On June 9, Governor Scott returned without signature and vetoed S.125, An act relating to collective bargaining and sent the following letter to the General Assembly:
Dear Mr. Bloomer:
Pursuant to Chapter II, Section 11 of the Vermont Constitution, I am returning S.125, An act relating to collective bargaining, without my signature because of my objections described herein:
This bill would effectively unionize a group of Judiciary employees with a simple definitional change. I’m concerned that despite unions testifying this was a priority for their organization, employees who would be impacted by this bill were not consulted or asked to testify.
The Judiciary has advised this change could have a negative impact on the effective management of courthouses and fear a workplace marked by divisiveness and angst were this bill to pass. At a time when our court system is managing a significant backlog, we should be focusing on improving efficiencies within the system.
Further, this bill seeks to bolster existing unions by significantly increasing the voting threshold for union decertification. This means it will be much more difficult for employees who do not feel well represented to consider their alternatives.
I support collective bargaining, but I believe employees should have choices for which union they belong to. This bill seeks to make it harder for employees, if they choose, to seek union representation from other organizations. I believe the threshold to trigger a vote for certification should be the same as decertification.
Our employees should be heard and respected and for this reason I cannot allow this bill to go into law.
Sincerely,
Philip B. Scott
Governor