VWC on Radio Africa

A couple of weeks ago, VWC leader Jonathan Kissam sat down with the Radio Africa crew to discuss worker rights, protections, and advocacy campaigns. With limited English and lack of legal awareness, Vermont's African-born community members are some of the most vulnerable to workplace mistreatment.

Listen to the interview (mp3 format) at:

http://www.africansinvermont.org/radioafrica/?p=42

10th Anniversary Dinner Celebrates Victories, Announces New Campaign: Healthcare Is a Human Right!

VWC members and allies sing Solidarity Forever at the 10th Anniverary Dinner.

At the Vermont Workers' Center 10th Anniversary Dinner last night, 150+ people celebrated ten years of struggle, recognized workers' victories from the past year, and kicked off the VWC's new Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign.

Barre Education Association president John Pandolfo spoke about Act 82, an unnecessary, dangerous and confusing law on local school funding passed by the legislature in 2007, which would require two votes to pass many school budgets. The Vermont NEA has been campaigning for the law's repeal, and the state house of representatives voted to repeal it in 2007; the repeal legislation is now sitting in the Senate.

VWC President Dawn Stanger presented 2008 Solidarity Awards to several groups of workers and community members who stood up for justice over the past year:

• Fletcher Allen Nurse Midwives, members of UPV/AFT Local 5221 who successfully organized with parents and the community to keep the FA midwifery program.
• Burlington School Support staff who are members of the Burlington Education Association and AFSCME Local 1343 who after a three year struggle have had a big livable wage victory.
• Child Labor Education & Action - Vermont high school leaders of CLEA led a successful fight to win legislation for anti-sweatshop procurement policies for the State of Vermont. Their sweat-free legislation passed and they expect the governor to sign the bill tomorrow.
• Rescue Inc., workers who organized with IAEP Local 48, part of SEIU - who did the hardest, most courageous and smartest things workers can do, withstood an anti-union campaign and successfully formed their union.
• And finally, the workers contracted with Stanley Assoc., Northrup Grummon and Choctaw at the Vermont Service Center in St. Albans, who withstood an intense anti-union campaign and won. Now more than 200 workers in Vermont and hundreds more in CA are UE members.

We also recognized two special groups of people, the "Unsung Heroes" and 2008 Solidarity School Graduates:

Unsung Heroes: These our the folks who run the Hotline, put stamps on postcards, make the turnout calls, make the flyers, do the “grunt” work of movement building, the everyday, mundane tasks:

Joyce Werntgen, Andy Crawford, Tina Scanlon, Julie Winn, Nick Parrish, Jennifer Shewmake, Angela DiGuilio, John MacLean, Emma Gordon, Kate Kanelstein, Michelle Lewis, Renna Temple and finally Amanda Blatchely, who designed the beautiful Solidarity Report and Healthcare Is a Human Right logo, posters and bumperstickers.

2008 Solidarity School Graduates: These are the people who participated in our second annual Solidarity School, the Workers' Center's comprehensive leadership training. These skill-building trainings cover organizing one-on-one, talking to your co-workers, building strategic contract and community campaigns, and the People's history of labor and social change.

2007 participants who came back to help lead in 2008: Marilyn Eldred, Jen Larsen and Rebecca Smith

2008 graduates: Nick Parrish, Chris Guros, Lynn Parrish, Michelle Lewis, Jennifer Shewmake, Angela DiGuilio, Emma Gordon, Kate Kanelstein, David Hamilton, Margaret Russell, Tim Billadeau, Linda Scrivens, Dottye Ricks, Amy Lester, Susan Hunter, Jeannette Weilland and Renna Temple

The youngest Solidarity School graduate, SLAP activist Renna Temple, addressed the audience and gave an inspiring speech about the real meaning of solidarity.

Finally, Erika Simard, a former Specialty Filaments worker, closed the program by telling of her harrowing experience with the healthcare system. After being laid off and losing her health insurance when Specialty Filaments closed, she realized that the drugs she needed to deal with her heart condition and keep her alive would cost more per month than her unemployment and training benefits. She concluded by introducing the VWC's newest campaign, Healthcare Is a Human Right:

Under this title, Healthcare Is A Human Right, we will build a statewide action network capable of winning and building a real democracy, where we are organized enough and strong enough to make all policymakers do what is right. Here’s the real exciting part of this announcement, one year and a couple days from now, on May 1st 2009, there is going to be an enormous rally at the State House, with thousands of Vermonters demanding healthcare as a basic human right. That day is a Friday, and the rally is going to be in the middle of the day. We are going to ask everyone who is sick of the current healthcare crisis and insecurity that we all face, to call in sick that day, take a sick day, a community health day, and join us at the State House. Some business owners who agree with us will decide to shut their doors that day and join their employees in Montpelier. Busses and car pooling caravans will come from every part of the state, to declare Healthcare Is A Human Right. Many politicians say that they agree with this, that it is good in theory, but its not politically possible. With this historic rally and the new network of working families that pull it off, we will change what is politically possible. We will make the healthcare crisis, a crisis for politicians, by mobilizing thousands of Vermonters to join us. Throughout our History, Vermonters have been known for being front runners, so lets show them what we can do!

