The head of the state Chamber of Commerce is happy Gov. Joe Manchin mentioned many of the organization's key concerns during his State of the State speech, but the head of the state's largest labor organization said Manchin didn't propose big enough pay raises.
Last week the chamber issued a list of "seven key solutions" it said are needed to keep West Virginia's economy moving in 2007. Manchin touched on four of the seven topics Wednesday night.
Manchin outlined plans to provide employers with more highly trained workers; discussed health-care reforms; mentioned a tax break for high-tech manufacturers; and specified funding for drinking water projects.
"I'm most thrilled the governor touched on all of those topics," Roberts said. "I think the governor set forth an aggressive agenda for more progress in West Virginia, and he did it in a way that makes it easy for various groups to come together to work on these issues."
Manchin didn't mention three of the chamber's other ideas: judicial reforms, reforms to stem asbestos and silica mass litigation, and streamlining the environmental and regulatory permit process.
But all in all, Roberts said, "The governor covered some topics I wasn't sure would make it in. The governor only has about 50 minutes, when you consider the pauses for applause. I was thrilled with the number of topics he covered and the level of enthusiasm in getting them done."
The chamber advertises itself as "The voice of business in West Virginia for 70 years." Roberts has said the chamber represents firms that employ over half of the state's private sector workforce.
Kenny Perdue, president of the state AFL-CIO, said he was satisfied that Manchin is addressing safety issues in the mines and the schools as well as healthy lifestyles and health care.
"The part that bothers me in this is, I applaud the governor for giving pay raises. However, my concern is the pay raises are not enough and there is no parity. You're giving a pay raise to one organization over another organization."
Manchin proposed a 2.5 percent across-the-board pay raise for educators but a 2.5 percent "one-time employment incentive payment" for state employees and school service personnel.
Perdue said, "All of the employees in the state are the best resources we have and they should be treated as such. They are the gold in the hills.
"I know the governor has in the past given pay raises," Perdue said. "But because of failures of the past, they are definitely far behind where they need to be. We've got 60 days to secure pay raises for all state employees as well as to address the other issues. The march is on."
The West Virginia AFL-CIO is an umbrella group representing about 48 international unions with about 420 locals and 80,000 members.
During his speech, Manchin announced, "I am proposing an incentive that will provide significant, long-term tax credits to companies that create high-paying, special high tech manufacturing jobs in West Virginia, which we have none of now."
Karen Price, president of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, said she's anxious to hear more about that. "I'm not sure what he's proposing," she said. "However, if he has a proposal that is going to attract high-tech manufacturing jobs to West Virginia, the manufacturers' association certainly wants to support him on that."
Price said she also was interested to hear Manchin's plans to improve workforce training. The topic is of great concern to the association's members and "to see that he's going to focus some attention on that is a bright spot," she said.
Also during his speech, Manchin said the state must "acknowledge the growing problem of illegal and undocumented workers that is affecting our workforce." Manchin said he has directed the state labor commissioner to hire more inspectors and to have them "focus their energies on stamping out the use of undocumented and illegal workers in West Virginia."
The Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation has made illegal workers one of its major issues. The foundation picketed the federal immigration office on Kanawha Boulevard in August with an 18-foot-tall blindfolded mouse, claiming the agency is blind to the problem of imported and illegal workers.
Steve White, executive director of the foundation, said, "We're pleased that the governor not only recognizes the problem with illegal workers and unfair competition, furthermore he is willing to do something about it. We welcome the crackdown, and for just the reason he said -- we want fair competition."
White said he wishes Manchin had talked more about infrastructure. "He did talk about broadband and water and sewer initiatives," White said. "I think there's a question remaining about how we meet our infrastructure needs for water, sewer, school building. He's clearly discussing safety issues. But there are some tremendous needs out there for infrastructure. I wish we had gotten more there."
Having said that, White added, "Here's a governor taking a balanced approach and making steady building-block progress and a governor we're very supportive of."
The foundation, an arm of the West Virginia State Building Trades, consists of 20,000 union construction workers.