Letters to the Editor: July 25

No mandate bucking town paying employees’ health care costs

To the Editor:

This is regarding the lengthy piece about town employees, their health benefits and their decision to unionize. It really does need an ongoing response.

The overall response, really, is simple: Why is providing our employees and their families the benefits they have so offensive? Is it somehow their fault? Didn’t the people we elected decide they should have them?

And, since there’s always a reason groups of employees turn to unions, what is that reason here?

This episode begins, I think, with mythology about last year’s budget defeat. The myth is that the townspeople created a “mandate” that the selectboard cut employee health benefits. Well, the “mandate” was just a bare majority of those who voted, all of 35 votes out of nearly 1,000. And it is far from clear how many “no” votes on the budget had anything to do with health benefits for our employees’ families.

So, now, the selectboard, after a year and a half, are looking at a proposal that would impose on every employee household an average $3,000 hit to their compensation. The easy arithmetic: Property taxpayer “savings” would average less than $30 or about the price of two small pizzas at Backyard Bistro.

And then there’s a lot of rhetoric about the evils of unionization accompanied by a call to all townspeople to tell our selectboard they’re against it. When the history of this episode is written (if ever), it will be plain the move to organize began because, and remains the result, of the selectboard’s failure even to meet with our employees about all this until … I don’t believe they have even yet. This absence of simple respect for those who do our work for us is key to understanding why our employees are organizing, as, by the way, is simply their right to do.

And, resorting to fearmongering about “big, bad” unions adds nothing.

There is plenty to bemoan about the state of our health care “system.” Its costs balloon all the time. Our access to it when we need it is intermittent. Some insurance provides inadequate coverage. None of that should be laid at our employees’ feet.

Joel D. Cook
Charlotte

Charlotte should adopt Declaration of Inclusion

To the Editor:

The town of Charlotte has the opportunity to join all other cities and towns in Chittenden County and 151 towns and cities, home to 77.4 percent of the Vermont population, to adopt a Declaration of Inclusion. The declaration is a public commitment to be more inclusive and welcoming to people of all backgrounds, races and abilities.

In May 2021, Governor Scott signed the Proclamation of Inclusion for the state of Vermont, formally condemning discrimination in all of its forms; welcoming all people who want to live and work and add richness to our state, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, age or disability; and committing to protect these classes to the fullest extent of the law. He has signed a proclamation every year since to reinforce that message. It also establishes the second week of May as Inclusion Week in Vermont.

Over the past few years there has been a strong movement to have all 247 Vermont cities and towns adopt a Declaration of Inclusion. At this point, Charlotte is the only town in Chittenden County that has not adopted a Declaration of Inclusion. The Charlotte Selectboard considered it in 2021, but the statewide initiative was still new and the selectboard decided to wait to see if there would be improvements over time. In the three years since the governor originally signed the proclamation, the language for the Vermont Declaration of Inclusion has been modified. We would like the selectboard to consider once again adopting a Declaration of Inclusion.

The intent of the Declaration of Inclusion initiative is to reinforce the message that each town in Vermont that adopts the Declaration of Inclusion is a community that treats residents and visitors fairly, provides for their well-being and security, and provides encouragement and support for their interests.

When adopting a Declaration of Inclusion, Charlotte would be reinforcing the idea that our town is welcoming of all people and that we understand the value of diversity in our community. We need to be very mindful of our hiring practices, ordinances and policies to be sure that we are promoting fairness and equity.

It is important to note that, as Vermont begins to attract a more diverse population, the children of our town will be exposed to more cultures and different points of view. Knowing that Charlotte has adopted a Declaration of Inclusion will help them understand that diversity is a positive thing and that a healthy community is one of inclusiveness.

This is the Declaration of Inclusion for Charlotte that we propose that Charlotters support:

“The town of Charlotte condemns racism and welcomes all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, age or disability, and wants everyone to feel safe and welcome in our community. As a town, we formally condemn all discrimination in all of its forms, commit to fair and equal treatment of everyone in our community and will strive to ensure all of our actions, policies and operating procedures reflect this commitment. The town of Charlotte has and will continue to be a place where individuals can live freely and express their opinions.”

We hope that Charlotters agree that projecting an image of Charlotte as welcoming and inclusive would be good for our town. There is no cost to our town to adopt a Declaration of Inclusion.

More information on the Declaration of Inclusion initiative is available.

To take the next step, the Charlotte Selectboard would need to add it to an upcoming agenda. If you support this initiative and want the selectboard to consider adopting a Declaration of Inclusion, please contact them and let them know. It would be great if Charlotte could join the rest of Chittenden County in this effort.

Nina Regan and Julia Gilbert
Charlotte
(Nina Regan is the wife of Bill Regan, a member of The Charlotte News board of directors.)