Gov. John Kasich seemed surprised at recent news that companies doing drilling in Ohio were hiring people from out of state for jobs in Ohio. Innovation Ohio had warned Kasich that this could happen.
InnovationOhio:
...Nearly a year ago, Innovation Ohio warned the policy makers about this prospect. We urged Governor Kasich and lawmakers to introduce “Hire Ohio” incentives that could create financial incentives such as reduced tax rates for companies meeting a goal of hiring a specific percentage of their workforce from Ohio. While there are a variety of policy approaches to achieve this goal, Ohio failed to exercised its considerable leverage when Ohio’s fracking oversight laws were modified earlier this year. The Governor included no Hire Ohio policy in the bill, and when presented with an amendment to require 50 percent of workers to be residents of Ohio, GOP lawmakers set the measure aside.
It’s unclear whether Kasich’s recent comments are a precursor to action or if he was merely grandstanding in his ongoing fight with the industry over severance taxes. But if the Governor is seriously concerned about the prospects of Ohio workers, we recommend that he ask the legislature to immediately pass Hire Ohio legislation that creates incentives for companies seeking to extract Ohio’s natural resources to do it with a labor force made up largely of Ohioans.
John Kasich would never, ever take advice from a Democratic think tank. It is evident that some of these companies are taking advantage of the fact that hiring requirements were not included in the legislation. What a disaster! While these companies have gotten every deal, they are pulling in applicants from out of our state.
I did a quick search at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette jobs page and found that there are companies recruiting through that paper's website for oil and gas jobs in Ohio. The Indianapolis Star has job postings for Chesapeake Energy, Hess Corp., and others. Indeed.com also has job openings listed for oil, gas in Ohio. It is hard to believe that these companies have jobs but are not recruiting within Ohio. Is it possible that Kasich and his administration have been totally ineffective in helping employers find Ohio employees? Something isn't right and the blame should fall squarely on the governor and these corporations for not adequately addressing Ohio's thousands of unemployed citizens.
______
Well, well, well. It looks like some organizations just can't stop attacking teachers.
Indianapolis Star:
After two years of labor battles that roiled the Indiana Statehouse, lawmakers are gearing up for a new fight, this time over paycheck deduction of union dues.
Leading the fight: The Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber's chief target: The Indiana State Teachers Association.
The state's largest business group wants to bar teachers' unions from having members' dues deducted from their paychecks, and has made it one of its top priorities for the legislative session that begins in January.....
The big, bad, Indiana Chambers of Commerce is going after teachers. Somehow this doesn't look like a fair fight, especially since a majority of teachers are female.