Burlington - Five hundred people participated in the day-long Ella Baker Human Rights Conference held on Dec 13, 2009. The conference was organized by the Vermont Workers' Center and sponsored by forty-three other organizations.
Excerpts of Closing Remarks - James Haslam, Vermont Workers' Center
First off, I just have to say thank you to all the people who worked with us to make this event happen. We are very excited about the incredible broad-range of groups who came together for this event, many of these groups and individuals we have worked with for years, and many new groups and new faces, who we are just now getting to know and build relationships with.
..when I first started getting outraged by the injustice and suffering that pervades our society, I got really mad and fired up about it, but it took some time before I made the next big step, and I understood that it was not enough to recognize injustice, get mad and complain about it, that it was necessary to make change, become an agent of change. The myth is that the problems are so big that we can't do anything about them. What I have experienced is totally the opposite, that when people get together, there's an enormous impact we can make. We have seen people who have organized for workplace rights and won, very soon start wanting to organize for bigger things, for healthcare as a human right, to end domestic abuse, to end racism. As we learn that together we can take collective action to fight injustice and win improvements in our lives, tremendous amounts of possibilities unfold. At the Workers' Center we have been doing a tremendous amount of organizing with very few resources, and I believe we are only now scratching the surface for what is possible.
The other thing that I have come to learn is that it does start here with our own struggle for justice, our own family, our own neighborhood, our own community, but that we are all connected. Vermont is small, and this planet is actually not that big, the chain of activity that sustains and reproduces is a chain of interdependence. We have realized that we cannot only struggle for livable wages and organizing for rights on the job. The same interests that exploit workers, exploit the planet, make healthcare and anything they possibly can into a commodity to profit from.
So we started asking who benefits from the fact that healthcare is not a human right? Who benefits when workers are divided by race and immigration status? Who benefits from racism and other forms of oppression? It was only a few years ago that after Vermont passed civil unions, and afterwards the right-wing was able to use homophobia to get thousands of working class Vermonters to vote against their own economic interests. Increasingly, those same people will be pitting white Vermonters against undocumented Latino and Latina workers for jobs. We can't let them divide us. Right now public services and public sector jobs are in jeopardy because of budget shortfalls, and people like Governor Douglas will blame unions and public sector workers have it too good and are the problem. Meanwhile we continue to spend $700 million dollars a day on a totally bullshit war in Iraq. That is why we are committed to building a movement for fundamental change, one that is based on human rights, on human needs and ultimately that is based on solidarity.
At the Workers' Center we use that word a lot, solidarity. We have felt that solidarity is at the core of the labor movement, and I think ultimately to build a broad-based movement, solidarity is what it is all about. Solidarity and unity. We have inherited a world which is based on greed and the endless search for profit, and which is based on competition, selfishness and individualism. And right now, we are witnessing that this path is literally threatening the capacity to continue human life on the planet and we are possibly studying our own extinction. The parents we work with at Barnes Elementary School in the Burlington Livable City Coalition recently put up a quote on a mural outside the school that says "Sustainability is another word for Justice". I am motivated in working with you all to build this movement for fundamental change in our community because I believe that is critical for our kids' future. I was also thinking about that word community, we use that a lot too. I thought of what Gandhi once said when he was asked one time about what he thought about Western Civilization, and he said he thought it was a good idea. I think much of that is true about the word "community". Because how can we have a community when people are subjected to live in poverty? How can it be a community when people are divided by racism and homophobia? How can we call it a community when people do not feel safe, when people regularly suffer from domestic abuse and sexual violence? How can we have a community where kids from low-income families are growing up in rental housing that infested with toxic lead paint that creates permanent brain damage? How can we call it a community when healthcare is not a basic right to everyone, but a privilege to some?
That is why it is so important that we have come together for this conference, that we have learned about the broad range of struggles that we face and the justice we need to fight for in order to make our communities live up to that name.
I want to take a few minutes to let everyone know about some Workers' Center campaigns that I hope you can join us in. We've spent a lot of time thinking about how to do our work in a strategic way that facilitates convergence between our struggles and other struggles.