Erika Simard's complete remarks >>

More photos from the dinner >>

WCAX Coverage of the Rally Against Act 82 >>

Speech Announcing the Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign

Speech by Erika Simard at the Vermont Workers' Center dinner
April 27, 2008
Old Labor Hall, Barre, VT

Hello, thanks for joining us here tonight. Even though I feel I’ve told my story a thousand times, I will continue to tell it until I make a difference. I started at Specialty Filaments in 1983 at the age of 18. As a union member, I had good pay and excellent benefits. Even though to an 18 year old, the only benefit that was worthy was my vacation time, the rest made up the benefit package. I made a lot of friends and I became pretty vocal on policies and procedures, but it wasn’t until the mid 90’s that I decided I wanted to become an active member and I joined the executive board. Over the years we became a really strong, active union, I worked my way up and I floated between Vice President and President a few times. In 2001, after fighting and winning a good contract, and feeling like I was on top of the world, I had a heart attack, I was 36 years old. At that point I was thankful for my health insurance; it’s funny how our views change as we age.

In May 2005, Specialty Filaments announced they would be closing the doors in their Burlington plant in a few months. Thank god we had negotiated in a few contracts prior, that if there was ever a closing they would negotiate severance pay with us. So our business agent from Massachusetts came up and our executive board met with the company to negotiate our severance pay. They offered us only two weeks pay and said that was all they could do, their would be no negotiations. We refused, we had dedicated workers that gave over 30 years of service, there was no way we were going to accept two weeks pay for them or anyone else.

We contacted the Workers Center, whom we had established a little contact with over the years and asked for help. We knew what we wanted, but we weren’t sure how to go about getting it. With guidance from James and support from everyone else at the Workers' Center, we fought back. It was an incredible fight that even took us to Boston to rally the companies corporate headquarters. We contacted our customers to let them know what was going on and we held numerous press conferences and even got Bernie's office involved. We spoke on the radio and television and stood in solidarity in numerous rallies outside the plant letting the community know how we were being treated. We made a lot of noise, but we didn’t make a lot of negotiation progress until we decided to put a work injury flier together. We wanted to bring attention to the fact that our workers had suffered numerous permanent injuries, all for the sake of profit ... and that was our bargaining tool.

Again the company refused to budge when we tried to negotiate; so on our way out the door, we put the flier in front of their face and told them it would be going out at 6 pm tonight in all of their neighborhoods unless they agreed to negotiate a fair severance. It worked, an hour later they were calling us to make sure it didn’t go out and agreed to negotiate. I was kinda sad we didn’t get a chance to use it; it was a beautiful piece of work thanks to the folks at Seven Days that helped us design it. But at the same time it was very graphic and showed some terrible statistics and injuries which is sad but common in factory work. As a result of the flier, we finally won a decent settlement. It wasn’t the best but it was better than a paltry two weeks. I finished my last day of work on September 24 2005, and then it hit me, I had no health insurance and I needed it to live. I inquired about state help and they told me that if I was offered COBRA I had to exhaust those benefits before the state could help me. I take a ton of different medicines, so I called to see how much it would cost to purchase them, I found out my 10 or so different meds would cost 1,800 dollars a month! I was in tears, I literally could not afford to live. I had no choice but to pay the 400 dollars a month for Cobra out of my 1200 I received from unemployment. I had to move back home with my mother just to be able to pay for health insurance because I couldn’t live on 800 dollars a month. After my unemployment ran out and I was unable to find a decent paying job with health insurance, I decided to take advantage of the TRA which is the trade readjustment allowance. It’s a federal grant that has paid for my college, because I lost my job due to our countries trade policies, and at the same time it continues to pay me the wages I had been receiving through unemployment. Even though my weekly pay is distributed through our states unemployment office, it’s actually allocated from the federal fund.

As time went by, I stayed involved with the Workers' Center when ever I could even though I had a busy college schedule. I kept in touch with James about my cobra struggles and how unfair it was for anyone to have to pay those kinds of rates. Eventually the Middlebury plant shut down and the company went bankrupt, when that happened my COBRA was cancelled, two months earlier than it should have been and I was not prepared.

I was beside myself; I didn’t know what to do. I applied for VHAP and I was denied. The allotted figure for help is $1,169 dollars a month, I made 40 dollars too much! I can remember my case worker telling me that, and I was in disbelief, I said but you don’t understand, I have heart disease! She said “Well I’m sorry, but If we gave insurance out for every little sniffle, the state would be in a huge deficit” I said, every little sniffle? I have heart disease, I need insurance. She said, “I’m sorry, we can’t help you” and hung up the phone. At that point I just went numb, I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. I kept running the figures over and over again in my head, 1,800 for medication, 1,200 for income and all I could do was cry and think “I'm gonna die”. So I called James in tears asking if he had any ideas as to what I could do.

He made some phone calls and got me in touch with Bernie's office. Phil Fiermonte tried to get me into the health center in Richford so I could get medicine and another woman from Bernie's office did some digging into my TRA grant. It was so nice to have support from caring people, James even offered to coordinate a sit-in at the VHAP office and to not leave until they gave me health insurance. My light at the end of the tunnel came when it was uncovered that my TRA money came from federal sources and therefore could not be counted as a state income. It was a loop hole in our system that no one at the agency knew of, but the woman in Bernie's office uncovered it. So I was given VHAP and it has still been an ongoing struggle. Each time I get a new caseworker at DCF, my VAHP gets canceled, so I have to call and explain the circumstances over and over again. In the end, I feel I am very lucky, but not everyone has the same results. No one should have to go through what I went through. Losing a job should not mean you lose your health or your home, and that was the choice left before me.

The reason I am here with you tonight is to announce our new Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign! Under this title, Healthcare Is A Human Right, we will build a statewide action network capable of winning and building a real democracy, where we are organized enough and strong enough to make all policymakers do what is right. Here’s the real exciting part of this announcement, one year and a couple days from now, on May 1st 2009, there is going to be an enormous rally at the State House, with thousands of Vermonters demanding healthcare as a basic human right. That day is a Friday, and the rally is going to be in the middle of the day. We are going to ask everyone who is sick of the current healthcare crisis and insecurity that we all face, to call in sick that day, take a sick day, a community health day, and join us at the State House. Some business owners who agree with us will decide to shut their doors that day and join their employees in Montpelier. Busses and car pooling caravans will come from every part of the state, to declare Healthcare Is A Human Right. Many politicians say that they agree with this, that it is good in theory, but its not politically possible. With this historic rally and the new network of working families that pull it off, we will change what is politically possible. We will make the healthcare crisis, a crisis for politicians, by mobilizing thousands of Vermonters to join us. Throughout our History, Vermonters have been known for being front runners, so lets show them what we can do!

The Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign

The Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign, a project of the Vermont Workers’ Center (VWC), aims to change what is “politically possible” in the healthcare debate through grassroots organizing and a strategic reframing of healthcare as a basic human right and the healthcare crisis as a human rights emergency. While our long-term goal is a universal, single-payer healthcare system, our focus in the immediate period is not on policy, but on educating, organizing and mobilizing the broad working class around the demand that healthcare is a human right.

Healthcare Human Rights Survey – the VWC has developed a survey which we will e using as an outreach, education and organizing tool. The survey will be used to collect data and stories about the impact of the healthcare crisis on Vermont’s working class, but more importantly, as a tool to have organizing conversations, educate those being surveyed about the human rights framework, and identify potential activists and leaders. We anticipate using this survey in a variety of settings, including workplaces, community organizations, and door-to-door canvassing.

Human Rights Hearings – as the campaign develops, we anticipate holding public Human Rights Hearings on Healthcare, to provide a place where working-class Vermonters can testify about the effects of the healthcare crisis and to publicly frame those effects as a denial of human rights.

Human Rights Report – this fall, building on the data collected on the surveys and testimony heard at the hearings, the VWC will work with other allied organizations to produce a report. The purpose of this report is to put into a readable, yet serious, written report:

1. a human-right-based analysis of the healthcare crisis in Vermont
2. a re-affirmation of the economic feasibility of a universal healthcare system
3. "voices of the healthcare crisis" – to capture stories from the human rights surveys and hearings

Human Rights Conference – Marking the 60th Anniversary of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on Saturday, December 13th, the Workers’ Center will work with others to hold an Ella Baker Human Rights Conference at the University of Vermont (UVM). The goal of this conference will be to popularize and deepen understanding of and commitment to human rights framework and movement-building strategies among the campaign’s base and allied organizations.

Sick Day at the Legislature – on Friday, May 1st, 2009, the VWC will call on Vermonters to call in sick to work and come to the legislature to make the healthcare human rights crisis a crisis for our legislators.

[ Download a PDF flyer of this campaign description ]

VWC leaders attend US Human Rights Conference

Four VWC leaders and staff attended the US Human Rights Network's 2008 National Conference in Chicago this past weekend. They learned from and networked with others around the country who are applying international human rights standards to the domestic context in the US, and will be bringing back that knowledge to help lead upcoming VWC campaigns around Housing is a Human Right, Healthcare is a Human Right, and organizing low-wage workers. Below is an account by one of the delegates:

by Erika Simard, VWC leader

I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to all, to have the opportunity and honor of attending the US Human Rights Conference in Chicago. I wanted to go because Health Care for everyone is a strong passion of mine. I have had my own issues dealing with our current system and I know first hand it doesn't work well. I don't feel anyone should have to make decisions about their health based on their ability to pay.

For me the experience was overwhelming. It was wonderful to feel so much love for mankind in a room made up of many different races and cultures. To be able to connect with others that have the same views and goals was very inspirational. The energy that flowed among all the participants was just incredible. To be able to be a part of the activities has given me a renewed sense that change is in our future and I will be part of it.

I really enjoyed the workshops and the Plenaries and just the connecting and meeting of others with the same vision. I found the workshops to be very valuable and they taught me a lot while providing me with the tools I need to help make a difference.

I went to this conference knowing in my heart that Health Care is a human right, but even though I knew it in my heart I had to connect it in my head as to why. I know now after attending the History of Human Rights workshop, why it is a human right.

The VWC does incredible work and I feel that by using the Human Rights framework it will help in any fight because it brings it home that these are international rights everyone should have. For instance, it's not just a fight for health care because we can't afford it anymore and the insurance companies are making a fortune off peoples suffering, It's a fight because it is a human right listed under Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I will be able to explain to others now that it is there. I also attended a workshop that helped to give a direction of our campaign by attaching the human rights framework to values that everyone can identify with. I believe this will help as we move forward in our campaign for health care is a human right.

JOB POSTING: Workers' Center Organizer

The Vermont Workers Center - Jobs with Justice has an opening for a full-time organizer to coordinate our new "Healthcare Is A Human Right" grassroots organizing project. This position will be focused on building a statewide action network of Vermonters in working class communities and organized labor to fundamentally change the politics of healthcare reform. Applicants should have experience in union and/or grassroots community organizing, strong written and oral communication skills, computer skills, drivers' license/vehicle and strong work ethic. Excellent benefits and the salary is at least $32K and will be more based on experience. For a more detailed job description, questions or to apply send your resume and a letter explaining why you would be a great fit for this job to info [at] workerscenter.org

Workers' Center Internship Opportunities

2008 SUMMER & FALL INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
The Vermont Workers' Center has openings for 2008 internship opportunities based in Burlington. We are offering great opportunities for anyone interested in workers' rights, economic justice, community organizing and connecting local struggles to global justice movements. These are unpaid positions, but tremendous opportunities for experience in a wide range of areas.
Focus areas include:
- Community & workplace issue-based organizing "Healthcare Is A Human Right"
- Community and workplace organizing, including outreach on tenants' rights
- Mobilizing solidarity & community support for workers' rights and economic justice
- Workers' rights and legal advocacy on workers' rights hotline and our drop-in community center
- Helping coordinate major Human Rights Conference in Burlington, event planning, mobilizing, and skill-building workshops (organizing, strategic planning) and political education (anti-racism/oppression, popular economics, people's history, etc)
- Video production and graphic design (ask us to see our previous design intern's portfolio)
- Non-profit administration, fundraising, grantwriting and/or database management

Please send letters of interest to james [at] workerscenter.org

10 Year Celebration Dinner !!!

5pm, Sunday, April 27
Old Labor Hall, 46 Granite St
Barre, Vermont [ Map ]

Join the us to celebrate a decade of fighting for workers' rights.
Solidarity Awards for victories and struggles
Free public event: enjoy great food (SugarSnap & American Flatbread)
Bring the family, your co-workers and friends

(Don't miss this event, there is going to be a very exciting and important announcement)