schools

Bus Drivers Update: Lockout Ended

by IsaacEF | Activism

Recently I posted about joining me at the picket this week with the school bus drivers and monitors. Based on news on Monday, it sounds we can hold off on the picket for the moment. The Brattleboro Reformer has reported that the lockout of the bus drivers and monitors has been dropped, and that they are allowed back to work! This is good news for children and families who will see their regular drivers who know the bus routes. And it’s good for the drivers who can return to work while contract negotiations resume!

Join Us At The Picket: Support Our School Bus Drivers!

by IsaacEF | Activism

Happy Labor Day! As billionaires try to take over our country, this is a critical moment to stand with working people. Will you join us this week to stand with our school bus drivers and monitors? I’ll be there Tuesday, September 2, outside Brattleboro Union High School at 7:30am.

Kuzmeskus, which is owned by an out-of-state private-equity firm, has locked out school bus drivers and monitors for the Windham Southeast district. It has been chaos for students and families, with scab drivers who don’t know our community or our streets. Teamsters Local 597 and community supporters are picketing to get Kuzmeskus to go back to the table, stop the lockout, and get our bus drivers back to work. I’ll be there bright and early Tuesday morning. Will you join us?

VT Schools To Close

by Not Signed In | Education, News & Information

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott announced Sunday that all pre-K-12 schools in the state will close no later than Wednesday and remain closed until April 6, according to a news release from Scott’s office.

Students are not required to go to school Monday or Tuesday, if their parents or guardians would prefer to keep them home, Scott said.

Election Results?

by Not Signed In | Questions & Answers

There was an election yesterday to choose directors for the new district school board.  Admittedly, it was a pretty low-profile affair.   None of the local media have reported the results (the newspapers, of course, went to press too early to await the results, and the local radio station seemed oblivious; nothing posted in the WSESU website, either, tho they were the ones tallying the returns.)

Santa Fe, Texas Shooting

by tomaidh | Op/Ed

At least one gunman opened fire at a Houston-area high school Friday, killing eight to 10 people, most of them students, authorities said. It was the nation’s deadliest such attack since the massacre in Florida that gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control.

Vermont AFSCME: Collective Bargaining Rights Under Attack!

by Not Signed In | Op/Ed

By Karl Labounty    

     As President of AFSCME Local 1343 and as Vice President of the Vermont AFL-CIO, I take the rights of working people seriously.  Like most Vermonters, I believe our democracy is best served when workers have more (not less) opportunities to vote on the issues which directly impact their lives.  I myself labor for the Burlington School District as part of their maintenance staff.  My fellow union members serve as custodians, bus drivers, food service workers, as IT specialists, and in number of other critical positions.  In short, we are the backbone of public services. As a union member I take pride in the fact we democratically elect the bargaining teams that negotiate our contracts, and no contract is final until it is voted on by our members and approved by elected representatives of our communities.  This, in part, is what it means to have workplace democracy, and this is a right that many generations of Vermonters have benefited from. 

Representative Town Meeting 2018

by cgrotke | Town News
RTM 2018

It’s Representative Town Meeting Day in Brattleboro. 

Representatives are filing in and getting settled, as are those of us who plan on covering today’s event. I have to say, I’m pretty tired from all the work on the new site, so I especially apologize in advance for spelling errors and such.

Usually, however, as they get into the more interesting debates of the day, this becomes less of a chore and more fun. I’m counting on it today.