Current News

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine At meetings across Northern New England last week, union members in Maine and Vermont voted to authorize union leaders to call a strike at FairPoint Communications, union representatives have said. Members in New Hampshire are expected to complete their voting process by Thursday, according to a union leader. Representatives of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1400 and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Locals 2320, 2326, and 2327 have been in negotiations with company management since late April and have yet to reach an agreement. The contracts of approximately 1,700 union employees in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont expire on August 2. There are about 450 Vermont workers in the bargaining unit.

The Vermont Attorney General’s Office has filed suit against Living Essentials, LLC and Innovation Ventures, LLC, the makers, marketers and sellers of 5-hour ENERGY®. The Complaint alleges that the companies repeatedly violated the Vermont Consumer Protection Act by making deceptive promotional claims about their product. For example, while 5-hour ENERGY® says its proprietary blend of nutrients and caffeine provides benefits like energy, focus and alertness, the only ingredient in 5-hour ENERGY® that has any effect is its concentrated shot of caffeine.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont gained construction jobs between May and June and also over the last 12 months, according to a new report. The state ranked 14th for job gains for the month and 18th over the last 12 months, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. For the US, more states have gained than lost, but the recovery from the Great Recession remains choppy. Construction firms added jobs in 38 states and the District of Columbia over the past 12 months, but they reduced headcount in 27 states between May and June, according to an analysis today of Labor Department data by the AGC of America. Vermont added 100 jobs in June (a 0.7 percent gain), while the state added 600 since June 2013 (4.3 percent) for total construction employment of 14,400.

By a vote of 347-57, the House of Representatives Tuesday evening passed the Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2014 (HR4450) which reauthorizes the successful Brand USA tourism promotion program for five additional years. The bill was authored by Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vermont). The bill passed with an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the face of strong opposition from the Club for Growth. Cosponsored by Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), the bill was unanimously approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week. Welch and Bilirakis are members of the committee. Brand USA is a voluntary public-private partnership that attracts international visitors to Vermont and the rest of the country through a global marketing campaign. The program is funded at no cost to the taxpayer through private sector contributions matched by fees collected from international visitors through the Visa Waiver Program.

Just prior to the start of the 2014 Vermont Brewers Festival, a sold-out event this past weekend that drew thousands to Burlington’s Waterfront to celebrate the state’s craft beer industry, Governor Peter Shumlin was joined today by lawmakers, restaurant and bar owners, and distributors to celebrated a new law legalizing sampler flights of beer, wine and spirituous beverages.

“This new law is yet another way that we can support Vermonters making the best beer in the world, as well as fostering our growing wine and spirits industry,” Shumlin said at the outside beer garden at the Farmhouse Tap and Grill in Burlington. “This is a great example of legislation that directly supports our economy and draws attention to the artisans that are so important to our way of life here.”

In the second quarter of 2014, the Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) loaned over $347,000 to Vermont's small businesses and child care programs. The loans have helped create and preserve Vermont jobs, and to create and preserve high-quality early child care and education for Vermont’s children.

“VCLF’s great emphasis on helping Vermont’s families access high-quality, affordable child care, essential for the development and success of Vermont’s children, is well-served by these new child care programs. The businesses we’ve loaned to this quarter promise to build jobs and the Vermont economy,” said VCLF Executive Director Will Belongia.

Projects financed include:

Berry Patch Holistic Childcare, Moretown

Starting at 7 am Tuesday July 22 the main entrance road to Central Vermont Medical Center on Fisher Road in Berlin (at the traffic light to the mall) will be closed for reconstruction and repaving of the entrance road. There will be a temporary entrance road between Buildings C and D. This will be well marked and there will be officers and flaggers to help direct traffic. The main entrance to the Emergency Department off of Fisher Road will remain open

Vermont Business Magazine Employment in Vermont’s only large county, Chittenden, increased 0.4 percent from December 2012 to December 2013, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2012 annual average employment.) The three counties in Vermont with the highest wages were Chittenden ($994/week), Washington ($895/week), and Franklin ($815/week), with Grand Isle ($624/week), Essex ($660/week), and Orleans ($676/week) the three lowest, meaning the wealthiest and poorest counties in the state are all in the northern half. As a state, Vermont's overall increase in wages ranked it fourth in the nation for growth, but 36th overall in average weekly wage.

SEE TABLES BELOW

Vermont Business Magazine New unemployment claims in Vermont barely budged last week both week-to-week and year-to-year. For the week of July 12, 2014, there were 584 new, regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance in Vermont. This is an increase of 2 from the previous week's total, and 25 more than they were a year ago. Claims have been generally lower than were at the same time last year.

Fletcher Allen Health Care announced today that Fitch Ratings, one of the major New York City-based bond rating services, has upgraded the institution’s bond rating from 'BBB+' to ‘A-’ with a “Stable” outlook. Fitch based its decision not only on Fletcher Allen’s financial performance but also on the way that Fletcher Allen Partners was successfully able to integrate the New York-based hospitals into the system without any negative impact on the system’s operating or financial metrics.

Fletcher Allen Health Care: Hospital right, medical school, left. Courtesy of FAHC.

by Guy Page State officials celebrated Vermont getting a “pass” after the US EPA announced June 2 its state-by-state plan to reduce power-related carbon emissions 30% nationwide by 2030. Lacking any full-time fossil-fuel powered electricity generating plants, it is not surprising that Vermont is exempt from the new rule. While this may seem like a victory for the Green Mountain State, our energy policy has actually left us “browner,” more vulnerable to price increases from the new rule, and virtually powerless over how our electricity is generated.

Gov. Peter Shumlin joined members of the Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program (VFFVP) on the Sizen Farm Thursday to announce $384,831 in grant awards to 17 farmers for projects to construct, expand, repair or upgrade facilities to improve herd management, working conditions, and cow health.

“These Dairy Improvement Grants are aimed at improving both milk production and the financial viability of Vermont dairy farms,” the Governor said. “With support from Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy and the assistance and cooperation of the funding entities in securing tax credit equity, this public/private partnership is providing assistance that our farmers can use to improve the bottom line in the very competitive world of dairy farming.”