Congratulations to our Indiana Governor and all of our Indiana legislators that worked hard to pass Right To Work legislation this session. They withstood a lot of heat in order to do the right thing. Thank you also to the Democratic Caucus for staying and making their position heard rather than leaving for Illinois again.
I have no doubt that this was the right thing to do, both as an employee freedom of choice issue and as an Indiana Economic Development issue. Maybe Indiana can be the first State in our Midwest region to begin to stem the tide of manufacturing jobs moving to the South.
See my previous post on why I supported Right To Work here.
Heard at the January 24th Culver Town Council Meeting where Tony was requesting that Culver become the first Come Alive Outside community in the United States. Tony Sellers is owner of Sellers Services, Inc. He has taken on Come Alive Outside to promote getting children outside and active.
Right to Work legislation seems to be successfully working its way through the legislature this year. A much better showing for our State than last year when the Democrat Caucus vacationed in Illinois rather than addressing the issue.
This is important legislation for all Hoosiers. From my position on the the MCEDC board I have heard that this issue is one of the few deterrents to business location or relocation in Indiana. This has been promoted by IDEC. This was also listed as a problem by one of our site selector consultants. There are many case histories such as the story of Oklahoma here which tell of how a state’s economic fortunes have improved after passage of Right to Work legislation.
With Speaker Bosma supporting it (you can sign a petition here) and Governor Daniels promising to sign it, there is a lot of muscle behind the current push. It would be a boon to Indiana’s economic development position.
Aside from that, I believe that it is a freedom issue. I worked in a closed shop factory for 30 days one summer. It was an eye-opening experience. I had no interest in joining the union. In fact I was generally in trouble with the union steward. The floor manager, who was not union, learned that if he needed some task completed quickly (if it was in my skill set) I would do it. That was unacceptable to the union members. I was taking someone else’s job! I had worked several summers at Easterday Construction before taking that job. I was taught there that I should do something even if it was wrong. Easterday Superintendents always told the labor that if you finish a task and don’t know what else to do, pick up a broom and sweep the floor. Boy, did that ever start a flap when I did that during one of the union’s unscheduled breaks! That basically got me “blackballed” and I was told that I would not be accepted after my 30 day probation period. Why would I want to join the union when I didn’t agree with their policies and they didn’t agree with my work ethic? Why did they have the right to keep me from that job? If they would have allowed me to remain, why would I want to contribute to their causes with which I didn’t agree? I should have had the freedom to work there, but I didn’t.
If you want to express your opinion on this, use the link above to vote on Brian Bosma’s page. This week there is a poll on the Pilot News website. Currently it is running more than 60% in favor. There is also information at Halt the Assault website here. And there is also information on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce website here. Join me in contacting our legislators to make this Law in Indiana! I’ve already contacted mine. If you don’t know who yours is, I’ll help you find them!
Cooper Wiring Devices has an option for a built-in nightlight. The nightlight can be stand alone or installed as the top half of a duplex or switch installation. It is part of their Patrol series which you can read more about here. Along with the standard nightlight applications, this can be installed in stairways, basements or garage areas which are notoriously dark when the main lights are off. In standard living areas they feature a light-level sensor that turns off the nightlight when there is available daylight or other sufficient ambient light. For convenience they have three preset light levels.
PLYMOUTH (Dec. 29, 2011) – Mayor Mark Senter and executives from Hoosier Racing Tire today announced a major new investment in Hoosier’s Plymouth production plant, which is expected to create a combined 20 new jobs in the near term.
Hoosier Racing Tire, Corp. will invest $8 million to construct and equip a new 37,000 sq ft expansion to their rubber mixing plant on site, integrating operations that have previously been outsourced to an Ohio based firm.
Founded by Bob and Joyce Newton in 1957, Hoosier manufactures a sophisticated range of performance tires and is today the largest manufacturer of racing tires in the world. The company’s corporate headquarters and distribution facility is located in nearby Lakeville, IN and the company’s manufacturing facility is in Plymouth. Hoosier has steadily added staff and currently has over 400 employees, with the majority of these based in Plymouth.
“This is a major expansion for our company, and it speaks to our confidence in Hoosier Tire’s continued growth and viability in this area,” said John DeSalle, Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing. “Last year was good to us, and this is a timely investment. Financing of the project was sourced from our long time partners at 1st Source Bank.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Hoosier Racing Tire up to $140,000 in conditional Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credits based on projected job creation.
The City of Plymouth will consider a tax abatement petition for real and personal property on January 11th. At the filing of the petition on December 28th, DeSalle was commended by Mayor Senter and Plymouth Council members.
“Hoosier Tire is important to our community in many ways,” said Mayor Senter. “They are leaders in the field of racing because of an uncompromising commitment to excellence in their products and pure enjoyment of competition — both in the business world and on the track. Plymouth is pleased to partner with them in this project, and hopefully on many ventures to come.”
“We have seen that companies like Hoosier Racing Tire are able to grow in Marshall County with decisive plans to outreach competition,” said Jennifer Laurent, Executive Director of Marshall County Economic Development Corporation. “We welcome the expansion of the business and job creation, and also recognize a positive trend in local companies continuing to reinvest here as they weigh our assets against other locations.”
“NIPSCO’s Economic Development team was also a partner in making the project possible,” Laurent noted to Council members. An existing electrical substation was required to be relocated by the building expansion plans, and NIPSCO participated in the cost and coordination of the move as well as necessary service upgrades.
Hoosier Racing Tire and Hoosier Tire & Rubber, historically two separate companies, will officially merge as one company to be known as Hoosier Racing Tire as of January 1, 2012.