Of course, we must build a movement to guarantee the right of workers to organize, calling for passing the Employee Free Choice Act, and [supporting] the Fletcher Allen Techs [as they organize a union], their struggle like the nurses before them is one which is not only a workers' rights struggle, but their victory will mean safer patient care and a better hospital for the community..
One thing that we ask all of you to do, is join us in the Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign. This campaign is not just about winning a single-payer universal healthcare system, though we believe that that is necessary. This campaign is about a vision of healthcare based not on profits, but on solidarity and community. A vision that encompasses not only the right to see a doctor when you need to, but the right to a comprehensive public health system that ensures that our homes are free of toxins, that we have access to mental health and recovery services when we need them, that victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence are given the support and safety that they need. This campaign is also about building enough power to make the changes that are necessary to realize that vision. The only way to build that power, and to change what is politically possible, is to have an enormous amount of people involved. We are planning on building a statewide network capable of winning and making HC a HR. In building this network, we have called for a major statewide rally on May 1st at 12 noon on the State House steps in Montpelier. We are asking each on of you to sign up today to come to that rally and help bring people with you. We will organize vans, busses, car pools, everything we can to bring as many people there as possible. Together we will have so many people at the State House people will no longer say that change is not politically possible, and we will have built a network of us connected throughout the state that will keep organizing until we have that system in place and we will keep organizing to make sure it works and stays working. We need to build a mass movement for healthcare as a human right, and all human rights for all people.
One of our major projects is to do that in here in Burlington is the Burlington Livable City Coalition, which works to make this community truly livable for all of its residents. For us it started with struggling for livable wages and workers' rights, with the concept that it made sense for for family supporting jobs and quality public services. We are working with the unions to act in solidarity, to support each others' struggles, to have nurses, teachers,UVM Service & Maintenance workers and UVM faculty, Howard Center, City Market workers all who are in difficult contract negotiations this year, to stand together. We are also working with a group of parents, tenants and educators to win real change on how the City addresses the lead paint that is still poisoning children, especially children of working-class parents in the Old North End. Ultimately, this campaign is about building power for the people who don't traditionally hold power in this city -- workers, tenants, people marginalized by race and class -- to win justice in every aspect of our lives; in the motto of the environmental justice movement, "justice where we live, justice where we play, justice where we work."
In our campaigns we talk a lot about building power. The process of how we build that power becomes an end in itself. This is the organizing tradition of Ella Baker, of leadership development, consciousness-raising, and intersectionality of issues and oppressions. The slow, patient, undramatic work of relationship building. Dealing with all the misdirected anger that exists between different parts of the community. This is why we have put a major effort over the past several years into popular education. In January and February we will be holding our third annual Solidarity School, a three-day intensive workshop for emerging labor and community leaders, which covers organizing, tactics and strategy, people's history and movement-building. This past year the Workers' Center also did a series of one-day workshops on Anti-racism & Building A Social Justice Movement. We had one hundred and seventy people participate and it was so successful that we are going to do it again in 2009, most likely in the fall.
A lot of temporary coalitions are put together for limited goals, such as a good contract or a change in public policy. We believe that we all need to be thinking about our coalition and alliance-building terms of how do we use this struggle as part of an overall strategy to build power? How do we begin to re-conceptualize our own work in a way that incorporates the goals of others, making us all stronger? How do we build a movement where we don't just support each other, but we work together strategically towards a shared vision of justice and human rights, one that is based on solidarity and community? We hope this conference has been a useful contribution to that process. So again, please sign the EFCA cards, make plans to join us on May 1st, and, most importantly, we hope everyone continues the dialogues between organizations and movements that we've had today.
