VWC

The House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs is continuing to hear testimony on H216 an act relating to federally assisted affordable housing.

Todays testimony started with what the administration thought about this bill. What I heard was that the administration doesn't like this bill and won't support it for several reasons and believes that it will be challenged in court if passed. Committtee members asked if anything in this bill is salvageable and was told I dont know. When asked if this can't be done what is going to be in place of it and will there be state policy to cover it? The answer was that preservation of this housing is a priority to the administration and we have to rely on the owners to do what is right. Basically because of the contracts signed 20 to 40 years ago the owners want to be able to sell their properties by what was said in them.

Questions about lack of affordable housing being connected with a lack of employees for businesses and where will solutions come from were asked. The committee was told that state and federal resources are not there. Meaning there is no money for it." So, no increased resources means more homelessness" said one committee menber. "Probably",was the answer.

Other testimony about section 8 vouchers, property tax benefits being out, terms of sale being made public, and once again that the federal government is not giving any money added to the already disheartening conversation.

Once again tropical storm Irene was brought up as a reason for not having the money to do any more.

Another testimony gave support to this bill and gave instances of 12 other states who have similar bills like this and not sure that this bill would even be challenged or that the state would be sued.

The last testimony was a representative of a current owner of subsidized housing in Burlington who's contract will be up soon. Issues were that there were parts of this bill that were changed and that was good but issues like notice to residents, longer process for sale,and fees are a sticking point. This testimony ended with a statement that all need to work together to overcome and come up with creative ways to make this happen.

Please contact me if you would like more details.

Last night the Senate Health and Welfare and the House Health Committee held a public hearing to hear from Employers on H.559, the administration’s bill to implement what is called for in ACT 48.

While it was exciting to hear from employers that came and testified in favor of the bill, opponents of the bill had organized to have a number of employers there to testify against certain components of the bill that in our judgment if adopted might keep us from fully implementing ACT 48.

The majority of the comments were focused on the section of H.559 that relates to Exchanges. The federal Affordable Care Act calls for each state to set up a health care exchange. The Healthcare is a Human Right campaign sees the exchange as a diversion that slows us down from achieving the goals of our campaign. We have to accept.

Our state administration,has assured us that they are designing the Exchange in such a way as to ensure our getting to the goals laid out in ACT 48 as fast as possible.
The ACA calls for enrolling people who are in a small group market by January 2014. Until 2016, the federal government is allowing the states to decide if their small group market should be defined as employers with 50 and under or 100 and under.

The administration recommends that the legislature define the small market group as all employers with 100 or less so that they can be enrolled by the January 2014 deadline. Our Healthcare campaign agrees with the administration on this for the more people in the exchange, the more chance it has to succeed and the faster we can move to making healthcare a public good.

This was one of the major issues that employers and representatives from several regional Chambers of Commerce, the Association of Vermont Grocers and the Ethan Allen Institute, focused their remarks on. They urged that the small group market be defined as 50 and under. They want as few people in. and they want enrollment to be done as slowly as possible.

Another point that was stressed over and over was the need to have bronze plans (these are plans with high deductibles). The employers testified that the majority of employers are moving to these, and stated that they are needed in order for HRA’S and HSA’S to work. Our Healthcare Campaign has said over and over that deductible and co-pays keep people from getting the healthcare that they need and we have and will continue to advocate for a system without co-pays and deductibles and one that is decoupled from employers

The third point that was made by these employers has to do with offering insurance outside of the exchange. This was offered as an amendment last session and we strongly opposed and it was defeated. It is again being offered as an amendment this year and we must continue to oppose.

DATE: January 27, 2012

TO: Robin Lunge, Director of Health Reform

FROM: Vermont Workers’ Center - Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign

CC: Anya Rader-Wallack, Dr. Karen Hein, Con Hogan, Albert Gobeille, Dr. Allan Ramsay, Georgia Maheras, Mark Larson, Sen. Claire Ayer, Rep. Michael Fisher,

SUBJECT: Statement on the Green Mountain Care financing and benefits debate

Vermont’s universal healthcare law, Act 48, requires that the people of our state have opportunities to participate in the many decisions that must be made as we transition to Green Mountain Care. Importantly, the law foresees a public planning process to develop a financing mechanism for the new universal system and to agree on the healthcare services (or “benefits”) Vermonters will be able to receive.

Since last November, the Shumlin Administration has held a number of so-called “listening sessions” on the financing question, and it is now preparing similar sessions to discuss the issue of healthcare “benefits.” Both financing and “benefits” are critical questions in the transition process, and it is important that the people of Vermont are fully engaged in this discussion. It is equally important that everyone is clear on what these questions entail and that the Administration shows sufficient leadership to address growing confusion and concerns.

Participants in the financing listening sessions have been forced to sift through many new “principles” for financing, introduced by the Administration (such as “non-disruption”, “economic pressures”, “elasticity of demand”). They were also asked to discuss health benefits and cost containment measures, which are not financing issues. These problems with the format and content of the listening sessions have caused unnecessary confusion. Act 48 states clearly that the new healthcare system should be paid for in an equitable way. The principle of equity requires that Vermonters contribute to the system based on their ability to pay and receive the care they need. Therefore, the discussion should return to the simple question at hand: What is the most equitable way of financing a universal healthcare system? We call on the Shumlin Administration to address this question now, and to commit to using the most equitable financing mechanism to replace the unfair insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses that Vermonters are currently struggling to pay.

