This commentary is by Conor Casey, who represents Montpelier in the Vermont House and is a co-chair of the Vermont Legislature’s Working Vermonters Caucus.
You cast a lot of votes in the Vermont House. Some are easy. Some keep you up at night. And, if I’m being truthful, there are plenty I probably won’t remember 10 years from now.
I’ll remember my vote for the Workers’ Rights Amendment.
This November, Vermont voters will have the final say on Proposal 3, which would protect in our state constitution the right of working Vermonters to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, working conditions and workplace safety. I’ve been proud to work on the amendment as a co-chair of the Legislature’s Working Vermonters Caucus. But something else about it has meant a lot to me: This was never just a Democratic proposal.
Republicans supported it, too.
These are colleagues I disagree with on taxes, spending, regulations and plenty else. But we found agreement on one fundamental thing: People who work for a living should have a voice in their workplace and the freedom to join together with their co-workers.
In its final trip through the Legislature, the amendment passed the House 125-15 and the Senate 29-0. If you follow the Vermont Legislature, you know we don’t see numbers like that every day. I think the reason is fairly simple. Most working Vermonters aren’t asking for special treatment. They want to be respected. They want some say in decisions that affect their lives. And if they decide they’re better off standing together with their co-workers, that ought to be their choice.
So why put that right in the constitution?
Because laws can change. Legislatures certainly change. And we’ve seen fights over collective bargaining rights play out in other states when political control changes hands. I’d rather Vermont settle the question. Whatever party controls the Statehouse 10 or 20 years from now, the basic right of working people to organize and bargain collectively should still be there.
That’s one reason the bipartisan support for Proposal 3 has mattered so much to me. Vermont politics can get plenty contentious. But every once in a while, people who disagree about a lot of things decide there are a few things we shouldn’t have to keep fighting about.
This amendment won’t make groceries cheaper. It won’t fix the housing crisis. It won’t make every workplace fair or every disagreement disappear. It does one thing: It protects the right of working people to stand together and speak for themselves.
My time in the Vermont House is coming to an end. I’ve cast hundreds of votes here, and I’m sure I’ll second-guess some of them for years to come.
I won’t second-guess this one.
