White House Honors Randy George, co-owner of Red Hen Bakery, as “Champion of Change”
Working Families Champions of Change event highlights importance of paid sick days and paid family leave policies
Washington, D.C. – The White House today honors Randy George, as part of its Working Families Champions of Change event. George was recognized for his work to improve the lives of working families in Vermont.
“Our 42 employees are at the core of everything we do – the heart of Red Hen.” George said, “That is why my wife Liza and I insist on providing paid sick days, an equal and livable wage, health coverage, and other benefits that help everyone balance the work they love with the life they lead. Through these workplace policies, we know we’re making our employees more secure, our bakery more productive, and our business more profitable.”
“Through our work in past years to establish a standard of earned paid leave in Vermont, several business owners have stepped forward and stood out as models of great employers and none so much Randy and Liza,” said Lindsay DesLauriers, VT State Director of Main Street Alliance. “Every time I buy a Red Hen baguette, I know that it’s not just about a great product or even about supporting a local business – I know that I’m investing in the kind of Vermont I want to live and work in.”
“Randy George is a true leader in the fight for paid sick days and paid family policies and has taken great strides to move these policies forward in Vermont,” said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values @ Work. “We’re proud of Randy for this well-deserved honor, paving the way for national standards, until no one has to choose between providing and caring for their families.”
In Vermont, H. 187, the Healthy Workplaces Bill, is currently being debated in the General, Housing and Military Affairs. The bill is expected to be voted out of committee this week, and come to the floor next week. The bill establishes a minimum standard of access of three earned sick days for the first two years after implementation, and then increases to five.
These wins come on the heels of President Obama’s call in the State of the Union address for the U.S. to catch up with the 21st century and other world leaders on paid leave. These issues are also being addressed by presidential hopefuls as the 2016 campaigns get underway.
Tune in live TODAY at 12:15!
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Family Values @ Work is a network of coalitions in 21 states, including Main Street Alliance of Vermont, working to pass policies that value families at work such as paid sick days and affordable family leave.
The Main Street Alliance of Vermont is an organization committed to elevating the voices of small business owners to advance public policies that are good for small businesses, our employees, and the communities we serve.
 

Curious about the current state of healthcare in Vermont?  You’re not alone.

Our Main Street Alliance team has been reaching out to business owners across the state to hear their thoughts on the healthcare system in Vermont. We’ve heard that business owners are engaged and interested in the state of healthcare in Vermont, but find it difficult to keep up with the evolving landscape.
We are happy to invite you to our attend one of our Health Care Policy Forums. Please join us for a presentation and discussion that includes the current state of healthcare, the history and progression of universal healthcare in Vermont, information about the current proposals in the legislature, and what lies ahead.
Please see the full schedule below and contact Ashley at ashley@mainstreetalliance.org or 802-380-0667 with questions or to RSVP.   Prior registration appreciated, but not required.
 
Windsor County Forum Thursday, 3/19 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm The Norwich Public Library
Washington County Forum Tuesday, 3/24 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm The Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier: Haze Room
Chittenden County Forum Tuesday, 4/14 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm The Gallery at Main Street Landing in Burlington
Franklin County Forum Thursday, 4/16 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm St. Albans Free Library
Lamoille County Forum Tuesday 4/21 from 5:15pm – 7:15pm Morristown Centennial Library
 
And Stay Tuned  -  STILL TO BE SCHEDULED:
Addison County Forum
Bennington County Forum
Caledonia County Forum
Rutland County Forum
Windham County Forum