The Administration also has an obligation to clarify that the financing discussion is not about how much the new system will cost and how much we can save, but rather about the way in which we will pay. We already have sufficient evidence that the premiums and fees Vermonters pay now are higher than the funding needed for the new system. The money is already there – this is not the issue at hand. Instead, the financing discussion must be about identifying a new and equitable way to finance the system. In the future, the money for health care should no longer come from our individual pockets, but from a shared pot that allows for equitable contributions by residents and businesses based on their ability to pay.

This is the right time for the Administration to state publicly that the revenue for the new universal system will be raised equitably, as required by Act 48, and to provide an outline of the most equitable mechanism for doing so. Addressing this issue now would also serve as an appropriate response to the growing demand, formally expressed in an amendment to Act 48 introduced by Senator Brook, for an earlier release of the financing plans for Green Mountain Care, before the January 2013 date required by the current law.

Once the Administration confirms its principled approach to financing, it will be more straightforward to approach the “benefits” debate from the same principled perspective. Currently the question of “benefits” in Green Mountain Care is mixed up with a discussion of insurance coverage benefits in the Exchange, the marketplace that will precede the universal, publicly financed health system. But healthcare services in a universal system are provided on a different basis from benefits packages that are sold as part of insurance coverage plans.

A universal healthcare system is guided by the principles of protecting people’s health and enabling access to all medically necessary care. The limitations of an insurance market system, in which policyholders bet against sickness by buying specified “benefits packages,” no longer apply. A universal healthcare system puts people’s health first and invests public money into keeping our population healthy. We welcome the Administration’s recent statements affirming the importance of prioritizing the health of our population. People need healthcare throughout their lives; neither the prevention nor the treatment of illnesses is an unexpected occurrence against which we can insure ourselves. We must reject the old model of denying care to those who cannot afford the best “benefits package” or cannot pay their co-pays, and instead set up democratic processes that can guide the difficult decisions about how to allocate funds. We call on the Shumlin Administration to lead the emerging “benefits” discussion by shifting the focus from insurance benefit packages to people’s health needs. The upcoming “benefits” listening sessions should be designed as conversations about health needs and about new ways of allocating resources to maximize Vermonters’ health.

If the Administration is serious about moving toward a universal healthcare system and treating healthcare as a human right, then the “benefits” discussion must start with people’s health needs and their ability to get comprehensive, appropriate care, as stated in Act 48. Rather than developing benefits packages and cost-sharing requirements that artificially restrict access to care, healthcare resources should be allocated based on needs, in a way that does the most good for Vermonters’ health. Most countries with a universal healthcare system provide comprehensive care (usually including preventive and public health services, primary care, ambulatory and inpatient specialist care, prescription pharmaceuticals, mental health care, dental care, rehabilitation, home care and nursing home care) without defining a specific package. By focusing on keeping people healthy, these countries achieve better health outcomes, greater savings and more equity in access to care than the United States. Vermont now has an opportunity to show that we can make it happen here too. We can put people’s health first by building a universal healthcare system that is paid for in an equitable way and that ensures Vermonters get the care they need.

###

Help Barre Teachers Bargain a Fair Contract - Informational Picket Jan 29 and Board Meeting Feb 9

On Sunday, January 29th, Barre City and Town teachers will be holding an informational picket in downtown Barre, along with supporters from the AFL-CIO COPE Conference being held that same day at the Old Labor Hall. The informational picket will be from 12:30-1pm at the green in the center of Barre on Rte 302/Main St. Bring signs calling for a fair contract!

On Thursday, February 9th, 5:30 BSU Board Meeting at BSU office on Ayers St., Barre teachers will be attending a school board meeting as a full union membership and are asking community supporters to join them to call for a fair contract. Community members are encouraged to attend to speak to the importance of settling a fair contract with teachers. Public comment will be at the beginning of the meeting. All are welcome.

Background:
The Barre Education Association and Barre Town Education Association represent nearly 250 teachers within the Barre Supervisory Union. In Barre Town, the teachers' last contract expired in July; in Barre City, teachers are in their second year without a contract, working under a set of imposed working conditions that have cut pay. For the first time, Barre Town and City are negotiating for a single teachers’ contract, the result of state law calling for merged contracts. Since February, a team of negotiators from the town and the city have met with the district’s superintendent, but, unfortunately, no agreement has resulted.

Teachers believe talks have stalled because school board members have refused to negotiate at the bargaining table. Both sides have met nearly a dozen times, but the board has not made serious proposals on salary, health insurance and work-place rules. The school boards continue to ignore the fact that Barre teachers are among the lowest-paid in Central Vermont. The school boards continue to ignore the fact that the lack of a contract and low salaries is causing talented teachers to skip the district, and, in some cases, is even pushing teachers out of the district.

Both sides agreed to allow a neutral mediator to begin taking information with an aim toward evaluating each sides’ proposals. The mediator will release her recommendations in March. That recommendation, however, isn’t binding on either side. Teachers would appreciate community support to help make sure a fair contract is settled.

