CHARLESTON, W. Va. - A ban on West Virginia utility shutoffs during the pandemic has ended this week, leaving many customers scrambling to pay overdue bills to avoid disconnection.

In March, the West Virginia Public Service Commission had ordered electric, water and gas providers to halt service disconnections, as so many people faced COVID-19-related unemployment. And although the state continues to reopen, Seth DiStefano - policy outreach director with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy - says the financial burden continues for many households.

"What we're going to have here is, you know, in addition to skyrocketing food insecurity, you know, in addition to people being worried about just simply putting food on the table," says DiStefano, "they very well may not have water to boil for dinner, or even wash their hands or do laundry."

Some organizations in the state, like Connecting Link in Morgantown and Fairmont, are providing emergency assistance for folks facing utility cutoffs. Visit 'Connecting Link' online for help.

DiStefano points out that thousands of people still rely on unemployment benefits to make ends meet. He calls the unemployment provision in the CARES Act the single biggest factor in keeping West Virginia's economy from completely collapsing.

But that portion, $600 a week, is set to expire at the end of the month.

"That $600 a week is keeping the rent paid, it's keeping utilities on," says DiStefano, "If that goes away, it is going to be catastrophic, I think. For working families, for low-income families, it will be bad."

He suggests people call their members of Congress to share their views on extending unemployment benefits or bolstering other support programs, like Medicaid and SNAP. But it's also important to make contact with any utility threatening a shutoff, as some are willing to work with customers who've fallen behind.


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A new report finds Connecticut's state government can improve pay equity and representation.

The University of Connecticut School of Public Policy report examines demographic representation in proportion to statewide census data. Hispanic and Latino people have the lowest representation among new hires and long-term employees. White men and Black people are the majority of longer-term hires.

Mohamed Alkadry, professor and director of the school, said it is more than a human resources issue.

"There are also areas where the issues are stubborn like hiring female engineers is complicated by many things like the availability of female engineers in the workforce," Alkadry pointed out. "Engineering schools are still graduating not enough women by comparison to men."

Although female engineers are entering the field in record numbers, they are not remaining in the industry. Alkadry noted lawmakers can fund pathway programs for government employment, which can provide recent graduates with options to enter public service since it is harder to enter a field with little or no experience.

Despite this, Alkadry finds representation in government among all groups has improved in recent years.

While representation is fairly well-rounded, pay equity in Connecticut's government is not. The report showed pay for people of color, Hispanics and Latinos is lower than those of white workers. Alkadry emphasized pay equity plays a big role in representation, especially for minority workers.

"If half of the workforce is that, but then the pay equity data shows that these folks are only making 60% of what white men and white women are making in that same workforce, this means that the Hispanic and Black men and women are ending up in lower-echelon positions," Alkadry outlined.

One report recommendation called for the Department of Administrative Services to conduct an analysis on the diversity of statewide candidate pools. The data can uncover whether diverse candidates are entering the application process or if other barriers slow their progress.

More than a year after City of Richmond workers filed to vote on a union contract, they are celebrating its implementation.

The contract provides workers with an established grievance process, updated health and safety guidelines, and labor management committees to help improve different departments. Workers described the moment as everything they have waited for.

Felicia Boney, management analyst associate in the Department of Social Services for the City of Richmond, said it sends a message to other cities about the efficacy of treating workers fairly.

"The economy has changed," Boney pointed out. "People are looking for better employment, better benefits. It will improve retention of the employees and if employers are treating their employees like they should, it would benefit them."

Cities like Alexandria, Portsmouth, and Newport News are all in different stages of the unionization process. A 2021 poll showed 68% of Virginians favored letting public employees unionize.

Boney noted there was plenty of give and take from the city and workers, making it quite a process to reach this point but with things in place, she emphasized the city is eager to start working with the Joint Labor Management Committee.

Another reason for the contract's implementation is making the city more competitive in hiring. The hope is to attract people to jobs in understaffed departments. She stressed workers are eager to see what lies ahead in a new chapter of Richmond's history.

"We love our jobs, we really do," Boney added. "We just want to be able to be better at doing what we're doing, and I think this gives us an opportunity to do just that. We want to make Richmond great again and I think this is one of the tracks we can take to do that."

Before the contract and unionization, one in 12 of the city's full-time employees could not support themselves on their salary. The city also saw high turnover rates across agencies. In all, it cost the city more than $6.5 million per year.


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Supporters of a new state-sponsored retirement savings program in Maine are celebrating a significant milestone.

More than six months after the launch of the Maine Retirement Investment Trust, or MERIT, enrolled employees have saved more than $1 million.

Alf Anderson, associate director for advocacy and outreach at AARP Maine, said the program was created to help the roughly 200,000 private sector workers without access to a retirement plan at their job.

"You know, one of the most important things for people as they plan for retirement," said Anderson, "is having that financial security to be able to do the things they want to do when they do get to that point in their lives. And so, that milestone was really exciting for us to see."

Anderson said businesses with at least five employees can register with MERIT to help set up savings for workers, who would otherwise seek out an independent financial planner.

More than 1,500 employers have already signed on.

Surveys show more than half of Americans are concerned they won't be able to achieve financial security in retirement.

At least 25 states introduced legislation last year to establish new, state-backed retirement plans.

Anderson said the successful rollout in Maine reveals the urgency people feel about planning for the future due to the high costs of food and housing.

"Do I cut back on my medications?" said Anderson. "Do I not eat a certain number of meals today? Like, it's really frightening to see some of the decisions people have to make."

Anderson said the pandemic didn't help - with even more Mainers facing depleted savings accounts and having only Social Security to fall back on when they reach retirement age.

State officials say MERIT could help Mainers for generations to come, and help reduce reliance on public assistance programs.