A potential bus drivers strike and a new union for home health care workers are just two of the stories that have recently raised the profile of organized labor in Vermont.  But unions have significantly fewer members now than at their peak in the 1950s, and their organizing strategies have also changed. On the next Vermont Edition, we’ll look at national trends in labor unions, and how Vermont workers fit into that picture. Our guest is Dartmouth professor Marx Dixon, who studies national union trends, and we'll hear from members of various unions that are active in Vermont.

Sen. Bernie Sanders says more than 300 IBM workers laid off last year at the company’s Vermont facilities are eligible for additional training and employment services.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance is available to workers the U.S. Department of Labor considers displaced by foreign competition or because jobs were moved overseas.

Previously 115 workers who were part of the same round of layoffs had been deemed eligible for the benefits, but the state subsequently requested that all of the former IBM employees qualify for the benefits.

One of the biggest debates of the second half of the legislative session could be over a bill that provides paid sick leave to all employees.

At the beginning of the session, backers of the bill felt they had enough votes in the House to pass their legislation. But it appears that some of that support has eroded for two reasons.

First, concerns have been raised by some members of the business community about how the mandate will affect small businesses.

St. Johnsbury is one of 35 towns that saw its school budget voted down by voters on Town Meeting Day. But unlike many towns, it’s seeing its class sizes increase, and that’s adding costs. After the vote, the School Board held a public meeting where residents got to sound off about how to create a budget they will support.

You know the old saying: March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Well, the incoming weather may prove at least half of that adage true. A massive storm is bearing down on New England.

According to the Eye on the Sky forecast, Vermonters can expect a wintry mix of precipitation Wednesday with up to 20 inches of snow in northern mountain areas of the state.

When Gov. Peter Shumlin launched his single payer health care initiative in 2011, the effort promised to be the policy equivalent of a moon mission, one of the most far-reaching and complex reform projects ever undertaken at the state level. It would be very hard, yet still doable. And critically important, given that the health care system both in Vermont and in the U.S. is simply not financially sustainable.

The new Farm Bill was signed into law a little over a month ago. It includes $8.9 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. Those $8.9 billion come from eliminating a loophole known as “heat and eat”, which tied food benefits to heating assistance. That loophole was only used in 17 states, including Vermont. And those states are now trying to find ways to fill the gap in food assistance funding.

Think of Marlboro as a gas station on the information superhighway.

There’s enough gas for everyone, but there’s a limited number of pumps.  

As a result, some Marlboro FairPoint customers have to wait in line to get broadband service, even though it’s available at their address. They are unserved residents in an area with broadband service.

When asked to choose a metaphor to describe the salary negotiation process, women pick "going to the dentist." Most men choose "winning a ballgame." In Vermont, women still make on average 87 percent of what their male colleagues do. Perhaps that’s partly because they’re not asking for more?

We’ll talk to Cheryl Hanna, Vermont Law School Professor, and Cary Brown, executive director of The Vermont Commission on Women, about pay equity and what women can do to be better negotiators.

The City of Montpelier has launched an effort to become the country's first "net zero capital city."

City officials have coined the initiative Net Zero Montpelier, and have partnered with Green Mountain Power, Efficiency Vermont, and a list of other groups and business. The Net Zero Montpelier website describes the project this way: