Hundreds of Vermonters are expected at this weekend’s People’s Summit in Winooski. Sponsored by the Winooski Education Association and endorsed by progressive and left groups, along with a dozen unions and union locals, the summit will include sixteen workshops and two plenary sessions that cover a range of issue areas and practical organizing skills.
Across the country and in Vermont, protest marches and rallies have seen a renewed vigor since the start of this Trump administration, most recently the second “No Kings” rally, held last Saturday. However, these rallies stand on the shoulders of campaigns and organizing efforts that began well before Trump took office. The struggles for migrant worker rights, for justice in Palestine, against police and prisons, and for greater unionization have been central to a revitalized left in Vermont.
Part of that revitalization has been local movements supporting each other across different issues, particularly important in a state as small as Vermont. For example, Palestine flags are prominent in Burlington’s annual Pride Parade, dairy workers with Migrant Justice speak at marches for Medicaid, and union health care workers are speakers at rallies against the genocide in Gaza.
That cross-issue emphasis can be found in the People’s Summit’s workshops, which range from practical skills like de-escalation, workplace organizing, and legal defense, to issue-based campaigns like the fight against a new women’s prison and halting the bipartisan deportation machine.
People’s Summit organizers see Saturday’s event as an entry point for those who have recently attended rallies and are ready to get more involved.
Matt Gile, a librarian in the Winooski School District and member of the Winooski Education Association, told the Rake Vermont in an interview that big public events like the No Kings rallies are important, but just first steps. “If you just take the first step over and over again, you’re not getting very far, right?” he said. “So we’re giving people an opportunity to come together and share skills, teach really practical skills, and build connections between all of these social organizations and unions.”
Among the Summit’s workshops, the Rake Vermont will be holding a session on grassroots journalism and writing skills for organizers and activists.
The People’s Summit will be held at Winooski High School, 60 Normand Street, Winooski Vermont. Registration opens at 9:00am, and the program begins at 10:00am. Admittance is free.
Patrick is a writer and organizer based in northern Vermont. He is on the editorial collective for The Rake Vermont.
