Vermont AFL-CIO President, David Van Deusen, reviews the results of the historic December 7th political summit, its largest political conference in years, which debated how to move forward with a working class political agenda. Following the political summit, the Vermont AFL-CIO Executive Board voted to make the recommendations of the summit official:
- VT Political Parties To Back Labor Initiatives Or Face Moratorium On Political Endorsements;
- Top Priorities $15 An Hour Livable Wage For All, Card Check, Worker Miss-classification;
- Strategic Partnership With VT Progressive Party On Union Based Green Mountain New Deal;
The goals for 2020 are a $15 an hour livable wage for all workers, card check union recognition, and moving worker miss-classification enforcement from the Department of Labor to the Attorney Generals Office. Secondary priorities the Vermont AFL-CIO will support and seek to advance are:
o A Union Based Green Mountain New Deal;
o 12 Weeks Of Paid Family Medical Leave;
o Free Tuition For All State Colleges/Universities;
o Single Payer Healthcare;
o Defined Benefit Pension For All;
o Affordable Housing;
o Affordable Childcare;
o Access To Healthy Locally Produced Food For All;
o Establishment Of A Town Meeting Based Referendum System Of Self-Government;
o That The Expansion Of Social Programs NOT Rely On Any New Regressive Taxation – Taxation Must Be Progressive In Nature Whereby The Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share!