Labor unions came out in force Tuesday night to oppose Gov. Phil Scott’s proposal to merge the Department of Labor with the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
The proposal would move the majority of the department into a new Agency of Economic Opportunity, and oversight of some workplace safety issues into the Department of Public Safety. Scott calls the merger a “common-sense move” that would “literally put those in state government who help Vermonters find jobs shoulder-to-shoulder with those helping businesses create jobs.”
But unions representing thousands of plumbers, pipefitters, steelworkers, sheet metal workers, firefighters, teachers and nurses across Vermont all testified against the proposal at a joint House-Senate hearing on Tuesday at the Statehouse.
Jill Charbonneau, the representative for the powerful AFL-CIO, which coordinates with smaller labor unions and advocates against policies they consider anti-labor, was one of the staunchest opponents who testified.
Charbonneau said putting the Department of Labor into a commerce agency would eliminate the department “piecemeal” until the state has “no real voice or advocate for Vermont workers.”
“You will not have a Department of Labor in a few years,” Charbonneau said. “It will have been parceled out to other departments and will eventually be nothing more than a sideshow housed up at Commerce.”
Since Scott issued the original executive order, his administration has asked legislative committees to help set up a “firewall” between labor regulation and business recruitment efforts within the proposed merged agency.
Mike Schirling, the secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, repeated that stance during the hearing and said workers need to be protected.
“We’re very aware that there are concerns with the alignment of the agencies,” Schirling said.
He said if the proposed Agency of Economic Opportunity “erodes” worker rights, “it would be very difficult for us to go outside of Vermont and recruit workers here or to retain workers in high school or training programs or college.”
Resources at Department of Labor
Union representatives say they are already relying on the Department of Labor on a regular basis. The Vermont Workers’ Center says hundreds of people call its hotline every year when the department does not have the resources to help them.
“I deal weekly with pay shortage issues, with workers’ comp issues, all kinds of issues that I shudder to think what these people would go through without our representation,” said Bill Kelly, a business agent for the Teamsters union.
Kelly said there is a business that regularly pays his union bus drivers less than what they’re allowed to make. Kelly reaches out to the Department of Labor every week, he said, and it always responds.
He warned: “There’s a lot of people out there who don’t have any help (from unions). The only help they have is the Department of Labor, so I would respectfully request that you turn down this merger and keep the Department of Labor and the Agency of Commerce separate.”
Raymond Bettis, a union leader who represents steelworkers, paper mill workers and miners, said he “relies highly” on the Department of Labor to enforce union contracts.
“We’re scared that the fox might be in the henhouse,” Bettis said. “We’re worried that the workers’ rights may get washed, and we’re fighting really hard now as it is to maintain safety in the mines.”
Heather Peppino, from the Vermont Workers’ Center, said between 300 and 500 people call the center’s workers rights hotline annually, even though the organization does not advertise the hotline.
“Many of these callers are only reaching us after they try to contact agencies, who are undoubtedly under-resourced to handle all the calls,” Peppino said. The center then helps workers fight wage theft and receive back wages, among other things, she said.
“While many hard-won laws exist to protect people, it’s unclear how readily or expediently they are enforced,” Peppino said. She cited statistics showing that, in recent years, the Department of Labor has only been able to retrieve up to half of wages for workers who filed complaints.
“The major complaint we receive is the time it takes to resolve issues and enforce rights,” Peppino said. “People call and don’t hear back. They fill out a form and don’t know what happens next, or they think they have a pending case but haven’t heard about it in months.”
Workforce Development
Business interests say they need qualified workers and want to work with people concerned about workers’ rights in order to integrate the Labor Department with the commerce agency.
Tom Kobell, from the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, said “you can’t have business development unless you have worker development” and “the business community needs to come together to truly make workforce development effective.”
“Long-term they do go together. You can’t have strong economic development, you can’t have strong companies, unless you have a workforce that is prepared, willing to come to work every day, and feels protected,” Kobell said.
He said if Vermont can be successful in integrating worker development and business development, the state would have a strong basis for marketing itself as a good place to live and work.
“If they knew the state is committed to a system that looked at the entire workforce model and business model, I think that would be an extremely powerful and effective marketing tool,” Kobell said.
Patricia Moulton, who ran the Department of Labor under Gov. Jim Douglas and the Agency of Commerce under Gov. Peter Shumlin, said there are financial and managerial opportunities for the two agencies.
“You can better leverage federal and state dollars through this merger,” Moulton said. “Imagine when the person who knows who is looking for a job is sitting next to the person who knows employers who are seeking those workers.”
“Also, the blended knowledge of the department and agency can lead to more innovative workforce training solutions enabling more partnerships with tech centers and higher education,” Moulton said.
“I think that cross-fertilization of ideas and strategies will be very healthy,” she said. “As much as you may assume that that happens, it doesn’t happen organically unless folks are under the same roof and under the same leadership.”
The Logistics of Merging
Schirling, the commerce secretary, said one of the major benefits would be increasing communication between the department and agency and aligning workforce training programs.
Schirling said the merger could improve communication across state government because there are at least 50 workforce training programs, including at the Agency of Human Services.
The Agency of Commerce and Community Development has about 100 employees and is headquartered at the National Life Building in Montpelier, according to its website. The Department of Labor has about 300 employees and is headquartered at a building on Route 2 in Montpelier, according to Commissioner Lindsay Kurrle.
Jessica Gingras, the spokesperson for the Department of Labor, said the state has not decided whether to change the location for some of the workers. “We’re waiting to see what the end result is going to look like,” Gingras said.