The Vermont State Employees Association has chosen its lobbyist to lead the union following the departure this month of executive director Mark Mitchell.
Steve Howard joined VSEA in January 2013. Then-director Mitchell, who took the helm shortly after flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, announced in May he would leave to care for his elderly mother in Florida. An internal search will commence shortly to replace Howard as legislative liaison.
Howard’s appointment was approved by the VSEA board Monday.
Howard said he’s energized for the new role because he’s committed to the union’s organizing model.
“The members decided about two years ago to become a much more member-driven model. That is, essentially organizing around issues that are not necessarily just subjects of the contract,” Howard said. Issues now regularly include noncontract working conditions and workflow efficiency, he said.
“We are strongly committed to the fact that state employees are the subject matter experts,” he said
VSEA this spring launched a campaign to fight what it calls retaliation against whistleblowers from the front lines of state government. Union representatives chose the case of John Howe, a VSEA steward who went public with a personnel investigation into his own performance, as the centerpiece of the initiative.
“When a union leader comes under attack, it is even more important that … any union stand up for its leaders, and really fight back,” Howard said. “It’s a standing principle of organized labor and it’s especially true with VSEA.”
Howe was later cleared of wrongdoing. The same panel dismissed Howe’s charges that the investigation was retaliation against him for voicing concerns about employment practices at the state’s vocational rehabilitation office, where he works.
As executive director, Howard intends to continue stepping up internal and external organizing.
Within the organization, he wants to expand the ranks of union stewards and enhance their training. Howard wants well-trained stewards to bring strong “organizing muscle … to defend the rights of their co-workers,” he said. “We also want to develop new leaders … in the union.”
At the University of Vermont, Howard said, he will work to bring United Staff into the VSEA fold. United represents administrative and technical workers on the university campus. Leadership already has voted to support the affiliation, he said.
More growth may come from the state’s attorney’s victim advocates and administrative staff. Howard said VSEA has filed petitions to have the union recognized in eight of the 14 state’s attorney offices, where “a significant majority of employees” have expressed interest in joining the union.
VSEA represents state government employees plus workers at Vermont State Colleges, the Vermont Judiciary, the Defender General’s Office and the Vermont State Housing Authority. Its membership is approximately 5,400.
VSEA recently introduced “open bargaining” to the state college and judiciary units. Howard indicated this transparency and inclusive philosophy is beneficial for empowering members and, by extension, the union as a whole and the labor movement more broadly.
“The more powerful the union … the better the results for both the worker and for state government,” Howard said. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to work with the 5,400 members of the VSEA. I think their union is one that’s moving forward in exciting ways that’s significant for the labor movement in Vermont.”
Prior to joining VSEA’s staff, Howard worked as a victims’ advocate in the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office, according to a news release from VSEA, and was a state representative from Rutland from 1993 to 1999 and from 2005 to 2010. Howard also served as chair of the Vermont Democratic Party from 1995-1997, and lost a bid for lieutenant governor in 2010 to incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Scott.
CORRECTION: This article was corrected at 8:11 p.m. on June 25, 2014. At UVM, VSEA is only in negotiations to bring United Staff into the union. An earlier version of the article incorrectly stated other entities involved in those negotiations.
