Lawmakers talk economic growth for northeast Pa.

Across Pennsylvania today, employers must address the needs of several interrelated issues that affect the development of the workforce, the region’s state lawmakers said at this month’s Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers & Employers Association legislative roundtable.

“Everything is attached to everything, and we have all these workforce issues that are really making our economy more of a struggle than it should be,” state Sen. David G. Argall said.

The roundtable, held Feb. 2  at the clubhouse at Mountain Valley Golf Course, also featured Reps. Jamie Barton, JoAnne Stehr, Dane Watro, Tim Twardzik, Jamie Barton, Jim Haddock and Doyle Heffley.

The panel, moderated by MAEA Chairman-elect Chris Dende of Mrs. T’s Pierogies, covered numerous topics related to Pennsylvania’s economy, workforce and infrastructure.

Asked about workforce development, Argall described housing as a big issue in Schuylkill County. He mentioned recent initiatives to provide affordable living spaces, including the conversion of part of the Schuylkill Trust Co. building in Pottsville into 60 market-rate apartments.

“It’s one part economic development, it’s one part housing, it’s one part education,” he added. “It’s all tangled together, and we’re trying to whack away at the issue, one at a time.”

While Barton described Pennsylvania as a fabulous place to live and work, he said businesses are often hindered by regulatory concerns.

Among the pressing issues in Schuylkill, he said, are the expansion of broadband and providing alternatives to public education.

“We need to realize that learning is not one-size-fits-all anymore,” Barton said. “We’ve got to make sure that if we want to invite people into this commonwealth, they need to have a choice for schools as well.”

The lawmakers said it’s important for young, healthy residents who are unemployed to go back into the workforce.

Watro said expanding the tax base would help several communities across the region, including at his local school district, Hazleton Area, which is “bursting at the seams” with rising enrollment. He said many district parents are unemployed.

“We’re one of the fastest growing school districts in the commonwealth, but the tax base isn’t showing that, so there’s a problem,” Watro said. “We’ve got to get those able bodies out to work.”

On that topic, Haddock mentioned recently passed legislation that will expand Pennsylvania’s child care tax credit to match the federal credit. Working families will see a maximum credit of $1,050 for one child, or about $2,000 for two or more children, which is triple the amount of the previous credit, Haddock said.

“That was a major move in the right direction in the state of Pennsylvania to get our people going to work,” he said.

The legislators were asked about House Bill 1481, which would provide unemployment benefits to striking workers. The bill passed the House in November and has been referred to the Senate’s Labor & Industry Committee.

Heffley, a former unionized worker with Conrail, said he voted against the bill and called it a terrible idea.

“If you voluntarily do not go to work, you should not receive unemployment benefits,” he said. “ … Unemployment, already, after the COVID debacle with the emergency orders, we’re now trying to backfill the money that we owe to the system. Putting that additional burden on the system is going to cost employers.”

Asked about infrastructure and transportation, Twardzik mentioned the long-awaited Frackville Grade reconstruction project, which just got underway.

“It’s going to be an improvement,” he said. “We apologize upfront that there will be some headaches, but once the finished product is there, we will get more safe transportation and get closer to market.”