Green Mountain Outlook

Middlebury — Just as our teachers are on an on-going crusade against school bullying, Vermont’s minority political party is on a similar crusade, too. The Vermont GOP believes the state’s teachers’ union has played the bully in the “school” of state politics.

Last week, the Vermont Republican Party asked State Attorney Gen. William Sorrell (D) to investigate a charge of bullying by a representative of the American Federation of Teachers.

Vermont GOP acting chairman Paul Carroccio asked the attorney general to investigate what his party sees as an unusual case of political extortion. Carroccio cited several news accounts about the incident.

"…It was reported that a representative of the American Federation of Teachers bullied and intimidated a Vermont lawmaker as part of a campaign to unionize child-care providers,” Carroccio noted in a public statement Feb. 8. "One individual connected with this lobbying effort had the gall to intimidate a leader of the Vermont Senate by sliding a piece of paper across his desk that showed how much money the union had spent on political-action committees supporting that legislator and other Vermont Democrats, and asking him to support the bill.”

If Carroccio is accurate in describing what happened to the unnamed Democrat, then this kind of behavior, and the knuckle cracking, pinky-ring folks who endorse it, should be shown the door.

The Vermont GOP claim that the AFT may have violated the U.S. Hobbs Act, a U.S. federal law that prohibits “actual or attempted robbery or extortion” is a serious charge.

The Hobbs Act shouldn’t be an alien thing to Vermont’s AFT union leaders and lobbyists—the law is often cited when it involves corruption aimed at union members. To our knowledge, Vermont’s unions have rarely been involved in such Hobbs Act violations, so the Carroccio charge is all the more severe.

Bullying and intimidating lawmakers as they consider bills is a shocking thing to most Vermonters. And no matter where you stand on teacher union issues, this charge deserves serious attention. A formal investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, if it occurs, could lead to federal law enforcement authorities becoming involved.

We often hear about the “Vermont Way” in Montpelier, where bipartisan cooperation—for the good of all Vermonters—should trump petty partisanship. So that’s why we applaud Carroccio’s attempt to turn a spotlight on alleged back alley stuff that may have occurred in the halls of the Vermont Capitol.

In the words of Carroccio, "This type of behavior is reprehensible and has no place in the Vermont State House."