Human Rights Conference Draws 500 Participants
Healthcare Campaign to Release Human Rights Day Report
* * * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE * * *
December 9, 2008
Contact: James Haslam, VT Workers' Center, 802-272-0882, james@workerscenter.org
More info: www.workerscenter.org/healthcare
PRESS CONFERENCE
After Surveying 1,200 Vermonters the Workers' Center Releases A Human Rights Day Report
When: 2:30pm, Wednesday, December 10 (International Human Rights Day)
Where: Vermont Workers' Center, 294 North Winooski Avenue, Burlington, VT
What: On Human Rights Day, the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights issued by the United Nations in 1948, the Vermont Workers' Center (VWC) will officially issue a comprehensive report entitled: Voices of the Vermont Healthcare Crisis: The Human Right to Healthcare. This report was compiled partly on surveys conducted with over 1,200 Vermonters and human rights hearings held this Fall across the state. The Workers' Center is also organizing a major related event at the University of Vermont's Davis Center; Ella Baker Human Rights Conference where over five hundred participants are expected.
PLEASE NOTE: Media interviews may be able to be scheduled with VWC representatives at other times that day.
Who: The Vermont Workers' Center launched the Healthcare Is A Human Rights campaign in the Spring of 2008.
More info:
www.workerscenter.org - General information on the Vermont Workers' Center
http://www.workerscenter.org/docs/Voices_of_the_Vermont_Healthcare_Crisis.pdf - Healthcare Human Rights Report (1.82 MB PDF file)
www.workerscenter.org/hrconference - On Ella Baker Human Rights Conference and list of guest speakers and workshops
Workshop at December 13 Human Rights Conference
At the Dec 13 Ella Baker Human Rights Conference at the Unviersity of Vermont we will be having a workshop entitled:
The Human Right to Health & Healthcare
Presenters/Facilitators:
Dr. Deb Richter, Vermont Health Care For All
Anja Rudinger, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative
Donna Roberts Moody, Winter Center for Indigenous Traditions
Jennifer Henry, RN, President of the Nurses Union at Fletcher Allen Health Care
James Haslam, Vermont Workers' Center
Ashley George, Vermont Global Health Coalition
This interactive workshop will explore what the right to health would mean in our community using examples here and across the globe.
To register for this workshop and the whole exciting Ella Baker Human Rights Conference go to:
www.workerscenter.org/hrconference
REGISTER TODAY: Ella Baker Human Rights Conference
On Saturday, December 13, the Vermont Workers' Center, together with a wide variety of community organizations, is sponsoring the ELLA BAKER HUMAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE. The event will take place from 9am-3pm at the Davis Center at UVM. [ Register now ]
This is a major gathering of workers, students, youth, educators and health professionals to build a broad- based movement for human rights in our communities. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights issued by the United Nations, however many of the most basic rights remain unmet in the wealthiest country in the world. Skill-building workshops and activities will explore using a human rights framework to organize together in order to create fundamental change. Issues include: workers' rights, the economic crisis, the right to healthcare, anti-racism & indigenous issues, gender rights, rights of the child, war and militarism, environmental justice and building healthy communities.
The conference takes place on December 13th, the 105th anniversary of the birth of Human Rights activist Ella Baker. Ella Baker was one of the most important leaders in the Civil Rights Movement working as an organizer in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and later in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). With Ella Baker's influence, SNCC became the leading advocate for human rights in the country.
Sixty years after the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, still inspired by Ella Baker's commitment to justice, we are coming together at this conference to build a movement for fundamental change.
This event is accessible for individuals with disabilities. We will make accommodations for people with disabilities (including ASL Interpreters) upon request. Please make your request by Dec 5th by emailing conference@workerscenter.org.
Guest Speakers
US Senator Bernie Sanders
Ai-jen Poo, Domestic Workers United
Ashaki Binta, Black Workers For Justice and former director of the International Worker Justice Campaign
This event is free and lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is encouraged. To register, or learn more about the conference, please visit workerscenter.org/hrconference.
Making Real Change: It's Up To Us
- Celebrate the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and be part of the struggle to make human rights a reality for all, at the Ella Baker Human Rights Conference on Saturday, December 13. You can register online (it is a free event, but pre-registration is encouraged). The Conference will feature workshops on healthcare, fighting racism, the economic crisis, the war, gender oppression, LGBTQ rights, immigration, movement-building and numerous other topics.
- Declare 'Healthcare is a Human Right' by getting involved in our statewide Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign. To get involved, email healthcare [at] workerscenter [dot] org or sign up online.
