Summary: On the first day of the legislative session this year, a unified, diverse, and growing movement of organizations called Put People First packed the Vermont Statehouse. Put People First believes Vermont can and must protect and fulfill the human rights of all its people, while ensuring a healthy and livable environment. The movement unveiled its Put People First Agenda and delivered thousands of postcards collected over the past year to legislators, showing the breadth of statewide support for making human rights a reality in Vermont. With the Put People First Agenda, the people of Vermont call on the legislature to take concrete steps to move this vision forward. The Put People First Agenda puts forth a plan for holding Vermont accountable to its obligation to fulfill the people’s human rights by taking action on universal healthcare, dignified work and the right to organize, freedom of movement and access to transportation, inclusion of people with disabilities, the right to a healthy environment and livable planet for all, and a budgeting process that puts people, not money, at its center. Put People First includes 350 Vermont, Green Mountain Self-Advocates, Migrant Justice, Rising Tide Vermont, United Professionals of Vermont/AFT, Vermont Center for Independent Living, VT Early Educators United/AFT, VT Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals AFT, Vermont Workers’ Center, and Voices for Vermont Children. The Vermont Workers’ Center coordinates Put People First.
