Maine Small Business Statement in Support of Workers and Bargaining Rights:
People with Good-Paying Jobs are the Bedrock of Our Customer Base
May 30, 2011

Honorable Members of the Labor, Research, Commerce and Economic Development Committee:

As small business owners, we know our businesses are the foundation of our local economies. We also know the foundation of our success is a healthy customer base. People with good-paying jobs, including public employees and workers in the private sector, are the bedrock of that customer base.

For business owners, one of the most significant changes to come out Federal financial reform were new regulations on fees banks and credit card companies can charge on debit card transactions.

Swipe fee reform for small businesses was passed last year and is set to go into effect this summer, but Wall Street's army of lobbyists is swarming Capitol Hill trying to delay this common sense legislation for another 2 years. Make no mistake, delaying these reforms is allowing it to die quietly.

Click below to add your name to this letter supporting the important protections of the Kid-Safe Products Act:

To the Honorable Members of the Joint Standing Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources:

We the undersigned Maine businesses call on this Committee and the Legislature at large to defend the Kid-Safe Products Act. To protect Maine children and Maine businesses, we must make sure that all the products children are exposed to (not just toys) don’t contain chemicals that threaten their health and development. Many of the proposals in LD 1129 would effectively cripple a law that provides critical information and protection to businesses and families. Every Maine consumer deserves a home that is free of toxic chemicals, just as every Maine business deserves the right to know that the products being sold on their shelves are safe.

We encourage you to preserve the Kid-Safe Products Act, reject LD 1129 and:

Thursday, April 7th was the Maine Small Business Coalition's Statehouse Lobby Day.

Small business owners from all over the state lobbied members of the legislature on issues like protecting access to affordable health insurance, stopping the repeal of the Informed Growth act, which allows towns to evaluate big box development, and stopping environmental rollbacks that will damage Maine's quality of place and hurt Maine's brand as a state.