- In Burlington, the Workers' Center is coordinating a Healthy Homes Campaign, organizing tenants to demand safe, healthy and affordable housing. Watch a video about this project. To get involved, email healthyhomes [at] workerscenter [dot] org.
- Volunteer with the Workers' Rights Hotline. The hotline answers questions from Vermonters about their rights at work and is a completely volunteer-driven operation. To get involved, email hotline [at] workerscenter [dot] org.
- Volunteer with the Vermont Workers' Center or stop by during our new office hours. We are at 294 North Winooski Avenue in Burlington (Map) and our office hours are:
9am-noon Monday, Wednesday, Friday
2pm-5pm Tuesday, Thursday - Join our Rapid-Response Email Network.
- Support our work financially by donating or, better yet, becoming a monthly sustainer.
Oct 23 Human Rights Hearing in Burlington
Human Rights Hearing: "Healthcare is a Human Right"
Where: Burlington City Hall, Contois Auditorium (149 Church St., Burlington)
When: Thursday Oct 23 at 7:00 p.m. refreshments, 7:30 p.m. hearing
Burlington - For months volunteers for the Vermont Workers' Center have been surveying Vermonters from all across the state, including many in the Burlington area. The results have been clear: Vermonters believe that healthcare should be a human right.
The state, however, has come up short on this issue. More than 11 percent of all Vermonters are without health insurance, including more than 11,000 children. Thousands more are woefully under-insured, and cannot afford their costly premiums and co-pays, which are only rising as the cost of healthcare soars.
The Vermont Workers' Center is currently undertaking its "Healthcare is a Human Right" campaign to help end this injustice. The goal of the campaign is to spread awareness and build a movement that can help reform the state's system so it will guarantee care to all Vermonters, regardless of income. On Thursday Oct. 23, this discussion is coming
to Burlington at Burlington City Hall, Contois Auditorim. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. (refreshments will be available).
Community faith leaders and healthcare professionals and other community leaders will serve on a Community Listening Panel to hear testimony from residents. Speakers will address the failure of the state's healthcare system, the plight of those who try to navigate through it, and effective ways to bring about change. The event will give members of the Burlington community a chance to share stories highlighting how our flawed system has caused them suffering and
hardship.
"In speaking to Vermonters, we have found that many have suffered greatly, both personally and physically, when they try to navigate through a a healthcare system that leaves so many behind," said James Haslam, the director of the Vermont Workers' Center, which is located at 294 North Winooski Avenue in Burlington. "This event will give members of the Burlington community a chance to make some of these stories heard."
The event will include the following listening panel:
Mayor Bob Kiss, City of Burlington
Rabbi Joshua Chasan, Ohavi Zedek Synagogue
Jennifer Henry, RN Nurses Union President, Fletcher Allen Health Care
Rebecca Haslam, President, Burlington Education Association
Rev. Sarah Flynn, ALL Souls Ministry in Vermont
Roddy Cleary, former minister Unitarian Universalist Church in Burlington
Al Robinson, Imani Health Institute
Ann Goering, MD, Winooski Family Health
Mohamed Abdi, Somali Bantu Association
Hal Colston, Neighbor Keepers
Denise Foote, Barnes Elementary School PTO
Similar "Human Rights Forums" will be held all across the state, including St. Albans (Nov. 13), Lyndon (Nov. 18), Barre (Jan. 29), Rutland (Feb. 12) and Bennington (Feb. 19) as this effort continues to fight for a just healthcare system that Vermonters' health over profit.
More info email erika@workerscenter.org
Healthcare & Domestic Abuse: Human Rights Hearing Testimony
The following was submitted by a individual we surveyed this summer in Brattleboro. It was read in its entirety at the Human Rights Hearing in Brattleboro.
Sept, 2008
I am a resident of West Brattleboro, Vermont. Earlier this month at Brattleboro's Gallery Walk, I was asked to participate in a survey about health insurance. While I do have health insurance provided through my ex-husband, I felt it was important to share my experiences. I was delighted that at long last, someone was even willing to ask the questions. I am quite certain that my experiences are shared by many in vulnerable situations.
