A Woodstock Early Bird informs us that Rep. Peter Welch will be making the rounds in Woodstock today, perhaps visiting the re-opened Woodstock Farmers Market which was destroyed by flood waters and which rose again like a gourmet shop phoenix in the months following.
We’re sure Rep. Welch will be on hand to congratulate those who worked and sweated so hard to bring the anchor business back to Woodstock. They deserve a lot of credit and may have done so with local, state and federal loans and compensation. The flood showed us that government assistance is not always a bad thing.
We also hope that in visiting Vermont’s small businesses, Welch finds a way to push for their continued success so that they may pass on that financial success to their employees in order to provide a living wage. Many of Vermont’s (and Woodstock’s) long-time employers are still only able to provide hourly wages of $10 to $12 hours/hours. Yes, those wages are certainly over minimum wage but in Woodstock Early Bird’s experience, that money –after 25% to 30% is taken out for taxes and such — is NEVER enough to pay for individual employees rents, self-paid health insurance, gas, heating fuel, food, clothing and so on. It is a well-known “joke” that hard-working Vermonters in our area often hold two and three jobs to make ends meet.
Woodstock Early Bird doesn’t think that’s funny. As the phrase “family values” is bandied around during this Presidential Election year, we’d like to say that the improvement of family life is directly related to people’s ability to pay their bills, experience a healthy lifestyle and spend time with their loved ones. Running our working populace into the ground does not serve Vermont or the country well.
How can you help us Rep. Peter Welch?
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 
Posted by AMacDonald on February 4, 2012 at 12:49
I had a long going argument with my husband, small bushiness verses big business. Home Depot verses small family run lumber yard. Large grocery store verses family/owner owned.
Ha! I lost. I don’t like to loose. It seems, at least to me, that most family run businesses pay minimum wages or slightly above (no wonder these people need two jobs), no health insurance (if they do, it is a group policy with a low rate but the employee pays it). Yes, the employer has the risk but he or she can offset it by keeping those wages low. Take a small town like Woodstock or rural areas where you need transportation, the rents are high, the rental below standard.
The worst is being treated like a lesser individual. Many of these employees have college degrees, with the loans to prove it. They are still addressed as losers by many employers, customers and oh yes visitors.
Please understand the things I have addressed are not across the board. I have worked for several owner owned businesses that treated me fairly. My jobs did not need me to be a rocket scientist but my enthusiasm, work ethic and pleasant demeanor were big pluses for them. As for those other employers I was just another one of many a good employee that they could take advantage of. Sometimes even being threatened with no job come in the up coming season if I applied for unemployment. Risk or no risk all employees deserve to be treated with respect and a living wage.
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