City Desk
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By Kathleen Shannon - Producer, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - It's the first Pride Month after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that President Donald Trump can ban transgender people from serving in the military. Advocates for the group are taking the opportunity to shed light on that and other forms of workplace discrimination. Comments from Martha Gomez, director of workforce development, the nonprofit Trans Can Work.
Click on the image above for the audio. According to a 2024 survey, 82% of American transgender employees reported experiencing discrimination or harassment at work. (Adobe Stock)
Kathleen Shannon
June 5, 2025 - June is Pride Month, and transgender advocates are speaking out, seeking equal recognition in society and in the workplace. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that President Donald Trump can enforce a ban on transgender people in the military, while litigation proceeds.
Martha Gomez, director of workforce development with the nonprofit Trans Can Work, said the attacks on transgender people ultimately hurt society as a whole.
"Of course, transgender are at the forefront of a lot of those cuts and those attacks," she explained. "But the truth is that these DEI cuts, they hurt all of us as a nation to not have opinions outside of just one."
The armed forces are also changing the names of transgender members of the military back to their names at birth. Trans Can Work encourages all employers to consider the harm of deadnaming people, and to make sure health-care policy and legal paperwork is inclusive. They offer job training and re-entry services in order to fight higher unemployment rates among transgender groups - which range from 9% to 16%, which is much higher than the national rate of 4.2%.
Gomez would like employers to make sure employee compensation is fair and based entirely on a job well done, without regard to gender identity.
"Compared to a white cis man, gay or lesbian women tend to make about 89 cents of that dollar. Transgender people make about 69 cents, and black transgender women only make 43 cents of that dollar," she continued.
Transgender, gender-diverse and intersex individuals continue to face high rates of economic insecurity, job discrimination and barriers to stable employment.
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By Kathleen Shannon - Producer, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - Montana’s utility monopoly NorthWestern Energy is scheduled Monday, June 9, to argue before the Montana Public Service Commission for a significant rate increase, after implementing one without approval in May. Opponents are gathering Monday in Helena to show their disapproval. Comments by Dick Maney [MAIN-ee], a ratepayer and resident of Butte, Mont.
Click on the image above for the audio. Montana’s utility monopoly NorthWestern Energy is scheduled Monday, June 9, to argue before the Montana Public Service Commission for a significant rate increase, after implementing one without approval in May. Opponents are gathering Monday in Helena to show their disapproval. Comments by Dick Maney [MAIN-ee], a ratepayer and resident of Butte, Mont.
Kathleen Shannon
June 6, 2025 - Groups opposed to NorthWestern Energy's latest rate-hike proposal plan to rally on Monday in Helena.
In an unusual move, the utility giant used a legal loophole to increase electric rates for its Montana customers without approval, just weeks before it was scheduled to argue for approval. Montana's Public Service Commission regulates utilities, including NorthWestern, which serves two-thirds of the state.
After the Public Service Commission failed to act within nine months of a request, NorthWestern announced a 17% rate increase, or more than $200 a year per customer.
Dick Maney, a resident of Butte, said while Montanans elect Public Service Commission members, he worries the commission is not always acting on the consumers' behalf.
"That is the problem," Maney asserted. "I don't think it has a lot to do with NorthWestern Energy. I think it has a lot to do with the regulators on the outside, not on the inside of the company."
The move follows a 28% rate increase in 2023 and precedes arguments starting Monday for another 20% increase. The Monday rally to oppose the hikes is being hosted by a coalition of groups: Montana Conservation Voters, Families for a Livable Climate, Forward Montana, Big Sky 55+, Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, Montana Sierra Club and Helena Interfaith Climate Advocates.
Maney noted the rate increases are troublesome on top of the many other increasing costs of living in the state. For example, the median residential property in 2023 saw a 21% higher tax bill than the previous year, according to the Montana Free Press.
"We have to deal with property taxes, which have increased substantially over the last couple of years and that is really affecting everyone," Maney pointed out. "An increase in electricity affects us a lot."
In the final days of the legislative session, state lawmakers passed property tax relief measures for most Montanans by raising taxes on second homes.
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PNS - Thursday, June 5, 2025 - Citizens of a rural North Carolina town hit by Hurricane Helene fight to reopen their post office, the loss of a federal mining safety program could harm workers, and wood-firing potters carry the torch in rural North Carolina.
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PNS - Thursday, June 5, 2025 Budget reconciliation negotiations get tense, may not finish by July 4 deadline. Russian President Putin says Ukraine will 'pay' for its latest attack, and former White House Press Secretary Jean-Pierre leaves Democratic Party.
