people's economy

Vermont Workers' Center proposes an alternative to the Douglas Budget Cuts

The Vermont Workers' Center has been organizing opposition the cuts to public services and state layoffs proposed by Governor Douglas since the beginning of February. As an alternative, we are proposing a "People's Plan" to raise revenue instead of cutting programs and pass single-payer universal healthcare to save Vermont tens of millions of dollars.

The People’s Plan has three main thrusts:

On February 10th 200 people rallied on the Statehouse steps to stop the Governor's proposed budget cuts to services and jobs--cuts that will hurt the most vulnerable Vermonters. To get involved to stop the cuts, contact the Vermont Workers Center and stay tuned for next steps.

Click here to see the VWC Statement on the Budget Cuts: http://workerscenter.org/node/9

Hundreds of Vermonters gathered in fourteen locations around the state yesterday to send a strong message to the Douglas administration not to cut jobs or services. The vigils were organized by Save Our State, along with the Workers' Center. See the Workers' Center's position on the budget cuts.

Following the vigils, over a dozen Workers' Center members met Governor Douglas at the airport late last night (his plane was late, but in the Channel 5 news you'll see that our wait paid off).

No one doubts that we are living through difficult economic times. For many working-class Vermonters, the current economic crisis is simply an intensification of the long crisis that we have been experiencing long before the recent financial meltdown. For the last several decades, there has been a shift in government and public policy towards helping the rich get richer at the expense of working people.

Burlington - Five hundred people participated in the day-long Ella Baker Human Rights Conference held on Dec 13, 2008. The conference was organized by the Vermont Workers' Center and sponsored by forty-three other organizations. [ Video of the main speakers, and more photos ]

Excerpts of Closing Remarks - James Haslam, Vermont Workers' Center

First off, I just have to say thank you to all the people who worked with us to make this event happen. We are very excited about the incredible broad-range of groups who came together for this event, many of these groups and individuals we have worked with for years, and many new groups and new faces, who we are just now getting to know and build relationships with.