Vermont, a state perceived as a liberal utopia by many, is
being hit with a barrage of anti-labor policies. In a recent budget
address, Gov. Peter Shumlin called out Vermont State Employees'
Association, declaring he expected VSEA to reopen its contracts to ditch
pay increases. The governor also announced that he plans to hack away
at state jobs by consolidating emergency call centers and closing a
school that serves state prisoners. In addition, he said that Vermont
parents should “expect better outcomes for our students at lower costs.”
He’s called for education cuts and higher student-teacher ratios, moves
that will probably result in layoffs. This past fall, he announced he
wants to outlaw teacher strikes in the state. That idea might soon
become a reality: a bill prohibiting public school teachers from
striking was recently introduced by Republican Rep. Kurt Wright and passed the House Education Committee by a vote of 8-3.
Shumlin is a Democrat who has received support
from Bernie Sanders and owes much of his success to the working people
of Vermont. He was supported by VSEA when he first ran for governor in
2010, after he criticized his Republican predecessor’s proposed layoffs
and budget-cutting methods. The union continued to support him during
his re-elections in 2012 and 2014. Before the last election, in 2014,
Shumlin met with all the unions and assured them that he could be
counted on. He insisted that layoffs would be a last resort. He won that
election by less than 2,500 votes and, because he received less than
50% of the state's vote, his win had to be approved by the Vermont
General Assembly. If Shumlin hadn't obtained support from the unions,
there's a very real chance he could have lost. READ MORE
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