February 26, 2015
Open Letter to the VT Legislature:
Dear Representatives,
It came to our attention that earlier this week a number of business associations contacted you to register their opposition to H.187, the new Healthy Workplaces bill that would establish a minimum standard of earned paid leave for all Vermonters.
We are writing to offer a different perspective. We understand that it is the job of most associations representing business concerns to object to regulations. As individual business owners running our businesses here in Vermont, we feel that this proposal has struck a balance that will work for us and still provide support to working Vermonters who aren’t currently fortunate enough to work for businesses that provide paid time to their employees.
Many of us on this list came to support this issue this year as result of the work that was done to ensure that this new proposal was modest and flexible for businesses. We support this proposal as a middle ground solution to a clearly identified need. 60,000 Vermonters currently don’t have any paid time off whatsoever and this hurts Vermont’s families and is bad public health policy. We aren’t just employers, we are members of our communities and H.187 will work for all of us.
Among the business owners who have voiced personal objections to this proposal, most already provide paid time to their employees. Most of us who are signing this letter of support also provide paid time off to our employees, but some of us do not. All of us support this proposal and the creation of a base-line level playing field for employers and employees alike.
Speaking as business owners and employers who are running businesses of all sizes and across several industries, we do not hesitate to reassure you that the modest standard of earned paid leave, as proposed in H.187, can easily be integrated with the minimum wage to ensure that all working Vermonters have stable income and manage their health.
We, the undersigned, strongly encourage you to support and pass the new Healthy Workplaces bill.
Melinda Moulton      CEO Main Street Landing                        Burlington
Eric Warnstedt         Hen of the Wood Restaurants                  Burlington and Waterbury
Caleb Magoon,          PowerPlay Sports                                       Morrisville
Randy George           Red Hen Bakery                                         Middlesex
Eliza Cain                  Red Hen Bakery                                         Middlesex
Wayne Nelson           L.N. Consulting, Inc.                                 Winooski
Joseph Cicotta            LineSync Architecture                           Wilmington
Julie Lineberger         LineSync Architecture                           Wilmington
Nancy Braus               Everyone’s Books                                    Brattleboro
Jennifer Chiodo        CX-Associates                                           Burlington
Kay Curtis                Happy Hands Learning Center               Brattleboro
Janet Carscadden   Evolution Yoga and Physical Therapy     South Burlington
Brent Farrell              Vitality Vending                                      Essex Junction
Kathryn Grana         Montgomery and Merrill PC                   Burlington
Marc Sherman          Outdoor Gear Exchange                          Burlington
Andrew Brewer        Onion River Sports                                   Montpelier
Geo Honigsford        Hurricane Flats Farm                             South Royalton
Donald Babcock        The Bookmobile                                       Rutland
Stephanie Hainley   Business and Professional Women        Burlington
Ruthellen Weston    The Bookmobile                                       Rutland
Tiffany Silliman-Cohen Silliman Massage and Bodywork     Burlington
Beth Sachs                  VT Energy Investment Corp.                 Burlington
Wes Hamilton     Three Penny Tap Room, The Mule Bar, and Mad Taco in Montpelier, Winooski, and Waitsfield
Marcia Merrill            Montgomery and Merrill PC                 Burlington
Colleen Montgomery   Montgomery and Merrill PC              Burlington
Paul Millman            Chroma Technology                                 Bellows Falls
Michele Kropp           Gringo Kitchens                                      Manchester, VT
Kiki McShane              Fucci Associates                                    Rutland
 
 

Main Street Alliance of VT endorses new Healthy Workplaces legislation introduced to the Vermont House
Montpelier, VT – Thursday morning, February 5th, supporters gathered in the State House to endorse the new Healthy Workplaces legislation that will be introduced to the House by Representative Tristan Toleno.   The bill is a revitalized response to previous Earned Sick Days proposals, including S.15 introduced in the Senate earlier this year.  Notably, Senate sponsor Philip Baruth and several other Senators stood with Representative Toleno in support of this new bill.
Rep. Toleno said, “I am very proud to have helped to craft a fresh start to this effort.  This is a new common ground and common sense proposal that addresses the fundamental concerns of my fellow small business owners while also accomplishing three important objectives for all Vermonters.”
Toleno outlined the following three points:

1. This  bill will establish a general standard of paid leave that all people may earn.  It is still true that if an employer wants to provide only sick leave, they may: that is at the employers' choice.
2. The bill establishes a 500 hour waiting period before new employees have access to the benefit, the equivalent of three months of full time work.
3. This new approach both phases in and reduces the paid leave standard.  Employees will be able to earn and access up to three days per year for the first two years of the law.  After two years, employees may earn and access up to five days per year.

