State employees belonging to the Vermont State Employees’ Association (VSEA) have elected long-time union activist Shelley Martin to lead VSEA forward in the next two years. Martin is a 13-year state employee who works for the Department of Environmental Conservation in Montpelier. Prior to being elected President, Martin served four years as VSEA First Vice President. She also serves’and has served’on a host of VSEA committees, including the union’s Legislative, Membership Recruitment, Special Events and Personnel committees. Martin was also the Waterbury Chapter President and she served as Clerk for her Bargaining Team.
‘I am honored to have been elected to serve as VSEA’s new President, and I am excited to get started in my new role,’ said Martin. ‘VSEA is experiencing a lot of positive and’in my opinion’long-overdue changes right now. Like a majority of VSEA leaders, I believe that the times we live in dictate that our union begins to place a greater emphasis on empowering VSEA members at their worksites and growing our union by organizing more and more Vermont workers who currently don’t have a union but would like one. That being said, I am also aware of the importance of VSEA’s core functions, like bargaining new contracts periodically with the State. Right now, VSEA’s three largest bargaining units are in negotiations with the State for new contracts, and I will be working to ensure the union is doing whatever it can to assist their efforts at the table. I am really looking forward to working with VSEA members, leaders and staff over the next two years to continue making VSEA stronger and a more powerful advocate for all Vermont state employees. We’re just getting started and there’s a whole lot more to come.’
In addition to Martin, here are the other VSEA members recently elected to leadership positions for the next two years:
First Vice President ‘ Michelle Salvador, VDH, Morrisville
Second Vice President ‘ Jeff Briggs*, ANR, St. Montpelier
Clerk ‘ Tracey Harrington*, AHS, Montpelier
Treasurer ‘ Sheila Manchester Coniff*, DOL, Montpelier
*Incumbent
Shelley Martin elected VSEA's new president
Submitted by tim
on