The writer represents the Windham-3 district (Brookline, Rockingham, Westminster) in the Vermont House of Representatives.
WESTMINSTER-The Nov. 3 general election will determine many vital races. Two important proposals would amend our Vermont Constitution, protecting both workers' rights and human rights for all in Vermont.
Proposal 3, the Workers' Rights Amendment, supports the right to collective bargaining. If it passes, it will give workers the right to organize for important issues like healthcare, safe working conditions, and fair wages.
Vermonters deserve a safe working environment and a living wage. As a member of the Workers Caucus in the House, I have heard many tales of great concern by Vermont workers. This amendment should help make Vermont a better place for them.
The other amendment is Proposal 4, the Equal Protection of Law Amendment, also known as the Human Rights Amendment. It guarantees that no individual in Vermont will have their rights denied based on race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin.
I believe that my affirmative votes in the last two Legislative bienniums to support these two proposals were likely the most important votes I have cast in six years in the Legislature.
In order for a proposal to appear on the general ballot it must be voted on and passed twice - in both the House and the Senate - in two different legislative sessions.
On Nov. 3, I will vote "yes" on both amendments for a third time. Now it's your turn.
Michelle Bos-Lun
Westminster
The writer represents the Windham-3 district (Brookline, Rockingham, Westminster) in the Vermont House of Representatives.
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