My name is Sandy Gaffney. I am here today representing the Vermont Workers Center because of Tropical Storm Irene. I lived in Westons Mobile Home Park just outside of Montpelier in Berlin, Vt. My home and 70 other mobile homes were destroyed by the severe flooding as well as most of our belongings.

After the storm, a lot of people came to help us out, including folks who were members of the Vermont Workers Center. When it was clear that my neighbors and I needed to join together to have a voice, we formed Mobile Home Park Residents for Fairness and Equality and joined the Put People First Campaign of the Vermont Workers Center. I have little doubt that this storm and the other extreme weather events Vermont has experienced are connecxted to global warming. The impacts of climate change are devestating. We can't ignore this challenge any longer, and we, the people, must use the skills of organizing to change this system.

we have incredible power when we come together. Solutions for climate crisis are the same as solutions to improve peoples lives. If we organize together, we can be even more powerful. That's why the Fossil Fuel Freedom and Put People First Campaign are really one campaign for people and the planet. Let's do this together.

Three and a half years ago the VWC started the Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign. We realized that healthcare was one of the biggest issues affecting so many areas of Vermonters lives and we had to do something about it.

For many decades people had been advocating for universal healthcare in Vermont, and they had all the right arguments. They were winning the arguments in every debate, but still we didn't have a universal equitable healthcare system. We had a healthcare system based on corporate greed and private profit for insurance companies.

We realized that to win a universal healthcare system that treated healthcare as a human right, we needed more than good arguments, we needed to get organized. We did surveys, held human rights hearings, humongous rallies at the statehouse, organized a people's team and a grassroots media team. We built organizing committees in every county of the state, held countless meetings with legislators, turned out in the hundreds to hearings wearing our red T-shirts, and three yeaars later Vermont became the first state in the country to pass a real universal healthcare law.

Through that process we were learning a lot. We learned, we need to be organized to have a voice for regular people, we need to tell our own stories and have our voices heard, and we need to be united not divided. We know that we can't have health without healthy food, a healthy environment, safe affordable housing, jobs with dignity, and education. All our human rights are interconnected. We also know that the next phase of our work on healthcare will be the financing, which is a budget issue. This is why we need a people's budget to make sure our human rights principles are reflected as the state crafts its budget.

For many years , as the budget is created, essential public services, the things we need to live dignified lives--our human rights--are cut. Every year advocacy groups and grassroots organizations go to advocate for their issue--each one has to prove why their funding is more important than all of the other people who are fighting for funding too. But these are false choices--we shouldn't have to pick between heating assistance and funding for early education while corporations have record profits and right here in Vermont the wealthy are wealthier than they have ever been and paying less taxes then the rest of us.

What if, instead of being pitted against each other--the people who are fighting for housing, for healthcare, for education, for a healthy environment, got together to fight for a whole new system where people's fundamentsl rights were ensured Changing the priorities of elected representatives--making public policy that puts people first--is really a matter of changing the balance of power. To succeed, we have to organize enough people to grow enough power. Every one of us must be an organizer who brings our family, our friends, our coworkers, and our neighbors into this movement. Alone, there's not a lot we can do to create change. Together, united, we can have our voices heard and create real democracy.

The fact is that there is plenty of money to take care of all of our needs. The obstacle is that it is not being shared fairly. It is not being raised fairly, and it is not being spent fairly.

This is what the People's Budget Campaign is all about: building real democracy to change the way we think about raising and spending the money to provide the public services that uphold the human rights of our communities.

Who's with me to defend our human rights and a healthy planet?
who's with me to fight for a state budget that prioritizes the needs of our communities and reflects the values of Vermont?
Who's with me to carry on the Poor People's Campaign to end poverty and suffering starting here in our home state?
who''s ready to organize for affordable housing, healthcare, healthy food, transportation, education, childcare, services for disabilities, heating, liviable wage jobs, safe environment, and the end of discrimination?
Who's with me to PUT PEOPLE FIRST?

Working parents with young children across the state of Vermont are daily confronted with a difficult choice: work outside of the home and pay for childcare, or stay home with their children and try to make ends meet on one income, or no income for single parent families. For one Essex Junction parent, the equation just didn’t make sense anymore. After paying for childcare for 2 children, she was bringing home $70.00 for a 40 hour work week. She left her job and now sits on the other side of the equation, trying to make a living as a registered home provider. She is finding that what the state reimburses early educators for parents who qualify for subsidy doesn’t come close to covering the cost of providing care.

Vermont Early Educators United and Vermont Parents United are coming together to pass legislation to address the broken early education system and bring subsidy rates current with the cost of care. H.97 (or Senate bill 29) would recognize early educators right to organize and will change the way that decisions about subsidy and early childhood education are made by making them equal partners with the state. Early educators have learned that organizing is the only way to make positive changes in their profession and for working families. They see parents struggling with inadequate subsidy eligibility guidelines as they struggle to run quality programs with reimbursement rates falling farther and farther behind the market costs.

Parents and educators must come together to advocate for the children in their care.

H.97 passed last Spring in the House and has gone over to the Senate (and the original Senate version/S.29 is still waiting to be taken up in the Economic Development Committee of the Senate). All of Vermont’s senators need to hear from their constituents that lack of resources for programs that educate and care for our youngest Vermonters is a crisis that must be addressed.

