trip to New York City. As part of our Put People First campaign we are standing together with people around the country.

We’re not just rallying, we’re ORGANIZING too. Together we can build the power to make change and put people first. Organize with us on October 15th before joining us for Occupy Wall Street Solidarity Rallies.

Join us in:

Burlington

Saturday, October 15, 2 pm, Burlington City Hall Park

contact: avery@workerscenter.org

Brattleboro

Saturday, October 15th, 2pm, Wells Fountain Park

contact: kate@workerscenter.org

Montpelier

Saturday, October 15th, 3:00pm, City Hall followed by State House

Monday, October 17th, 4-6:00pm, Candle Light Vigil at State House

contact: sarah@workerscenter.org

Rutland

Saturday, October 15th, 11am Center Street and Merchants Row across from the Farmers Market

contact: kate@workerscenter.org

( – promoted by odum)

From VWC Blog– http://www.workerscenter.org/w…

Yesterday, with the vote on the universal healthcare bill H.202, we saw politics at its best and at its worst. At its best, because the participation of thousands of Vermonters in the Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign convinced a strong majority in the Senate to pass a historic universal healthcare bill. At its worst, because a majority of senators also approved an amendment to make the bill less than universal, in a cynical political move to appeal to hatred and intolerance.

In a last minute amendment, the Vermont Senate voted 22-8 to exclude one of Vermont’s most vulnerable populations, undocumented farm workers. The amendment was introduced by Senator Brock (Franklin County) and Senator Sears (Bennington County).

From the debate on the Senate floor it seemed that there were a number of Senators who misunderstood the implications of the amendment. But it should come as no surprise that just as we are establishing the commitment to universal healthcare there was a last desperate attempt to undermine our social solidarity by pitting Vermonters against each other. To our knowledge, if passed this would be the first Vermont law to discriminate against people because of their federal immigration status and would set a very bad precedent.

We need to send a loud and clear message that Vermont is not Arizona (which passed a law last year to criminalize and scapegoat immigrant communities, background see: http://www.workerscenter.org/n… When we say healthcare is human right, we mean for everybody who lives and works in Vermont regardless of legal status. We will not tolerate racial profiling and accept the unjust immigration and foreign policies of the federal government. We can do better than that. That is what our universal healthcare system is about. It would not be universal if groups are left out based on this kind of criteria. When we say health care for all, we mean for all!



What you can do:

1. Contact Your Legislator

Call the Sgt-at-arms at 802-828-2228 to tell your legislator that Vermont is not Arizona, that healthcare is a human right and farm workers need healthcare, too.

If you aren’t sure of who your Representatives or Senators are, you can go here: http://leg.state.vt.us/legdir/…

2. Help with Open Letter of Organization, Faith and Community Leaders: Go here: http://www.workerscenter.org/n…

3. Come to May 1st Rally: At 11am on Sunday, May 1, 2011 thousands of Vermonters will meet at City Hall at 39 Main Street to march for universal healthcare. Join us! Check out a video update about the campaign at www.workerscenter.org/peoplesstruggle

MORE INFO: Contact the VWC at 861-4892 or info@workerscenter.org

For more information about the lives of Vermont’s migrant farmworkers, why they come to work in Vermont, and why Vermont’s dairy industry needs them, visit our allies at The Vermont Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project at http://www.vtmfsp.org/.

(Also see the notice in the calendar for the rally May 1st! – promoted by JulieWaters)

By James Haslam

Originally Published Rutland Herald/Times Argus on April 17, 2011

Vermont is in the midst of a human rights crisis that has been brought on by allowing the market to control one of the most important parts of our lives: our health.

This crisis is visible in every community across our state. More and more people – people with health insurance – are foregoing necessary health care because they cannot afford the deductibles and co-pays. Vermonters are losing their homes to bankruptcy brought on by medical debt, or they are “stretching” medications in the hope that they can make it through the month. Vermonters are buried in mountains of paperwork, hit hard by insurers’ denials of claims, overwhelmed in their efforts to navigate through the private insurance maze.

If we accept the premise that the goal of our health care system is to provide the care that we need when we need it, we have to accept the conclusion that our market-based health insurance system has failed. Too many Vermonters are not getting the care that we need when we need it.

This “market failure” in health insurance is not an accident. This sort of “failure” is, in fact, built into the way a health insurance system works. The market fails us because its goal is to generate revenue for the insurer rather than to protect our health.

Insurance companies are middlemen who sell access to health care as a commodity to those who can afford it. As soon as we get care – which we all do at some point – an insurer starts losing money. Medical care costs are recorded as financial losses on their balance sheets. Therefore, in order to protect their income, insurance companies must restrict our access to care.

This behavior is a market imperative, not a failure. And it hurts us.

Moreover, insurance is simply the wrong way to pay for something like health care. Insurance is a way of managing risk. But health care is not a risk; it is something that we all use and benefit from using. Therefore, seeing a doctor should be a bit more like going to school: We all need to do it, so it should not depend on us being insured against it or coming up with the necessary cash.

So where do our health care dollars go, if they do not buy us better health? What we experience as market “failures” make corporations a lot of money. In 2008 “nonprofit” Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont paid out $7.2 million to former president and CEO William Milnes Jr. The system did not fail him at all; it performed as expected.

We do not have to settle for a system that puts profits before health. We can make our health care dollars do what they are supposed to do: enable equal access to care for all. To achieve this, Vermont must provide health care as a public good, readily available to all. Health care belongs to all of us, just like education, and should be publicly financed, with costs and benefits shared equitably by all Vermonters. We can no longer afford the insurance industry that prioritizes private over public interests.

Some of us can’t envision an alternative to the market-based system, usually because we are skeptical about what the public sector – or “government” – has to offer. Yet we all rely on “the government” to run our court system, provide us with fire services, take responsibility for our schools, plow and pave our roads, and, of course, provide Medicare for our seniors. We couldn’t live without these essential public services. So why don’t we treat health care in a similar way, as a public good for all? The government is by, of and for the people. If we don’t like how it works, we have the power – and the obligation – to change it. This is what our universal health care movement strives for by demanding transparency, accountability, and participation.

Our reliance on markets has resulted in a profound deficit of democracy. Corporations in our health care marketplace are not accountable to us; they are accountable to their owners or shareholders. Likewise, corporations are not transparent; they deny payment of claims at will. Individuals with money can participate as “consumers” in this market, but without having a say, without control, even without a guarantee that we’ll be able to access care. We can buy their products and only hope they are adequate when we get sick, while watching how corporations have the ears of our lawmakers, and the deep pockets to spread fear through advertising and astro-turfing.

The existing health care system has failed us by placing the private interests of corporations above the public interest of Vermonters. That’s why thousands of Vermonters have stood up and fought for their human right to health care. As a result, Vermont is now poised to lead the country out of this human rights crisis by creating a system which treats health care as a public good, not a market commodity available only to those who can afford it.

—

James Haslam is director and lead organizer of the Vermont Workers’ Center (www.workerscenter.org) and coordinates the Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign. On May 1 the campaign is organizing a March on Montpelier at 11 a.m. that starts at City Hall and will lead to a rally at the Statehouse to demand a universal health care system that works for everyone.

The House Healthcare Committee is in the final stages of marking up H.202 and we understand they could be voting the bill out of committee tomorrow.

It is important that everyone make their voices heard, go to www.workerscenter.org/takeaction to send an email and call Sgt-at-arms to let your representatives know you believe healthcare is a human right!

Check out this new VIDEO/grassroots PSA: “UNIVERSALITY”

http://www.workerscenter.org/psa2