One of the questions on the survey asked if I had ever stayed in an abusive relationship in order to maintain health insurance benefits. Indeed I have. Years ago, while I was still married to my ex, who was an abusive active alcoholic, I made an attempt to leave the relationship. I had two small children at the time: ages 6 and 3. My oldest child had recently been diagnosed with cancer. It was not an easy time to launch into the perils of
single-parenthood as I knew my life was at risk. It never occurred to me that my daughter's life would be on the line not only from the cancer, but from her own vulnerability to the consequences of domestic violence.
As I was preparing to exit the relationship, my husband threatened me that if I left him, he would cancel the health insurance for the family. Once the insurance lapsed, the cancer would have caused my child to be excluded from alternative coverage due to her pre-existing condition of cancer. It was a certain death sentence for my 6 year old child. A risk I was not
willing to take.
At the time, the courts would not have issued an immediate injunction against his canceling the health insurance. Once it was cancelled, my daughter's cancer would have precluded her from coverage through another policy. My ex knew that, had calculated that, and used it in the cruelest way to force me to stay in the relationship.
So I stayed. Of course I stayed. If leaving meant that your child would surely die a very painful death – an entirely unnecessary death, wouldn't you stay? Of course you would. Any responsible parent would. Over the years, the cancer recurred 7 times, each time leaving me entirely unable to exit the relationship. I stayed married to the abuser for 22 years waiting until I had opportunities to ensure my daughter's safety and her health insurance. The moment I was assured that she had insurance of her own, I left my husband.
Oddly enough, he has maintained the health insurance on me for 15 years since our divorce! Why? He is under no obligation to do so. The reason is because he, as the subscriber to the policy, has all the advantages. As the subscriber to the policy, he is able to find out who my physicians are and what treatments or tests I may have had. I can keep my location secret from him, but if I use the health insurance, then he has access to the location of my doctors. It is a short leap to figure out my whereabouts.
HIPPA regulations do little or nothing to prevent this in situations of domestic violence. They leave the onus of responsibility on the insurance companies, who are classically unwilling to pay whatever slight administrative or clerical costs to shield the information from an abuser.
Their comments to me have been that they are not willing to protect victims of domestic violence because it may leave them vulnerable to litigation if they were to "slip up" and not implement a policy. So they are better protected by having no policy of protection to begin with.
I spent 22 years in that abusive relationship and because of this nightmare with the health insurance coverage, I am still "attached" to that man who so willingly imperiled my life and my daughter's life to maintain power and control over me. The health insurance companies, in my opinion, are in collusion with him by their callous unwillingness to consider the
circumstances of abuse.
People ask of battered women all the time: why don't they just leave? Believe me; it is not because leaving has never occurred to us. We contemplate it every moment we can remain alive to do so. We are fully aware of the statistics that say the risk of lethality (being the victim of homicide) rises 70% as a woman prepares to leave an abusive relationship.
If you knew that taking an action, increased your chance of death by 70% would you do it? Victims are well aware of those risks, because they live it and because on average, a victim attempts to leave 6 times before being successful. They don't remain in an abusive relationship because they like it (If she stays, she must like it) or because they are just lazy (victims are acculturated to hyper vigilance because they must assure their own
survival in order to remain alive long enough to raise their children).
There are many, many reasons why a victim stays. But she NEVER stays because
she likes it. Never.
The time has come to provide some relief for victims of domestic violence. If that one hurdle of the health insurance had not been placed in my way, I not only could have gotten my child through her cancer treatments, but she would not have been subject to all those added years of having to witness domestic violence.
I have asked that this testimony be given anonymously. Not because I am ashamed of my past, or even particularly because I still fear him, although I do. I have asked because I have never been able to tell my daughter the real reason we stayed through all the abuse. She certainly has asked because she wants to know why she had to suffer through all those years.
But I could never look her in the eye and tell her that her own father was willing to sacrifice her life for his own selfish purposes. I couldn't tell her that the system has been unwilling to do anything to protect me, or her, or whoever may be suffering the same abuse today.