 Yesterday and today, the General Housing and Military Affairs Committee met to hear testimony about H.216, an act relating to preserving federally assisted affordable housing.

 This testimony included information from VHFA that many contracts for affordable housing, signed 20 to 40 years ago, are now ending.  This makes these units at risk for being sold and not be available as affordable housing for the mostly elderly and disabled who have been living in them.

Since the rules have changed over the years, this bill is attempting to clarify the process of giving notice of the intent to sell as well as details connected with all the time frames involved. 

Preservation of existing affordable housing, and how that costs less than building new, incentives for building affordable housing, and that this bill is not acceptable to owners of properties at risk for sale,were also discussed.

Testimony today by Legal Aide covered the issues of housing shortages.   There are very few places to live for people who lost their homes in the flood.  Decent housing is also an issue.  Rents have gone up 58% since 2000.  40%of homeowners affected by Irene are low income. 

A question was asked, "Where will we put affordable housing?"

There was only silence.  The testimonies resumed.

   

I'm Sandy Gaffney. I was of a member of Mobile Home Park Residents for Equality and Fairness. We organized to be heard about what our needs actually were and to get them met. After the flood I came to realize that many of our needs weren't being met for a long long time and that I could work to change things. As a result I am a member of the Vermont Workers Center and here today.

The Vermont Workers Center is calling for a people's Budget intended to ensure that the fundamental human needs of every Vermonter are met. The requirement to meet human needs is a reflection of government's inalienable obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of every Vermonter.

In order to achieve government that puts people first--government that strengthens our communities instead of allowing wealth to be concentrated in the pockets of a tiny minority--we need to begin to treat our economic system as a public good.

The private banking system, particularly as a result of three decades of deregulation and inadequate oversight, is not accountable to our communities. A state bank could become the basis for finance that serves the public good and allows for the kind of accountability that a stable financial system and the public interest require. (see State Bank bill H.542)

For decades, we have seen the productivity of American workers rise, while the incomes of hardworking people has been stagnant and the middle class has shrunk. What we have seen is financial systems replacing economic systems and corporate CEOs being rewarded exorbitantly for behaviors that are destructlive of our communities and of the economy itself. The issue is not whether these salaries are necessary to attract executive "talent". the issue is whether Vermonters want to reward business that create jobs for working people of businesses that overpay their executives. If businesses that overpay their executives are threatened by H.549 then the logical way for them to respond would be to move toward economic justice.

These three bills move Vermont in the direction of putting people first. they address the human rights principles of equity, accountability and transparency. The members of the Vermont Workers Center support these efforts and efforts like them.

Learn more about the People's Budget by going to www.workerscenter.org/peoplesbudget

Yesterday,Green Mountain Care board member,Dr. Karen Hein, presented a draft proposal of a Public Engagement Plan that would meet the requirements of Act 48.
Act 48 states that "the healthcare system must be transparent in design, efficient in operation, and accountable to the people it serves. The state must ensure public participation in the design, implementation, evaluation and accountability mechanisms of the health care system."

The draft plan lays out goals and timelines and identifies many tasks. She made it clear that the board, with only 5 members, would need support in the implementation of the plan. The board issued an RFP for a communication expert who would help them complete and implement the plan.

Immediately,there was strong reaction by those opposed to the healthcare reform effort. They said that the Green Mountain Care Board just wanted a public relations person to be put "spin" their work to the public. The Governor reacted by announcing that the Green Mountain Care Board would not be hiring a communication expert.

The board, on the recommendation of their chair, Anya Radar Wallack, yesterday voted to withdraw their RFP.

However, they expressed strong concern as to how independent they are and will be as they move forward with their work. One member, Dr Ramsey voted not to withdraw the RFP. The board will must now work tocome up with a new plan that will satisfy the mandate of Act 48

Mobile Home Park Residents Win Again: Huge Casella bills wiped clean

DUXBURY, VT - Chalk up another victory for people power in Vermont and the Mobile Home Park Residents for Equality & Fairness (MHPREF). Mobile home residents from Patterson Park in Duxbury who were sent thousands of dollars in bills they could not pay from Casella Waste Management just learned that the giant waste collection company agreed to wipe the bills clean. Members of MHPREF and the Vermont Workers’ Center organized and met with company officials on December 23 about these bills which ranged from $2,000 - $6,000- a heavy burden for flood survivors who had lost almost everything they owned.

“This is another example of what can happen when we stick together. Casella did the right thing, after they saw people were coming together and were willing to make their voices heard,” said Tracey Towne, a leader of Mobile Home Residents for Equality & Fairness and former resident of Patterson Park.

Mobile Home Residents for Equality & Fairness began organizing in early Fall after learning that they were expected to pay upwards of $4,000 each to have their destroyed trailers removed. After a series of media actions and community organizing, elected officials and public agencies finally addressed the need to remove all of the trailers at no charge to the residents. The residents who had accrued these huge Casella bills removed their trailers themselves before this agreement was made.

The stories of the impact of Tropical Storm Irene on mobile home park residents and the grassroots organizing of Mobile Home Park Residents for Equality and Fairness is the subject of a new film called Strength of the Storm. The Central Vermont premier of the film is scheduled for 6pm, Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the Old Labor Hall in Barre. More information on the documentary film is available at www.strengthofthestorm.org.

