Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ricky Klein, who is the co-owner of Groennfell Meadery in Colchester, and a board member of Main Street Alliance.
[V]ermont lawmakers have another opportunity this year to pass a strong paid family and medical leave insurance bill which will support working families and foster a thriving small business economy. At some point in our lives, we all will need to support a family member, bond with a new child or tend to a personal illness or injury. The bill being considered by the Legislature, H.107, will ensure Vermonters and Vermont families are able to balance work and family life while maintaining their economic security.
My wife, Kelly, and I own Groennfell Meadery in Colchester — soon to be St. Albans — and we started our company six years ago with family values at the core of our business model. We never want to be the reason people delay starting a family or go to work when they are needed by a newborn or ill family member. We’ve seen firsthand how policies that support workers, such as paid family and medical leave, are good for business and we are thrilled to see such a policy moving forward in the Vermont Legislature this year.
Vermont’s businesses are small with 99 percent employing fewer than 100 employees. These businesses also employ 62 percent of all private-sector employees. Small employers often struggle to provide robust benefit packages to employees and often lose employees to larger companies that are able to provide the benefits we all need. That’s why we believe in creating portable benefit structures — like paid family and medical leave insurance — that ensure all working Vermonters are able to have access to this needed support, regardless of where they work. It’s a win-win for Vermont workers and Vermont’s small employers.
Strategic, smart policies that reflect the interconnected relationship between our small businesses and local communities will preserve the culture we all love in our towns and villages, improve the lives of Vermonters, help small businesses thrive, and encourage economic growth by making our state an attractive place to live, work and raise a family.
As a small business owner who would contribute to this insurance pool, I see H.107 as an opportunity for us to come together to support one another to create healthy communities for our businesses, families members, neighbors, and future generations. Vermont is a small business state, and it is incumbent upon us to actively look for ways to support our local employers and help them better compete with larger businesses for talented employees.
I am looking forward to the passage of H.107 this year so that every working Vermonter has paid family and medical leave insurance.
