Dear Vermont State Legislators,

Higher unionization rates benefit all workers, both union and non-union. States with higher rates of unionization also have higher average wages, a smaller uninsured population, and more benefits and protections for workers, including paid family leave and comprehensive healthcare.

Vermont is only the 14th most union-dense state in the U.S., surpassed by nearby states New York, Rhode Island, Maine, and Connecticut. We can do better! Many other states have outpaced Vermont in enacting labor-law reforms designed to make it easier for workers to organize unions and bargain collectively.

The Vermont Protecting the Right to Organize “PRO” Act will protect and advance new union organizing and collective bargaining in Vermont by…

1. Simplifying the process for forming a union in the public sector.
2. Making it more difficult for employers to retaliate against workers for organizing activity by ending at-will employment.
3. Making discriminatory terminations more difficult by ending at-will termination.
4. Preventing employers from disciplining workers for refusing to attend captive audience meetings.
5. Expanding collective bargaining rights to farm and domestic workers.

The 2023 legislative session is an opportunity for lawmakers to demonstrate your commitment to Vermont workers and organized labor by making our state a leader in pro-labor reforms. Vermont workers deserve better conditions, and we can help by protecting their right to organize!

Sincerely,

The Undersigned Supporters