VT AFL-CIO Back Emilie Kornheiser and Mollie Burke For State Rep – Endorse Progressive Slate

9/4/20, Montpelier, Vermont – The Executive Board of the Vermont AFL-CIO, representing 10,000 Union members across the Green Mountain State, have unanimously voted to recommend the entire Progressive Party slate for the 2020 VT House & Senate elections. This unprecedented General Election move highlights an emerging solidarity and coordination between the Vermont AFL-CIO and the Vermont Progressive Party on the Vermont Left.

Vermont AFL-CIO President David Van Deusen States: “As we continue to struggle through the pandemic, the continuing economic crisis, systemic racism, attacks on the working class, and a rise of neo-fascism on the national stage, it is clear that politics-as-usual is insufficient in addressing the dire challenges that we are facing. We cannot mitigate a new economic depression through more austerity and cuts. Rather we must seek bold systemic solutions both to racism and economic hardships. The Vermont Progressive Party has time and again been a reliable ally in this fight. We know that with a strong Progressive presence in the Vermont General Assembly, with Progressive David Zuckerman as our next Governor, we will be well-positioned to implement a Union-led Green New Deal. The Progressives have stood by us on Card Check and on every issue we have given priority to in 2019-2020. In turn, we know our 10,000 Union members are ready to stand with the Vermont Progressive Party. Together we can and must build a movement capable of delivering a Vermont whereby the needs of working people come first.”


Anti-Labor Turncoat, Cynthia Browning, Removed From VT House Committee Assignment – Brattleboro’s Emilie Kornheiser Becomes Progressive Alternative

I would challenge anyone to find a single instance were VT Representative Cynthia Browning voted in favor of any piece of major legislation that benefited Vermont workers or was supported by Organized Labor. And this week she challenged the quorum of the House thereby compelling 100 lawmakers to converge on the Statehouse, despite the rapid spreading virus, in order to enact emergency voting procedures desired on a tri-partisan bases during the crisis. The Vermont AFL-CIO celebrates Browning’s removal from the powerful Ways And Means Committee and encourages Speaker Mitzi Johnson to not appoint her to any committee. We further call on the Vermont Democratic Party to continuously reject Browning as a recognized member of their Party and thereby refuse access to their Party lists, endorsements, and assistance during the November General Election. And frankly, the Vermont AFL-CIO asserts that such actions should have been taken years ago.