Raising the Wage is Good for Business
By Daniel Barlow, Public Policy Manager of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility Want to hear something obvious? Raising the minimum wage increases the take-home pay for low-income workers without hurting job growth. That’s not just a sound bite from Sen. Bernie Sanders – it’s now a proven economic fact. A study released this month from […]
A $15/hour Minimum Wage is Good for Business, By Don Mayer, CEO of Small Dog Electronics
The Vermont Legislature recently passed a measure to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024. As a Vermont business owner, I believe this is sound policy and should not have been vetoed by Gov. Scott. Many families now work multiple jobs and are still not able to meet the basic needs of shelter, […]
State House Report April, 9th
VBSR Asks VT Senate Leaders to Fund Climate Change Studies VBSR sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week requesting that legislators maintain funding for an important economic analysis of decarbonization policies in Vermont. Read the testimony to the Senate Committee. Climate change is a complex problem and the Vermont Legislature needs good […]
Minimum Wage should be a Living Wage
Eighteen states began 2018 by raising the minimum wage. The majority of states – now totaling 29 – have increased the state minimum wage above the federal minimum wage ($7.25 an hour) which hasn’t been raised in almost a decade. Vermont has always been a leader in taking care of our workers. Every two years, […]
VBSR’s 2017 Legislative Agenda
Based on feedback from our members and development from our Public Policy Committee, VBSR worked on the following key issues at the Vermont State House this year, as well as on a number of secondary issues. Effective Use of State Contracting The state of Vermont is a big purchaser of goods and services. We […]
Testimony: Senate Government Operations, State Procurement
Testimony by Daniel Barlow, VBSR Public Policy Manager Senate Government Operations Committee, January 18, 2017 Re: Highest Value Procurement Vermont state government is a major purchaser of goods and services from the private sector, providing economic opportunities for businesses of all sizes and supporting thousands of jobs each year. Awarding state contracts for goods and […]
2015 Legislative Report
The 2015 legislative session opened with some VBSR priority areas carrying over from the 2014 session, in particular legislation on earned paid leave made it through the House. Other issues such as Clean Water and Rent-to-Own legislation gained new momentum this session and VBSR worked closely to influence these policies. We received tremendous support from […]
2014 Legislative Report
Bills and Policies Influenced by VBSR Advocacy The 2014 legislative session opened with some VBSR priority areas carrying over from the 2013 session, in particular legislation on the labeling of genetically modified food and expansion of Pre-K education. Other issues, such as net metering, a minimum wage increase, and toxic chemical reform, were new to […]
2016 Legislative Report
The 2016 legislative session was a successful one for VBSR: Our four-year campaign to pass a bill expanding paid leave policies across the state concluded successfully, and we played the lead role in expanding employment opportunities for Vermonters with criminal convictions. VBSR also tackled several environmental and energy issues in this second-half of the biennium, […]
Paid Earned Sick Leave
What Does the Law Do? Act 69 allows most Vermont workers to earn paid time off from their employers. The paid time off can be used to recover from personal or family illness or to seek other services. Initially, employees will earn one hour of paid time off for every 40 hours they work. Workers […]