The Vermont Earned Sick Days Coalition enthusiastically endorsed this fresh start in the move to provide a minimum standard of earned sick time for all Vermonters.  Campaign Director Michelle Fay spoke to the support that this new approach has garnered in the small business community statewide.  “After extensive outreach to the business community - including chambers, associations, and individual businesses, we have identified a common ground that addresses the most frequently articulated concerns of business owners while still achieving the fundamental objectives of the coalition.”
Caleb Magoon, owner of Power Play sports, a small sporting goods retail store in Morrisville, offered his support. “Last year, I was unable to support the Earned Sick Days bill,” Magoon explained.  “But I’m here today to support and endorse this new Healthy Workplaces Bill.”  Referencing an extensive business engagement process in which Magoon participated, he said, “I could not support a bill that didn’t provide a waiting period before paid leave would be available to a new worker. This new bill addresses that.  It also establishes a gradual phase in while still ensuring that workers can manage routine day to day health needs.  The minimum standard is low enough that it won't prevent employers who wish to use more generous policies to recruit and retain employees.  It strikes a balance that I can stand behind.”
Senator Philip Baruth wrapped up the discussion by emphasizing the human impact of this legislation.  “Currently around 60,000 Vermonters don’t have access to any earned time whatsoever.  These Vermonters are single mothers, minimum wage earners, and people working hard to support their families.  These days, both adults in most households have to work, and everyone pitches in to manage the health and safety of their families.”
Baruth concluded his remarks with a call to urgency.  “We have already held two hearing in the Senate on this important issue, and I am excited to see the House begin work on a companion bill.  I urge the House to pass this bill.  For many hardworking Vermonters, waiting another year is just not an option.”

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

THE MAIN STREET ALLIANCE OF VERMONT IS HIRING!

Deadline to apply: Open until filled (applicants will be considered on a rolling basis).

 
Job Title: Main Street Alliance of Vermont Small Business Organizer
Position Summary: The Small Business Organizer will conduct outreach to small business owners and support businesses working with The Main Street Alliance of Vermont, an affiliate of the national Main Street Alliance network and a project of the Alliance for a Just Society, to advance public policies that benefit small business owners, their employees, and the communities they serve. The Main Street Alliance of Vermont Small Business Organizer will work with Main Street Alliance staff to develop a coordinated organizing plan, conduct direct canvass-based outreach, help develop and implement a grassroots fundraising plan, develop small business leaders, and connect small business owners to opportunities to impact decision-makers, opinion leaders, and the media. This position requires frequent travel around the state.
The Main Street Alliance of Vermont Small Business Organizer reports The Main Street Alliance of Vermont State Director.
Job Description:
The responsibilities of The Main Street Alliance of Vermont Small Business Organizer relate primarily to outreach/recruitment, leadership development, and mobilization of small business owners in our network to engage decision-makers, the media, and the public in support of public policy issues like health care reform, fair taxes, and community-centered workplace policy reform. Responsibilities include:

• Work with Vermont and national Main Street Alliance staff to develop a coordinated small business outreach plan for the state, and participate in the development of the national Main Street Alliance network.
• Conduct small business recruitment in key areas around the state using direct canvass-based outreach to small business owners.
• Work with Vermont Main Street Alliance staff to develop a network communications plan for small business owners working with Main Street Alliance of VT.
• Coordinate and implement network communications plan.
• Recruit and train volunteers/interns to participate in small business outreach.
• Identify and develop small business leadership/spokesperson teams for direct engagement with decision-makers, media opportunities, legislative testimony, peer outreach, and leadership training.
• Engage emerging small business leaders in peer outreach and research – collecting petitions and surveys – to develop leadership and build resources for research products.
• Coordinate and implement meetings and events in key areas around the state for a variety of purposes including: to provide education, to build local small business leadership teams, to engage small business owners more deeply in public policy issues, to identify potential small business spokespeople and candidates for a coalition steering committee, to create media opportunities for small business leaders, or for other purposes as identified.
• Organize small business owners in The Main Street Alliance of Vermont network to participate in events or actions hosted by other or partner organizations to elevate the voice of small business owners and impact public debate.
• Help to develop and implement a grassroots fundraising plan to support the work of The Main Street Alliance of Vermont.

