Our 42 employees are the core of everything we do -- the heart of Red Hen. That is why my wife Liza and I insist on providing paid sick days, an equal and livable wage, health coverage, and other benefits that help everyone balance the work they love with the life they lead. Through these workplace policies, we know we're making our employees more secure, our bakery more productive, and our business more profitable.

It's common sense -- plain and simple. That's why I'm so excited and honored to be at the White House today as a "Champion of Change" for working families. I'll be joining President Obama, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, and other champions of workplace policies to talk about how crucial they are to building a stronger business. This is too important of an issue for anyone to sit on the sidelines. So you should join us, too.

Watch live at the White House today starting at 12:15 p.m. ET to hear what ordinary people are doing to make an extraordinary difference for America's hardworking men and women.

You can join in on the conversation using the hashtag #WorkingFamilyChamps. Whether you're an employer, an employee, a working mom or dad, or brand new to the workforce, your voice can help lift up the challenges millions of working families face and the solutions that will make a difference.

So I'll hope you'll join us live and be a champion for your employees, coworkers, or your community by standing up for common-sense workplace policies.

Because the bottom line is this: Employees that are happy at work perform better. Focusing on policies that make sense for working families has paid dividends for our business. There's no reason more companies across the country can't do the same thing and realize those benefits.

If you have thoughts, I'd love to hear them. I hope you'll join the conversation today.

I'm Randy, the founder of the Red Hen Baking Company in Middlesex, Vermont.

• Barack Obama Employees President Secure White House Work
• At 4/17/2015 03:45:00 p.m.
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Across the country, there are doctors working to convince people to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. It's known as "conversion therapy," but it could also be called brainwashing, or reprogramming.

Loving and compassionate parents and ministers who are trying to do the right thing are doing just the opposite. They are influenced by bad science, not grounded in fact. This so-called "conversion therapy" is harmful.

A couple of days ago, the White House came out in support of efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy. And as a transgender woman, this is especially personal to me.

No one should be forced to be someone they're not. Everyone should be valued for their authentic, true self -- who they are -- regardless of the gender with which they identify, or who they love.

I recently talked with a few other people in the Administration about why conversion therapy is so dangerous, and why it was so important for the White House to take a strong stance against the practice.

Here's what we have to say:

This isn't just a transgender issue or an LGBT issue -- it’s an American issue. Our nation was founded on the ideals of equality and acceptance for everyone, and forcing an individual to be someone they aren't goes directly against what this country stands for.

If we're going to grow as a society, we must move beyond the way things are, to the way things should be.

That's why I'm glad our Administration is standing up and making it clear that conversion therapy is unacceptable. Our society should allow every child and every person the freedom to be whoever they aspire to be.

And we've already seen the tragic effects of this therapy. Countless people have taken their own lives because they feel they can't fit into the standards that society demands. Others, although they haven't lost their lives, have been forced to live unfulfilled lives and to repress their feelings in the process -- feelings that come out in other ways that we can't always anticipate.

We can be better than this. We are better than this. We owe it to ourselves, and to all of the children growing up in this country, to work toward a society where everyone is accepted and treated equally.

I hope you'll take the time to listen to what we said, and learn more about why the White House came out in support of banning conversion therapy.

Why conversion therapy hurts all of us:

• Barack Obama politic President White House
• At 4/11/2015 01:59:00 a.m.
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