Tremors continue to reverberate at the state’s second largest union.
After a series of leaks followed the firing and subsequent reinstatement of Vermont State Employees Association executive director Mark Mitchell, a gag order on staff, board and council members has kept the fallout mostly under wraps.
But last week, the VSEA Council, a 120-member body with the authority to override the board, took a symbolic vote to put two of its three lawyers on leave, pending an investigation of their conduct surrounding the firing.
VSEA attorneys Michael Casey and Abigail Winters had a key role in the short-lived removal of Mitchell. They presented an array of allegations, which have not been publicly disclosed but are said to include violations of labor laws, to the board of trustees on June 12, which prompted the board to fire Mitchell. Mitchell was reinstated five days later and put on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation.
Two-thirds of the council members in attendance at the June 18 meeting backed a motion to put Casey and Winters on leave, pending an investigation of their conduct, according to Winnie Rose, president of the council’s Bennington chapter.
The council doesn’t have the authority to enforce its vote, according to Rose, but the decision shows how internal dissatisfaction, originally focused on Mitchell, has spread to other key players at the VSEA.
In the aftermath of the scuffle with Mitchell, much of the internal discontent — or at least the portion of discontent that’s been disclosed to the public — has focused on Casey and Winters, as Mitchell supporters raise questions about whether the firing process was properly handled.
Rose, who said she was taken aback by the divisiveness she observed when sitting in on the June 17 board meeting, wants to make sure Mitchell wasn’t wrongly denied a chance to defend himself.
“I don’t care if you are the director or the janitor, you have the right to due process,” she said.
Other council members did not return calls for comment, and VSEA spokesperson Doug Gibson also declined to comment. According to Rose, one council member, Michelle Salvador, made the motion to put Winters and Casey on leave.
It read: “Whereas, our union is a democratic organization where VSEA members have the right to be the key decision makers in determining the direction of our union
Whereas, the concerted actions of some members of the VSEA Board of Trustees and some members of the VSEA staff on June 12, 2013 were political in nature and sought to control the direction of our union in conflict with the memberships’ interests and democratic decisions.”
“Whereas, as a labor union, the VSEA should always support the right of all employees to due process in employment decisions and that all employees are treated with dignity and respect by their employer, I make the motion to have Abigail Winters and Mike Casey placed on leave with pay pending further investigation by the personnel committee to determine if they acted responsibly, impartially and in accordance with the policies of the VSEA.”
Winters said she would like to comment but the union-wide gag order prevented her from doing so. Casey did not return a request for comment.
This story was updated at 4:40 p.m. on Friday, June 28 2013.