Qualifications:

• Deep commitment to a vision of racial, gender, social, and economic justice and to building the collective voice of small business owners in Vermont.
• 2 years experience in community/grassroots organizing, political campaigns and/or legislative work.
• Strong canvassing and/or door knocking skills.
• Experience with grassroots fundraising preferred.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytic ability and capacity to understand and effectively communicate complex policy issues.
• Ability to produce consistent, high quality work in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness and ability to travel around the state on a regular basis and to work flexible hours.
• Ability to work independently, solid time management skills.
• Strong facilitation skills.
• Computer skills (word processing, spreadsheet & database management, Power Point, electronic communications, social media and website management).
• Experience with local or national campaign work a plus.

Evaluation:

• There will be an evaluation after 6 months, then ongoing at the end of each year.

Compensation:

• Position is part-time: 60% FTE, with the opportunity to increase to Full Time in the next year.
• Salary will be based on an FTE of between $40,000 - $45,000, depending on experience.
• Competitive paid time off benefit at 60% FTE.
• Generous benefits for Full Time staff also include health, dental, and retirement contributions.

 **  To apply, please e-mail a cover letter and resume to Lindsay DesLauriers, MSA-VT State Director, at Lindsay@mainstreetalliance.org with the subject line:  MSA-VT Small Business Organizer
We are looking for committed, enthusiastic people with a sense of humor and a strong work ethic to join our Vermont team and grow our organization. The Alliance for a Just Society and Main Street Alliance are committed to equal opportunity, and encourage applicants of all races, gender, ages, sexual orientations, national origins, ethnicities, religion, and abilities.

December 22, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Main Street Alliance of Vermont Disappointed at the Slow Down of Universal Healthcare.
Burlington, VT
Main Street Alliance of Vermont was disappointed to hear that the Governor will not recommend a financing plan for Green Mountain Care to the legislature this year.   We are disappointed about the delay and disappointed that the opportunity for stakeholder involvement wasn’t more ubiquitous sooner. We continue to want to move forward to find a plan for universal healthcare that could work and regret that the opportunity to participate in finding a timely solution to the financing challenge as it was presented on Wednesday has been withheld.
We agree and understand that the economy is struggling and we believe that universal healthcare decoupled from employment is an essential ingredient to the success of Vermont’s economy and to supporting small businesses and their employees. We know that in the long run, a truly universal healthcare system, done right, will save Vermont money.
Our current healthcare system continues to be unsustainable and unaffordable for small businesses and for Vermont. Private insurance companies continue to earn large profits while Vermonters struggle to pay for healthcare. Many of Vermont’s small businesses are still unable to afford the high cost of providing health insurance to their employees, and many therefore don’t have access the care they need. The problems we set out to solve remain.
We are closer than we’ve ever been before thanks to all the work that has been done in Vermont to date. The small business owners with whom we work want the opportunity to work with the legislature and the administration to help find solutions to the challenges that the Governor identified and to keep Vermont moving forward this year in every practical and possible way toward the goal of universal healthcare in our state.
 
