• Who I Am.
• My View of St. Louis County
• Rights of the People
• Labor vs Business
• Economic Diversity
• Environmental Issues
• Welfare Reform
• Foster Care Reform
• Juvenile Reform
• Elderly Issues
• College Students in our area
• Emergency Services
• My volunteer work and advocacy

• Map of District 1

• Home page

Labor versus Business

The title itself makes me cringe. Why does it have to be labor vs. business? When you think about it business needs labor and labor needs business. Without labor businesses would not be in business and without business labor wouldn't have any jobs. I think it is important for all of us to keep that in mind.

I grew up in a Union household. Charles is a union man and has been for many years, working at Georgia Pacific. I don't cross picket lines out of respect for those that are on them. This last year with the Northwest maintenance employees on strike it cost me over $600.00 out of my own pocket because I refused to cross their picket lines. I guess you could say I'm stubborn that way.

However, at the same time I understand management as well. I have been a supervisor for many years so I can crunch the numbers. I know overhead cost and projections. I know that not all businesses can pay living wages because they don't make enough. I do have a problem, however, with business owners who are making millions every year and paying their employees minimum wage. I don't believe this is good business practice and those employers probably have high turnover rates, which end up costing them more money in the long run when you factor in cost to interview and to train replacement workers.

I think St. Louis County needs more diversity in its economic development. In Duluth we have two primary industries -- Tourism and Medical. In rural St. Louis County we have Timber and Mining. To me the priority has to be bringing in more diverse jobs. Jobs that pay living wages as well jobs that can keep our younger people here. Also if you read my other pages on welfare reform, juvenile reform, and foster care reform it all works together to make our county more viable and our people prosper.