Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Maytag's Amana division is expanding its refrigerator production facility in Iowa. The news is significant, because it runs counter to the trend of appliance manufacturers moving production to lower cost locations, like Mexico.
(Maytag closed its Galesburg, IL facility recently and moved the production to Mexico. This move has given rise to a controversy over whether Galesburg should sue Maytag to recapture incentives. Learn more.)
In Iowa, Maytag is trying to expand with the introduction of a two tiered wage: entry level workers will start at $3 less than current workers. Read more. The lower entry level wage has led the state to cap the tax incentives available to the company. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers represents the Amana workers.
Earlier this month, the United Auto Workers agreed to a six year contract with Caterpillar that also included a two tier wage. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
links
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Trying to keep appliance jobs in the U.S.