The Main Street Alliance is committed to elevating the voices of small business owners to advance public policies that are good for small businesses, our employees, and the communities we serve.
Founding Board Members: Wayne Nelson, L.N. Consulting in Winooski, Melinda Moulton, CEO of Main Street Landing in Burlington, Trudy Trombley, The Boutique at Stowe Mercantile and Truly Trudy’s Cosmetics in Stowe, and Eliza Cain, Red Hen Bakery in Middlesex
 
 
 

 
On Monday December 15th, Main Street Alliance of Vermont held a press conference and reception to announce their 2015 legislative platform and to release a report of survey findings from a statewide small business survey conducted this past summer and fall.
Dozens of Main Street Alliance coalition members and several legislators were present at the event. Speakers included former Governor Madeline Kunin; Trudy Trombley, MSA member and owner of Truly Trudy's Cosmetics in Stowe and The Boutique at Stowe Mercantile; Stephanie Hainley, MSA member and COO of White and Burke Real Estate Investment Advisors; Representative Jill Krowsinki and Senator Philip Baruth, lead sponsors of this year's Earned Leave bill; Peter Sterling, Director of Vermont Leads, and Andrew Savage, Chief Strategy Office at All Earth Renewables.
Trombley and Hainley reported key findings from the survey, highlighting that out of all businesses surveyed, 49% support establishing a minimum standard of earned leave and just under 60% support moving forward with a universal, publicly financed healthcare system in Vermont.
See the links below for media coverage from the event:
 
VT Digger (Article) My Champlain Valley (Article & Video) Times Argus (Article) WPTZ (Article & Video)
 
 

Vermont has long been a leader in providing quality health care coverage, and now we have an opportunity as a state to demonstrate how to deliver an affordable and comprehensive universal healthcare system. This system could potentially save Vermonters half a billion dollars a year in overall healthcare costs, which is great news for small businesses.

Currently, it’s estimated that Vermonters spend about $2.7 billion annually on health care premiums and out of pocket costs, and although it seems like a big price tag, the $2-$2.2 billion anticipated cost for Green Mountain Care will be an overall decrease. In addition, taking employers out of the health insurance provision system means we'll no longer need to administer health insurance, reducing our overhead. The implementation of universal healthcare presents us with a unique opportunity to benefit the entire state.

In order to achieve these benefits for small businesses and our employees, however, it’s critical that we find the right balance in the financing plan - one that won’t hurt small businesses like ours or hard working Vermonters.

According to the December 5th VT Digger article that reported a leak from the Governor’s Advisory Council, an 8% payroll tax could be a part of the financing package for Green Mountain Care.  While 8% sounds like a reasonable starting point for the conversation about payroll tax contributions, we’re eager to learn more about the details.  Specifically, how will the payroll tax be phased in for small businesses that aren’t currently offering a healthcare benefit to their employees?  And, given that currently the average employee premium contribution covers about 80% of the cost, we would have serious concerns about any plan that shifted that balance too quickly, hurting working Vermonters.  Any eventual cost shift needs to allow time for the benefits of universal healthcare and the cost savings we will see from improved health outcomes to flow to everyone.  

These will be important details to clarify and to work on with the legislature once the administration’s proposal is released and no matter what the standard payroll tax rate ends up being.  

Just as important as the balance of the financing plan is the coverage it provides.  As founding members of Main Street Alliance, we support a plan that restores Vermonters to at least the coverage that was available under our Catamount Health Plan and Dr. Dynasaur and that includes dental and vision.  We should not roll back the progress that Vermont has already made on this point and we support those who are calling for a higher Actuarial Value -– the better the policy, the better it is for Vermont.  

As small business owners in Vermont, we're excited about the opportunity to stay engaged in this process.  We are looking forward to the release of the Administration’s full plan later this month and to working with the legislature next year.  We know that in the long run and done right, universal healthcare will save everybody money. When everybody saves money, they have more to circulate back into the local economy, and that's good for Vermont Main Street businesses and our employees.

 

This article was submitted by four of Main Street Alliance of Vermont's founding members:  Wayne Nelson, L.N. Consulting in Winooski, Melinda Moulton, CEO of Main Street Landing in Burlington, Trudy Trombley, The Boutique at Stowe Mercantile and Truly Trudy’s Cosmetics in Stowe, and Eliza Cain, Red Hen Bakery in Middlesex

The Main Street Alliance is committed to elevating the voices of small business owners to advance public policies that are good for small businesses, our employees, and the communities we serve.

 

What Do Vermonters Think About Green Mountain Care?

Vermont’s unexpected election results have led to a lot of speculation among Vermonters and in the media.  Many have asked whether this election should be interpreted as a reflection on Green Mountain Care, Vermont’s proposed universal, publicly financed, single payer health care system. My response to this is: Yes.  The election results suggest we should move forward. 

 It’s no secret that the implementation of Vermont Health Connect, our execution of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) – sometimes called Obamacare, has been problematic and troubling to many people.  The election is very likely, at least in part, a reflection of people’s dissatisfaction with the rollout of Vermont Health Connect.  But that dissatisfaction does not include Act 48, the legislation that established our intent to enact Green Mountain Care, the first universal, publicly financed healthcare system in the country.  On the contrary - the legislature, the administration, and the advocacy community should feel encouraged, if not compelled to redouble efforts to move forward with Act 48 and Green Mountain Care. 

 Moving forward with Green Mountain Care is our way and the best way to move beyond Vermont Health Connect and the ACA and actually improve healthcare.  Specifically, implementing Green Mountain Care: a true universal, publicly financed healthcare system, promises to decouple healthcare from employment, decrease administrative overhead, lower cost to consumers, improve access to healthcare, and improve health outcomes. 

 Main Street Alliance has spent the past four months traveling around the state and speaking one-on-one with hundreds of small, main street business owners about some of the issues facing Vermont, including healthcare.  In these conversations, we’ve learned that there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty about Vermont’s efforts to reform healthcare in the context of the existing and federally mandated Affordable Care Act.  

 There’s been a lot of healthcare reform lately – so much that keeping it all straight is a legitimate challenge.  But one thing is clear to us based on hundreds of conversations: proponents of universal, publicly financed healthcare need to effectively communicate with Vermonters about the difference between the ACA and Green Mountain Care.  Most importantly, we need to make it clear that Green Mountain Care will move us out of Vermont Health Connect and the ACA and into a system that will be much more akin to providing Catamount or Dr. Dynasaur for all Vermonters, that it will take private insurers out of the equation, decouple healthcare from employment, and be paid for through a progressive tax that will replace premiums.  Green Mountain Care is a Vermont healthcare system that will include and cover all Vermonters just because they’re Vermonters.

 In our conversations, we’ve found that the majority of small business owners (most of whom are not currently providing healthcare to their employees), are supportive of the idea of a universal, publicly financed healthcare system.  Of course, they’re eager to see the financing plan and the benefits package, as we all are, to be able to assess the administration’s specific proposal.  But the support for the concept – the support to apply for a waiver to the ACA and to move forward with a universal, VERMONT plan that takes private insurers out of the system - is resounding.  As one small business owner from Windham county said:  “I’d love to see healthcare come from the state; small businesses can’t afford to offer it.”

 Please visit our website to see the list of businesses that have formed a working coalition to support moving forward with universal, publicly financed healthcare in a responsible way.  A full report on Main Street Alliance of Vermont’s 2014 Small Business Policy Project will be released in December.  

 

This article was written by Lindsay DesLauriers, State Director at Main Street Alliance of Vermont and resident of Huntington.  It was originally published in VT Digger and subsequently in the Barre Montpelier Times Argus.

 

Main Street Alliance of Vermont is happy to announce that we have joined with five other organizations to form the new Green Mountain Care Coalition.  Each organization in the coalition independently supports Vermont in moving forward with Act 48, the legislation that established Vermont’s intent to enact Green Mountain Care, the first universal, publicly financed healthcare system in the country.  Together, we support a healthcare system that is decoupled from employment, that will lower cost to consumers, improve access to healthcare and improve health outcomes for Vermonters. 

 Please link to the Green Mountain Care Coalition webpage and video here.