[D]espite a worker shortage that is suppressing Vermont’s economic growth, the state of Vermont teamed up with Amazon last month to advertise remote jobs that the retail giant plans to offer in the state sometime this year.
The governor’s office announced Amazon plans to begin hiring dozens of Vermonters for part-time remote positions in its Virtual Customer Service program.
In a press release, the state touted the positions and provided contact information.
“The positions offer competitive wages and benefits and provide alternative employment opportunities for rural Vermonters,” the release said. It included a quote from Ardine Williams, described as Amazon’s vice president of human resources for worldwide operations, who said: “Vermont’s high quality of life, workforce and innovative programs for attracting remote workers make it a great place for us to hire Amazon Virtual Customer Service Associates. These will be great opportunities for those Vermonters who want or need a flexible job — whether they’re college students, military spouses, parents, or retirees.”
Vermont’s unemployment rate has been hovering around 2.5 percent for several months and hit a record low of 2.4 percent in February, according to the state Department of Labor. Many business owners and managers say their No. 1 challenge right now is finding staff.
The state Agency of Commerce has been working on programs aimed at attracting new workers to the state, and one pays the moving expenses for workers who have remote jobs.
But it’s not the state’s place to use taxpayer money to help Amazon hire workers in Vermont, said Michael DeSanto, who owns five bookstores in Vermont. He said he’s looking for a worker who is qualified to help him with internet sales.
“So now I have to compete with what Amazon is going to get for workers?” he said. “I don’t think the government should be getting involved with this one way or another. And if it is, how come I’m not getting some free stuff?”
Also, Amazon, the largest online retailer in the world — in fact the largest company in the world with a valuation of nearly $800 billion in January, according to the Wall Street Journal — competes head-to-head against Vermont retailers that are struggling to survive.
“It is unusual to send out basically a job posting for one company, especially one that has helped cannibalize many small businesses in Vermont, to basically do a job posting for them and not all of the employers,” said Vermont Senate Pro Tem Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden.
Like many other critics of the move, Ashe also said he welcomed more jobs, remote or otherwise.
“Pointing people seeking work to positions that are available obviously is an appropriate thing for government to do,” Ashe said. “But how you do it, of course, is where the real judgment comes down. There are tech companies here in Vermont that are also looking for workers. They might ask, ‘Should I have the governor’s office put out a job posting for me so I don’t have to pay for advertising?’”
Liz Schlegel, executive director of the Alchemist Foundation, focuses on finding ways to connect people with the skills Vermont employers need. She said she wasn’t surprised by the move.
“Helping outside companies bring jobs to Vermont is a focus of the Agency of Commerce and traditional economic development in general,” Schlegel said. “It’s an interesting question, though, whether efforts to help “homegrown” companies should be prioritized — I would say yes.”
And Paul Cillo, founder of Public Assets Institute, a public policy think tank in Montpelier, said he didn’t see a downside to a program promoting jobs that people can do from home.
“It could bring people into the labor force that are currently out because of transportation or other constraint,” Cillo said.
The press release said Amazon will hire dozens of Vermonters later this year for new work-from-home, part-time customer service positions that are not now available in Vermont.
“Growing Vermont’s workforce and supporting all of Vermont’s 251 communities is a top priority for my administration,” Gov. Phil Scott said in the press release. “As we work together to make employment and training opportunities available to all Vermonters, I’m encouraged to know that global technology leaders like Amazon see the value Vermont workers bring to the table.”
Emails between Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein and Amazon policy communications manager Jill Shatzen Kerr show that Kerr sent Goldstein the quote by Williams of Amazon to add to the press release.
Vermont officials should focus on promoting locally owned businesses, said Ashley Moore, state director of the Main Street Alliance. DeSanto added that by helping Amazon, Scott’s office was picking winners and losers in business.
“The governor has decided Amazon is the winner, and everybody else apparently is a loser,” said DeSanto, who owns bookstores in Woodstock, Chester, Rutland, Essex, and Burlington. “I don’t know why my tax dollars are doing that.”