For more information, please contact Sandra Gaffney at 802-461-7865. Members of Mobile Home Park Residents for Equality and Fairness are available for interview or comment.

Legislative Updates Week of January 16th

The People's Team is back in action. Here are some things coming up this week and ways to get involved.

Healthcare: This week a lot is happening on healthcare reform. On Tuesday at 2:30pm Robin Lunge the Director of Healthcare Reform will give an update to the House Committee on Healthcare and on Wednesday starting at 9am they will begin the walk through of the new 2012 administration’s healthcare reform bill. (Here is link to the bill: http://www.leg.state.vt.us./database/status/summary.cfm?Bill=H.0559&Session=2012 )

On Thursday, there will a joint Senate and House Healthcare committees meeting starting at 9:15am in Room 11 to address Vermont’s healthcare reform strategic plan.

The Senate Finance Committee will be hearing from Commissioner Stephen Kimball. He will present an ACT 48 report “Costs of Vermont Health Care System Comparision of Baseline and Reformed System” (this report was released in November 2011. You can find the report http://www.leg.state.vt.us./jfo/healthcare_act48.aspx

Also this week the Green Mountain Care Board has completed their orientation stage and have prepared a work plan. People’s Team members will be there on Tuesday starting at 12 noon for their next meeting. They are starting to take up major issues around healthcare benefits, healthcare system financing and a participatory transparent process for moving forward. They have developed a work plan which you can view here. http://healthcare.vermont.gov/reports/presentations

People’s Budget: On Tuesday at 1pm in the Cedar Creek Room the VWC will be bringing the message to Put People First to a press conference being held by Rep. Suzi Wizowaty and Sen. Anthony Pollina called “Building a Better Budget”. See details here: http://www.workerscenter.org/calendar/building-better-budget-taking-control-monetary-system

To learn more about People's Budget go to www.workerscenter.org/peoplesbudget

Join the People’s Team! The People’s Team is made up of volunteers from the Put People First and Healthcare Is a Human Right campaigns who can come everyday, once a week or just a day here and there to track legislation and be the eyes and ears of the campaign. If you are interested in helping out, email me at  peg@workerscenter.org to learn more.

News Coverage of Day 1 Kickoff RallyVT Digger: On video + story: Activists demand that lawmakers adopt “People’s Budget” (click link)

Burlington Free Press coverage with front page photo:

"Peg Franzen, president of the Vermont Workers’ Center, stepped up to the microphone before a throng of folks in red shirts to begin a Put People First rally.

The organizers delivered petitions to legislative leaders calling for a new budgeting process. “We are here to be the voice of the people, the 99 percent,” Franzen said. “We are here to demand a budget that puts people first.”

Times Argus/Rutland Herald Day 1 coverage:

At a noontime rally in the Cedar Creek Room, Peg Franzen, with the Vermont Workers’ Center, said regular Vermonters are finally speaking out against government policies that favor the wealthy and powerful over residents in need.

 “Public policy … has served private interests and corporate goals, resulting in a government that has turned its back on the people it is required to serve,” Franzen said to a crowd of more than 100. “Instead of cutting services to match the amount the wealthy are willing to contribute, we must raise the revenue needed to provide services necessary to satisfy the needs of Vermonters.”

See more: http://www.workerscenter.org/video/times-argus-legislative-kickoff-coverage

Northeast Public Radio: features VWC in report

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1890752

Vermont Public Radio: Highlights in report

(Kinzel) One of the key issues of the session is expected to be a fight over how to close a $75 million budget gap.

(Chants)"Put people first. Put people first. Put people first."

(Kinzel) Roughly 150 people held a rally to urge lawmakers to raise taxes on the wealthy rather than impose any additional budget cuts on essential human service programs.  The rally was organized by the Vermont Workers Center. Peg Franzen is the president of the group.

(Franzen) "Instead of cutting public services to match the amount that the wealthy are willing to contribute, our elected officials must raise the revenue it will take to provide the services necessary to satisfy the needs of Vermonters. (Crowd cheers)

Hear full report: http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/92931/lawmakers-return-for-second-half-term/

[This article was originally published in Bennington Banner, VT Digger, Rutland Herald along with other VT media outlets. ]

Start putting people first, right here

In 1967 in his Christmas sermon, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I still have a dream that one day the idle industries of Appalachia will be revitalized, and the empty stomachs of Mississippi will be filled, and brotherhood will be more than a few words at the end of a prayer, but rather the first order of business on every legislative agenda."

In 2011, Put People First! a new statewide grass-roots organizing campaign calling for a People’s Budget, was started by the Vermont Workers Center. Three years earlier the VWC had launched the Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign to change what was politically possible for winning a universal healthcare system based on human rights principles. In this process we learned a lot about how public policy decisions get made not just on healthcare, but more generally.

We saw who was and who wasn’t at the table setting public policy priorities. We can report that the 1 percent and their corporate lobbyists are over-represented in their ongoing efforts to maintain the status quo. If we are going to have a real functioning democracy the rest of us (the 99 percent) have to work in solidarity to demand new ways of setting public priorities and policies.

Since the launch of the People’s Budget Campaign in the spring, the 99 percent movement was born and has taken root all over the country. But before the Occupy Wall Street movement began, flooding had just destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes, farms, and businesses across the state and washed out so many roads and bridges. Vermonters then stood together in solidarity saying, "I Am Vermont Strong."

