Author: Amy Volk

Another pro-employer bill has died at the hands of the divided 127th Legislature. LD 1501, “An Act To Amend the Law Regarding Disqualification for Unemployment Benefits during Stoppages of Work,” sponsored by my colleague Representative Joel Stetkis (R-Canaan) would have done nothing more than disallow people who have chosen to go on strike from collecting unemployment benefits. The unemployment system is paid into through payroll taxes on employers – why would they want to fund employees who have chosen to strike? Is that not at least part of why labor unions exist? It simply does not make sense that private…

As Chair of the Legislature’s Labor, Commerce, Research, and Economic Development Committee (LCRED), and as a member of the committee for the four years I served in the House of Representatives, I have had the opportunity to delve into many issues that affect businesses and the economy in Maine. One of the concerns of the business community in Maine that has come to my attention through that work is organized retail crime. This crime is hurting businesses – businesses which employ many Mainers – and we must take steps to prevent it. That’s why I have introduced LD 310, “An…

“Youth comes but once in a lifetime,” said Maine’s own poet and educator Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. As a two term State Representative who grew up in northern and southern Maine, I know first-hand the value of a Maine-based public school education. I also believe one-size-fits-all is not the approach to K-12 education that families throughout the state deserve. As a mother of four, I have spoken with families who want to provide a healthy learning environment for their children—one with maximum flexibility to meet the diverse needs of their households. Families of students who are hospitalized or homebound, have anxiety…