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If you have or know of any stories like this where the lack of the basic right to healthcare violates our most fundamental human rights please contact us at 802-861-2877 or healthcare[at]workerscenter.org
10th Anniversary Dinner Celebrates Victories, Announces New Campaign: Healthcare Is a Human Right!
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:
- a human-right-based analysis of the healthcare crisis in Vermont
- a re-affirmation of the economic feasibility of a universal healthcare system
- "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
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.
Vermont workers recount injustices to rights panel
Shay Totten
Vermont Guardian
December 21, 2005
BURLINGTON — A panel of legislative and ecumenical leaders heard testimony from dozens of Vermonters about the challenges they face with low pay, a lack of job security, no health care for their families, and how many employers work against their efforts to form unions.
For many of the 12-member Worker's Rights Board, chaired by U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, the stories are nothing new. Worker after worker testified Dec. 10 under three broad themes: livable wages and good jobs; the right to organize and labor rights; and the right to health care.
The board was comprised of several Democratic lawmakers, one Progressive legislator, a student leader from the University of Vermont, a retiree, and several Burlington area religious leaders.
The panel, whose members were appointed by a coalition of labor organizations, has no strict mandate. In the coming weeks, however, the board will discuss specific actions it could take, or encourage others to take, as a result of the testimony it heard at the hearing, said James Haslam, director of the Vermont Worker's Center, an event sponsor.
The event, on the Trinity Campus of the University of Vermont, was held on International Human Rights Day to link the economic struggle of workers to the broader discussion of human rights, said Brady Fletcher of the Student Labor Action Project at UVM, one of the event sponsors.
"Human rights refers to many things and we don't associate, as we should, the issue of human rights with economic rights," said Sanders in an opening speech to the crowd. "To my mind, if someone cannot find a job that pays them a wage so that they and their family can live in dignity, that is a violation of human rights; if there are people across the street from here who work 40 hours a week but cannot find a doctor or dentist because they cannot buy health insurance, that's a violation of human rights. If people are living in poverty in the richest country in the world, that is a violation of human rights."
Given the location of the event, UVM's administration took the brunt of criticism from participants, many of whom are support and clerical staff members who are attempting to form a union.
"For years, UVM said that while their salaries weren't great, their benefits were," said Jennifer Larsen, a lab technician who has worked at UVM for 16 years. "Then they turned around and said that the benefits we get would bankrupt the university in 10 years, and they then gave us a large cut in our health insurance, and [no] salary increases.
"In the past five years, I have seen a 495 percent increase in premiums and that has not been matched by a salary increase — and in this academic-gone-corporate environment we have no power to speak out," Larsen added.
Two weeks ago, hundreds of students, UVM alumni, faculty, and staff, along with construction workers and community members rallied outside a UVM board of trustees meeting to call for fair labor standards on campus.
Lester Gockley, a UVM maintenance worker and member of the United Electrical Workers Local 267, said a lot of skilled jobs are going by the wayside at the university. "There is a blatant attempt to subcontract a lot of work," he said. And without a union in place to fight against this move, more jobs may have been lost by now.
"Since the arrival of UE at UVM, our organization has led an attempt to promote a livable wage, and UVM has fought this every step of the way," he said.
A UVM spokesman said the school does not openly work against union activity, as evident by the fact that four employee groups are unionized, and strives to ensure that all employees are cared for.
"Our approach with union organizing is that we simply want to make sure that our employees are in the best position to make a well-informed decision as to whether union representation is in their best interest," said Enrique Corredera, a UVM spokesman. "We also recognize the importance of well-compensated and well-cared for employees, whether they are faculty or staff as they are critical to the success of the institution and our ability to fulfill our vision."
Other than UVM employees, former employees at Wal-Mart and IBM, as well as staff members from the Community College of Vermont and Verizon, testified about the challenges they faced trying to form or maintain unions.
Haslam called the event an important step in bringing the real-life struggles of working families to the attention of people who have the power to make change.
"What we saw today was regular people coming together who have the audacity to say that we should have livable wages and good jobs, the freedom to organize, and that health care should be a basic right available to everybody," said Haslam. "And even though we are told that these things are not politically possible ... together we can change what is politically possible. This event was a step in that direction."