This movement of thousands of community volunteers, state and municipal workers tirelessly labored to make sure people were safe and had housing and food. The responses showed how people deeply care about one another. We also found that the families that were hardest hit by this flood crisis were those already struggling with the crisis that is poverty. Irene had deepened and exposed an existing crisis.

So let’s ask ourselves -- what can we do about all this in Vermont? These are big-time problems. Poverty in Vermont is linked to the current global economic crisis and our nation’s position as home to the greatest wealth inequality in the history of the world. More and more people are experiencing first hand the impact of extreme weather and historic flooding. These disasters are connected to the climate crisis caused by global warming which threatens the survival of our species.

We desperately need to take action on addressing these crises on a national level, but since the federal government is almost entirely run by the 1 percent and their corporations, we need to take action where we can win. Just like in the struggle for universal healthcare, Vermont can lead the way in putting people first and establishing a People’s Budget.

The state budget is a moral document, indicating what our values and priorities are. The People’s Budget Campaign is about Putting People First. It calls for a transparent, participatory, and accountable budgeting process which prioritizes resources to meet the needs of our communities and is based on human rights principles, including actions to protect our right to a healthy environment and a livable planet.

The 1 percent has done an impressive job getting people to focus their dissatisfaction with the current system on "the government." Occupy Wall Street has helped turn the attention to the real forces who are in the driver’s seat. Instead of saying we need less government so that corporations can run the show, the new movement of the 99 percent is saying "no" to corporate rule and "yes" to real democracy. It is saying that with so much wealth there is no excuse people have to choose between feeding their families or being able to buy the medicine they need, or heating their home.

Dr. King was also famous for saying "the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice." The arc bends toward democracy, because we can’t have that justice without democracy. But these arcs don’t bend on their own and politicians don’t bend them for us. From Tunisia to Egypt to Wisconsin to Vermont to Zuccotti Park, we have seen people’s movements bending them by struggling for real democracy and human rights.

On Tuesday, January 3, 2012 there was a Put People First Legislative Kickoff Rally at the Statehouse in Montpelier, as we demanded democracy and a government focused on its responsibility to its people and the planet instead of just the private interests of a few.

 

James Haslam is the director of the Vermont Workers’ Center.

A report and background information about the People’s Budget can be found at www.workerscenter.org/peoplesbudget.

Over 125 people rallied on December 10, 2011, International Human Rights Day, in Burlington, Vermont, to stand against corporate greed and stand in solidarity with workers all over the world. Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1400 Vice President and Vermont Workers' Center Member Mike O'Day took the "people's mic" to condemn Verizon Communications for its unfair treatment of 45,000 of its workers during the ongoing negotiations with CWA and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). While Verizon executives have been taking home $100 millions every year,the massively-profitable Verizon wants to cut starting pay, force retirees to pay up to $6,000 a year for healthcare they’ve already earned, make it easier to outsource jobs, and cut pensions.

In late December, the Vermont Workers' Center sent the above holiday greeting to "Verigreedy"s Chief Executives and Board Members, with love, from Vermont.

Watch the Human Rights Day Rally:

The CWA and the IBEW:
The CWA is one of the nation's larger private sector union. The attacks on this union by Verizon represent the ongoing assault by corporate America on labor in this country. CWA and IBEW members built the Verizon network and infrastructure, and now Verizon is dismiss the decades of work and fights for decent jobs!
http://www.cwalocal1400.org/
http://ibew2222.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Verizoncontract2011/

How You Can Help:
The Vermont Workers' Center is holding weekly leaflets and rallies in front of the South Burlington Verizon Wireless store. This community strategy, targeting the most profitable retail arm of Verizon Communications, has been very effective, and we need your ideas and energy to escalate the national campaign against Verizon corporate greed.

The National Campaign:
http://www.jwjblog.org/tag/verizon/

Leafleting and rallying happens every Wednesday afternoon (3:30 -5:30 pm in the winter) and Saturday (12:30 pm- 2:30 pm).

More information: Contact Avery Book at avery@workerscenter.org or 802-861-4892

Organize to Defend Our Postal Service & Vermont Jobs

At a time when we desperately need to create decent-paying jobs, the Postal Service plans to slash 100,000 jobs, shut down many rural post offices, and end Saturday mail delivery, most immediately closing over 250 mail processing centers. This includes closing the White River Junction center with the loss of 245 jobs, and threats to close Essex Junction. This would slow first-class mail, ending next-day deliveries, and put the postal service into a death spiral.

A public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 4th at the American Legion in White River Junction. We need to fill the hall with Vermonters that want to save our Postal Service. Years ago we had twice a day mail deliveries (just once on Saturday). The cost of a first-class stamp was three cents–equivalent to 27 cents today.

Today the USPS is a self-supporting government enterprise receiving no tax payer subsidies – yet subject to congressional supervision and sabotage. Congress manufactured a crisis that threatens the Postal Service with bankruptcy, by demanding an unreasonably rapid set-aside of funds to guarantee future pensions.

This is being used to drive USPS customers to private sector profit centers as first-class mail as we have known it will be discontinued. Current overnight deliveries may take 3-4 days. The impact of this service degradation will hurt small businesses and residential customers who can't afford to use FedEx. Sen. Sanders has sponsored a bill that would eliminate unprecedented requirements that make the Postal Service set-aside retiree benefits far in advance.

