Many of our local companies still employ the majority of their associates despite this economic downturn. Over 90% of Montgomery County residents still have a job to go to although they might not be seeing many overtime hours.

 

Montgomery County is fortunate to have a diverse business base and we have added around 100 quality jobs over the last 6 months.  This has helped even out some of the job losses we’ve experienced over the same time period. With that being said, we are still twice as high in unemployment as we were this time last year.

 

Our unemployment rate at the end of January 2009 was at 8.3%, Tippecanoe County was 8.1% and Howard County a whopping 16.9%. Tough numbers to be sure but the real question is where are we headed?

 

A number of local companies are expanding and we continue to work on new business attraction projects but the majority of our economic growth will come from existing companies and entrepreneurs.

 

There are legislative regulatory issues on the immediate horizon that are cause for concern among many of our employers and MCED. 

 

One is the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 (EFCA) or “Card-Check” legislation that may soon be introduced in Congress and taken up by the Senate. This bill gives union organizers new rights that make the current unionization process out of balance for our corporations and eliminates a confidential voting process for employees. A right you would not think of giving up at the ballot box.

 

Employees have the right to a union and in some cases need a union to provide trade certifications or collective bargaining. Our position is not anti-union but an endorsement for the profit sharing, employee empowerment culture already in place at some of our companies. 

 

We are convinced that the best model for our community will be employee empowered.  Nucor is a great example of how a company and its employees are able to work together to share in profits for the mutual good of the company.

 

This is the kind of employee/ employer relationship that we are working to expand in our community. The system is working now and can become part of our community culture as other companies, entrepreneurs and employees observe their success in providing the highest average wage, lowest turnover rates, and least amount of character issues in the region.

 

As an example of how things are going for a strong labor union community, look at the unemployment numbers for Howard County and Kokomo as mentioned above. We are in no rush to benchmark that performance.

 

Second is the new “Cap and Trade” legislation that is a complicated shell game of auctioning carbon credits to companies that merely turn into a new tax on electric generators or other fuel sources of carbon dioxide.

 

This legislation appears to heavily tax the Midwest in proportion to both coasts. The proposed regulations target energy produced by coal, which is the technology that produces most of our electricity.   We need to keep in mind that any additional costs incurred by energy and manufactured goods producers under Cap and Trade will be passed on to us. This will also increase the cost to heat and cool your home. It’s also unclear how these new regulations will decrease the emissions of carbon dioxide.

 

Our position is to embrace strategies that have the best chance to lower utility costs, not the best chance to raise them. Indiana would be impacted more than any other state by the proposed cap and trade legislation and our electric costs are predicted to rise as much as 40% according to industry experts.

 

These two pieces of legislation could end up hampering our ability to compete globally, especially if developing countries don’t have to comply with the same regulations. 

 

Companies are under increasing pressure to deal with the rising costs for insurance, utilities, taxes and many other operating expenses. At a time when competing globally is critical and the economy is so fragile, it would seem that introducing new regulations would be a risky move.

 

Employers understand the importance of motivated employees and being reliable caretakers of the environment. They must also be able to compete globally, make payroll, pay taxes, and at the end of the day, realize a profit so they can expand.

 

Working together, we can find the right balance between producing affordable energy and quality of life.

Which reminds me of the motivational quote by Henry Ford,
“Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you are absolutely right.”