The state’s second largest union, the Vermont State Employees Association, has endorsed statewide candidates from all three major parties: four Democrats, one Republican, a Progressive and one Progressive/Democrat.
The VSEA, which represents 6,500 state workers, will support the re-election of two incumbents: Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Democrat; and Secretary of State Jim Condos, a Democrat who is running unopposed.
The union says it will put its energy behind Shumlin’s re-election bid in a race against Republican Randy Brock and the campaigns for Vermont Attorney General and Treasurer. VSEA has endorsed Beth Pearce, the current state treasurer, a Democrat who was appointed by Shumlin, and Ed Stanak, a Progressive and former VSEA president, for Vermont Attorney General. The union also supports Cassandra Gekas, a Progressive/Democrat running for lieutenant governor, and Vince Illuzzi, a Republican state senator, for state auditor.
“VSEA is pleased to endorse Governor Shumlin’s re-election, and we look forward to helping him continue to repair the damage done to state government by his predecessor’s reckless cutting of services and positions,” said VSEA President John Reese. “Only now are Vermonters realizing the extent of the repair needed, especially in areas like economic services or adult protection.”
The relationship between the Shumlin administration and the union has been rocky. After Tropical Storm Irene heavily damaged the Waterbury State Office Complex last year, the union’s effort to get overtime pay for certain workers in the aftermath of the storm was rebuffed by the administration. The union filed a grievance and the issue is now awaiting a hearing at the Vermont Labor Board. The VSEA pushed for a 54-bed state hospital replacement; the administration came back with a 16-bed proposal. In the end, the Legislature agreed to a 25-bed facility.
Conor Casey, the government affairs director for VSEA, said union members and the administration have found common ground in most areas, and he praised Shumlin for his commitment to the collective bargaining process. He characterized the grievance and the state hospital compromise as “outlying issues.”
Members support Shumlin because of his willingness to negotiate, he said. “The administration has been good with really open lines of communication,” Casey said.
In February, the union and the Shumlin administration negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that Reese described as a “very fair contract.” The deal restored cuts to state workers’ pay instituted in 2009, at the beginning of the recession. The union negotiated pay increases of 2 percent in 2013 and 2014.
“For the first time in decades, neither side had to use a fact-finder or mediator,” Reese said.
VSEA supported Gekas because she is “very pro-union,” Casey said. She reached out to union members before she decided to run for lieutenant governor.
“I think our members see the importance of supporting young people interested in politics, particularly a young woman,” Casey said. “She has an uphill fight on this one, but she’s a dynamic candidate and will be in the Vermont political scene for a long time.”
The union backed TJ Donovan in the Vermont Attorney General Democratic primary, and for a second time this election season declined to endorse incumbent Bill Sorrell. Casey blamed Sorrell for allowing a “massive privatization of government” under the Douglas administration to occur without scrutiny. The union is supporting Stanak, a Progressive and the former president of VSEA, because he would take a hard look at private contracts.
The toughest endorsement decision, Casey said, was for the auditor’s race. “Everyone knows Doug Hoffer would be a good auditor for state employees, but Vince has been a great senator for state employees,” Casey said. “Vince has always been there for us.”
Treasurer Beth Pearce is supported by union officials because she does not want to dismantle the state’s pension system. “Unlike her opponent (Republican Wendy Wilton), Treasurer Pearce understands the many pitfalls inherent in switching state employees from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan,” Reese said in a statement.
The VSEA will back up its endorsements with action, Reese said in a statement. “We’ll be phone banking, knocking on doors, attending rallies, talking to co-workers and helping out the campaigns with whatever else they might need,” he said.
