Petition & Demonstrate Against Budget Cuts

The State of Vermont has a budget shortfall and Governor Douglas says it should be done without raising new revenue but through program cuts that will primarily affect children, the elderly, and low income Vermonters. Join the Vermont Workers' Center (VWC) and other organizations across the state opposing proposed state budget cuts which will be devastating to thousands of Vermont families.

1. The Burlington Livable City Coalition will hold a Candlelight Vigil to Stop State Budget Cuts on Monday, February 2nd, 5 PM, at 108 Cherry St (near Church St), Burlington. Similar vigils will be held throughout the state. For a listing see http://www.workerscenter.org/calendar/.
2. On Tuesday, February 3rd, 7 PM, there will be a Community Forum w/Chicago Republic Sit-in Strikers at the Billings North Lounge, 48 University Place, UVM, Burlington. In December, 260 workers at Chicago's Republic Windows occupied their plant for six days, a sit-in strike launched in response to the closing of their plant with only 3 days notice. The Vermont Workers' Center and other Jobs with Justice coalitions along with other community, faith and labor activists from across the country mobilized in support of these workers, helping them win a settlement from Bank of America and Republic owners including severance pay and compensation for unpaid earnings.
3. Liz Schlegel, Waterbury Town Chair, has started a news site with a petition to mobilize support for using taxes as one mechanism to address our budget problems. It will be great if we can generate a lot of signatures for this. Here's the link to the web site: http://countmeinvt.wordpress.com/.