This legislation would also allow the Postal Service to generate new income in this digital age by expanding into areas that Congress currently prohibits them from doing. This fight is not just about the postal service, but about the austerity program of politicians in service to the 1% determined to massacre public services and strengthen the role of the markets. Resisting that program requires not just a defensive struggle against each new attack, but organizing and mobilizing for public policy of by and for the 99% centered on human rights.

Let's organize to Put People First. All out for the January 4th hearing! Stop the closures! Defend every job! Build a 21st century postal service! Vermont Workers' Center

To help organize contact: Traven.L@gmail.com or Kiera@workerscenter.org

The Vermont Workers’ Center premiered a new film called Strength of the Storm (56 min), directed by Rob Koier, which chronicles a group of mobile home residents who organized together after their homes were destroyed in tropical storm Irene.

In the aftermath of the storm, VWC members joined in disaster relief efforts in the hardest hit areas, Vermont’s mobile home parks that were built in flood plains.

As we worked with the residents to recover and organize together to have a voice with government and relief agencies, we realized that they had powerful stories that needed to be told. Over 300 people watched the stunning premier of their powerful story of solidarity and transformation.

We are now exploring film screening opportunities around Vermont for 2012. Watch the trailer and stay tuned for screening locations at www.strengthofthestorm.org.

If you are interested in scheduling a film screening contact James Haslam at james[at]workerscenter.org

Occupying and Organizing for Healthcare and Human Rights was recorded on 2011-11-30.

*WATCH ON TV : * You can watch this program on Channel 17/ Town Meeting Television, on Comcast Cable and Burlington Telecom at the following times:

1 Wednesday November 30, 5:25 PM
2 Thursday December 1, 7:00 PM
3 Friday December 2, 4:00 PM
4 Sunday December 4, 3:00 PM
5 Friday December 9, 4:00 PM
6 Friday December 16, 4:00 PM
7 Saturday December 17, 6:00 PM
8 Friday December 23, 4:00 PM
9 Friday December 30, 4:00 PM

*WATCH ONLINE : * You may watch the program on-line by clicking here:

http://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/occupying-and-organizing-healthcar...

Last month, 6 Leaders from the Vermont Workers' Center attended the Fair Development Conference in Baltimore hosted by the United Workers (www.unitedworkers.org). The VWC presented on a panel with folks from the Media Mobilizing Project in Phildelphia (mediamobilizing.org), the Poverty Initiative (www.povertyinitiative.org) and the Northeast Pennsylvania Organizing Center (www.nepaorganizingcenter.org). We also presented an entire workshop about our Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign! We learned from sister organizations fighting for Justice from all around the world including the Landless Workers Movement (MST) of Brazil. We also marched for Human Rights in Baltimore's inner harbor.

Below are some reflections from Sandy Gaffney and Sharon Rae Quinn who attended the Conference:

Last week I attended the Fair Development Conference in Baltimore, MD with other folks from the Workers Center. I brought home with me a world wide connection with the struggles that are going on in my life and struggles of disaster survivors here and everywhere. Added to that is the awareness of people suffering under the yoke of greed and lies made to keep one grateful for the little we do end up having through our own hard work. I am united with workers standing up for dignity in work, healthcare as a human right, safe, affordable housing, livable wages, and to be at the table when decisions are made concerning the welfare of all. My eyes are open, my ears are tuned in, my hands are ready for work, and my mouth is no longer silent. The conference has equiped me with the knowledge that I am not alone and powerless. The strength we have is in working together for the good of us all. Each individual, family, community, state, country, everywhere. I am grateful for being able to be there to hear the speakers, attend the workshops, meet others working toward the same goals, and stepping outside my comfort zone. Thanks Sarah, Heather, Megan, William and Sharon. It was a blast! - Sandy Gaffney

Another full day of workshops at the Fair Development Conference in Baltimore. It's a tremendous grassroots movement of folks from many organizations discussing and seeking human rights in all aspects of our society. I've heard such inspiring stories, and witnessed empowerment through unity of like-minded people. It's time to receive what we deserve regarding affordable housing, living wages, health care, education, etc. Injustice and discrimination exists throughout the world. The speakers from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala have similar struggles as those from Maryland, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Texas, etc. They are organized and transformation is taking place. We have many voices and demand to be heard and treated with dignity and respect. - Sharon Rae Quinn

Giving Thanks to all who Struggle for a Better World:
As we sit down with our friends and families to share a meal together, we should honor indigenous Native communities and who continue to fight for their land and sovereignty against colonialism and corporate greed (Check out IEN's struggle against the Keystone XL Pipeline at http://www.ienearth.org/).

This year I am so thankful to have so many amazing people in my life to share, laugh, struggle and support each other in these crazy, exciting and pivotal times. Cheers to strong families, caring communities and a healthy planet.

We got a lot of our plate!

Healthcare Listening Sessions on Healthcare: Let's work to make government officials accountable to the people of Vermont throughout this campaign, and that effort has already started. There are a number of upcoming hearings at which anyone who wants to see Vermont treat healthcare as a public good should most definitely attend. See the list here: http://www.workerscenter.org/node/1938.

