A new law means homecare providers can bargain a contract with the state. AFSCME brings decades of strength to contract bargaining for public employees in Vermont.

Across the country, more than 125,000 homecare providers are AFSCME members. AFSCME’s second highest elected official, Secretary-Treasurer Laura Reyes, is a homecare provider. We are homecare.

We are public employees, too. And that’s good for Vermont homecare providers, because the new state law means we can now bargain a contract with Vermont, just like other state employees. When it’s time to bargain a contract for state workers, nobody brings more experience to the workers’ side of the table than AFSCME.

Vermont providers deserve AFSCME, the union with a powerful track record of winning the strongest contracts for its members. AFSCME is the only union with 60 years of collective bargaining experience on behalf of public employees right here in Vermont.

Here’s a fact you should know: According to Bloomberg BNA, AFSCME gained the largest average yearly wage increases of the unions that negotiated more than five contracts in 2012.

There’s something else you should know about AFSCME. Many AFSCME members are first responders. They held tight to Vermonters when Irene’s floodwaters put lives in danger. One AFSCME Vermont member gave the ultimate sacrifice — his life — in service to his community to keep it safe during the storm. We also look out for the elderly, for children and for everyone in our community. We keep them safe and you better believe we’re proud of that.

Vermont home care providers deserve better wages, sick days, program funding for their clients and paid hours. Whether we’re one of  AFSCME’s current 125,000 homecare providers, a first responder in Brattleboro, a librarian in Williston or a police officer in Fair Haven, that’s what we gain with AFSCME.

We are Vermont proud. We are AFSCME strong.

When it comes to speaking up for healthcare providers, AFSCME has the competition beat.

A new report by Bloomberg BNA finds that AFSCME has been more successful than any other union in securing better wages for workers in the healthcare sector.  “Of the four labor organizations that negotiated more than five contracts in 2012, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) gained the largest average yearly wage increases,” according to the independent report.

With a track record like this, it’s easy to see why so many of Vermont’s homecare providers see a bright future with AFSCME’s Vermont Homecare United.  AFSCME already represents 125,000 homecare providers nationwide and has negotiated important gains for homecare providers in states like California, Iowa, and Maryland.  And right here in Vermont, AFSCME has represented thousands of workers in local communities over the past sixty years.

The numbers speak for themselves.  AFSCME is the only union with a proven history of getting results for homecare providers and Vermonters.