Dear Editor,
I am writing because I want to draw notice to Proposal 3, which will be voted on in the Nov. 3 election. It is critical that people understand why we need to further protect the rights of Vermonters to organize by enshrining those rights in our state constitution.
In this day and age, we are seeing attacks on the rights of states to organize and protect workers every day. The American Federation of Government Employees just this month won a victory against the presidential administration for trying to unlawfully restructure the United States Department of Agriculture. The National Weather Service, NASA, and other federal agencies are still in the process of fighting cuts that go against existing union contracts. When jobs are threatened, attacks on American industry play out daily, and pressure builds to lay large swaths of workers off in education and healthcare in our most hard-hit areas, it’s critical that unions step up to protect those workers and the communities they serve. Vermonters should not wait until it’s their job on the chopping block to act. Without protections, those benefits built on a hundred years of union organization such as sick leave, parental leave, overtime pay, hazard pay, and the right to seek redress when employees are wronged can be taken from us at any moment.
I value my membership in a Vermont union and take pride in being a union representative at my current worksite. I take seriously those protections entrusted to me and to my coworkers. Enshrining the right to organize protects all workers from retaliation, not just one group in one sector. Those in an existing union, and those looking to organize, all stand to benefit. When legislation is passed to protect the least of us, it protects all of us.
By considering Proposal 3, Vermont demonstrates how seriously it takes its role as a right to organize state. Vermonters pride themselves on looking out for their communities, and this legislation aims to do just that for all of us. That is why I ask all voting Vermonters to check the box and support passage of Proposal 3 this November.
Sincerely,
Heather Rigney
Springfield, Vt.