December 10: Human Rights Day for the 99% www.workerscenter.org/december10

Membership Assembly, 10am - 1pm, University of Vermont: The Vermont Workers’ Center and Students Stand Up invite you to participate in a membership meeting to discuss the Put People First campaign.

Human Rights Conference, 1pm - 5:30pm, University of Vermont: Join hundreds of students and working Vermonters for a conference that unites us across movements. Discuss how, with the Occupy Wall Street and the 99% movements we can unite all of our struggles. Together we can fight for the right to healthcare, education, housing, food, workers' rights, women's rights, fighting racism and other systems of oppression and the right to a healthy environment and a livable planet. A dozen workshops and panel discussions with local and national leaders are available. Let us know if you would like to help sponsor the event and table (suggested donation to help cover costs, food etc is $50-500). Email Ashley at atwolf@uvm.edu. See details and register here.

Celebration Dinner w/Bernie Sanders and Screening of new film Strength of the Storm: 6-9pm, UVM. Join us to honor the leaders of the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign and the Irene flood survivors from Mobile Home Residents for Fairness & Equality and to launch new organizing efforts for the People's Budget and Vermont Parents United campaigns. Watch the premier of the Vermont Workers’ Center's first film, Strength of the Storm (60min), and discuss how Vermont can lead the way with Sen. Bernie Sanders. We hope you can join us for this special event!

Participating in Put People First: People's Budget Campaign:

Signing People's Budget Petition: Join thousands of Vermonters who have signed this petition to move towards a People's Budget. www.workerscenter.org/peoplesbudget

Organizational Endorsement: Join the dozens of Vermont organizations who have officially endorsed the People's Budget petition here: http://www.workerscenter.org/organization

Participate in Surveying & Canvassing: The Vermont Workers’ Center has local organizing committees around the state who have been doing door-to-door canvassing and outreach at public events with a Put People First survey and by collecting stories from Vermonters as part of our Stories Project (see: http://www.workerscenter.org/media/storiesproject). People can sign up to help at www.workerscenter.org/volunteer .

Put People First Community Meetings: Spread the word about local Community Meetings which are being held to bring together people from our communities to discuss the challenges we are facing and how we can come together to organize for policies that put people and the planet first. We’ll share stories of how the crisis is affecting our communities. www.workerscenter.org/communitymeetings2011).

Newport: December 1st, Emory Hebard State Office Building, Suite 250, 6pm
Bennington: December 7th St Peter's Episcopal Church 6pm
St. Johnsbury: January 26th Catamount Arts Center, 6pm
Rutland: January 25th, 6pm, Rutland Library, Fox Room

Strength of the Storm: Sponsoring film screenings:

When Tropical Storm Irene hit our state the whole idea of putting people first took on a new meaning. As we participated in recovery efforts, we realized there were many critical stories that had to be told; we had to make a film about it, to try to capture even just a piece of what we were seeing. Please take a couple of minutes to watch the trailer for the film by going to the film's website at www.strengthofthestorm.org and tell us what you think. We can really use your help getting it out as far and wide as possible and look forward to having hundreds of film screenings all over the state.

ContributeMake a financial contribution to the film or support food, childcare or language access for Community Meetings.
(send checks to VT Workers' Center, 294 N. Winooski Ave, Burlington, VT 05401 or go to www.workerscenter.org/donate )

THANKS SO MUCH!!

Green Mountain Care Board is heeding our demand for a transparent and participatory process to building our healthcare system. Now its our job to participate.   It’s crucial that we have a good turnout for this meeting! We know the opposition to quality healthcare for all is organizing and is mobilizing, but we know they’re not the majority.  We need to make sure our message of equity is heard loud and clear, and that the opposition doesn’t successfully promote a financing plan that hurts small businesses and is built on the backs of poor and working class people.

What: The Agency of Administration is hosting four listening sessions across Vermont to help inform the design of future health care reform financing plans. These sessions will include presentations on the challenges facing Vermont’s health care system, how health care is financed currently in Vermont, and an overview of Vermont’s revenue system. Participants will use these informational presentations and their own experiences to offer input on the potential impact of various financing sources on Vermont businesses and on the state’s economy and economic climate.
Who will Attend: Staff from the Agency of Administration, including the Secretary of Administration, Tax Commissioner, and Director of Health Care Reform along with the Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
Who Should Attend: The Legislature identified health care professionals, employers, and members of the public as the broad stakeholder groups for health care reform. All are welcome, as the sessions are designed for both professionals in the field and the general public.
When: Four listening sessions are being held across the State.

Details for each event are listed below. Please check back for updates.
• November 29: Marlboro College Tech Center, 28 Vernon Street, Brattleboro, 7:00 p.m.–9:00p.m
• December 13: Fox Room at the Rutland Free Library, Rutland, 10 Court Street, 6:00 p.m.–8:00p.m
• December 14: Diamond Ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, 870 Williston Road, Burlington, 6:00 pm – 8:00pm
• January 12: Catamount Arts, 115 Eastern Avenue, St. Johnsbury, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Parking will be available at each site or on the street adjacent to the site. All sites will be ADA accessible.

Contact: Please contact Michael Costa, Special Counsel, Vermont Department of Taxes at (802) 828-0141 or Michael.Costa@state.vt.us.