PASSED
in the State House of Representatives
on May 6, 2014, by a vote of 78-59
. Purpose: To allow early childcare businesses to collectively bargain through a union for taxpayer funded, government subsidies. (READ THE BILL) .
Analysis:The legislature is essentially giving a union taxpayer money to lobby the legislature about something for which the legislature is already aware it is responsible, and forces hundreds of small business people in Vermont to pay “agency fees” (85% of union dues) to a union that they do not want to join. .
The bill is opposed by Vermonters for the Independence of Child Care Professionals, a coalition of over 250 registered home providers across the state. It is supported by the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO. A similar bill (H.97) stalled in the senate in 2012 when VT-AFL-CIO president Ben Johnson threatened the Senate President Pro Tem, John Campbell (D-Windsor) with a withdrawal of campaign funds for Vermont Democrats if they did not support childcare unionization. (News Story) .
Estimates of what this bill could cost taxpayers in increased subsides are from $800,000 to $2.5 million. However, there is currently no allocation in the budget to cover this cost, and no guarantee the legislature will vote to raise the subsidies. .
As Recorded in the House Journal, Tuesday, May 6, 2014:“Shall the bill pass in concurrence with proposal of amendment? was decided in the affirmative. Yeas, 78. Nays, 59.” (Read the Journal, p. 1955-1960.) . Related Material: Commentary: Robbing the Poor to Give to the Powerful
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