We want to hear from you! You can reference the 2021 Canvass Policies for a refresher on standards of conduct, operating principles, Canvasser incentive pay, FM incentive pay, and more.

For general feedback or concerns, go to the 2022 Canvass General Feedback form. These will be received by Office & HR Administrator, Jane Stromberg, for review and follow-up. These may be submitted anonymously, though that makes it more difficult for follow-up.

You may also complete an Incident Report Form online. This is the same form that is used in the office when reporting incidents on turf or with other staff. These forms will also be sent to Jane Stromberg for review and follow-up. These may not be anonymous due to required follow-up.

Whatever your feedback, you should know:

Your safety is our top priority,
VPIRG will promptly follow-up with alleged perpetrators of inappropriate, discriminating or harassing behavior,
Your complaint will be confidential to those involved in investigating the matter, and witnesses or involved parties who need to be interviewed,
You will be protected from retaliation, and
You will be consulted regarding measures to take to ensure your safety, health and wellbeing.

For questions, contact:

Liz Edsell
VPIRG Associate Director
liz@vpirg.org
(802) 595-2447

Additional Resources:

Dog Safety Video

Bike Safety Video

-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-

At VPIRG, our commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to fulfilling our mission. As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure everyone is valued and respected in all identities held- gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability- our full time staff has gone through DEI training with CQ Strategies. Part of that training includes the videos below. We are sharing them with our canvass team as an opportunity to continue learning (beyond T6-HR Training) about these topics.

DEI Videos & Articles

“The Danger of a Single Story : Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Cracking the Codes” with Joy DeGruy, who shares a story about advantages and disadvantages related to skin color identity. Think about parts of your own identity that have brought you advantages, and how they did so.
Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person (3-page article by Gina Crosley-Corcoran)
Intersectionality 101 video from Teaching Tolerance
Susan Boyle auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent – consider your own experiences and assumptions about physical appearance before and after watching this video
Wake Up America– a spoken word piece written and performed by Muslim Girls Making Change. These 4 students from Chittenden County have been telling their stories through poetry and performance. This is the first piece they ever wrote.
Want Your Organization to Change? Put Feelings First– a video by Dan Heath
Implicit Association Tests– a site of 10 minute quizes to help you better understand the unconscious biases/associations. Project Implicit is a combined project between 4 Universities: U of Washington, U of Virginia, Harvard, and Yale.
New York Times’ series on implicit bias
Summary of nine switch strategies, a video by Calibrain

-Consent-

Per our 2021 Canvass Policy Manual and Group Agreements & Practices, VPIRG asks that employees practice enthusiastic consent. This means ALWAYS ASKING before touching someone (ex: “Can I give you a hug?”), and that verbal and physical consent applies to ALL contact inside AND outside the office. For information about office relationships, see the VPIRG Employee Relationship Agreement. Please see additional information about consent by following the links and videos below:

It’s On US is a nationwide movement to end sexual assault.

It’s On Us asks everyone – students, community leaders, parents, organizations, and companies – to step up and realize that the conversation changes with us. It’s a rallying cry to be a part of the solution.

The campaign combines innovative creative content and grassroots organizing techniques to spark conversation on a national and local level. Over the past two years, almost 300,000 people have taken a stand against sexual violence by taking the It’s On Us pledge: committing to help create a culture of consent, bystander intervention, and survivor support.

For more information about enthusiastic consent, and examples of what it looks and sounds like, check the informative playlist (created by Planned Parenthood) below: