tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post2273919773267957626..comments2024-03-29T00:30:47.101-04:00Comments on Lehigh Valley Ramblings: Cunningham: Manufacturing Alive and Well in Lehigh ValleyBernie O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-89144169640229495882016-05-11T23:50:34.369-04:002016-05-11T23:50:34.369-04:00Many of the manufacturing jobs are extremely diffi...Many of the manufacturing jobs are extremely difficult to obtain, even with advanced skills....the companies just use temp. agencies and try to avoid giving their workers benefits or a living wage for as long as they can, in some cases years. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-43051770701582736112016-05-10T14:57:38.121-04:002016-05-10T14:57:38.121-04:00I don't care what country these companies are ...I don't care what country these companies are based. Fact is that most of these jobs are not 'professional' in any way. (Having said that I believe all work is valuable and rewarding.) Can we really 'distribute' ourselves to prosperity. I love the fact, too, that so many of these companies don't even train their employees, but dump that responsibility on taxpayers in the form of the community college extensive job training programs. How hard is it for LVEDC to help sell off square miles after square mile of of former farmland and brownfileds at bargain prices? ninoshinkickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11652048657918142503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-6823470026502232942016-05-10T13:44:02.123-04:002016-05-10T13:44:02.123-04:00I heard Don Cunningham's presentation when it ...I heard Don Cunningham's presentation when it was given a week ago in Bethlehem. <br /><br />Mr. Cunningham pointed out that nine of the 19 companies that came to the Lehigh Valley in 2015 were recruited from abroad. Primark, for instance, is based in Ireland. A total of 667 manufacturers in the Lehigh Valley generate $4.95 billion in gross domestic product. That's just a bit bigger than the category of finance and real estate, at $5.24 billion. Retail is about $3 billion.<br /><br />The Lehigh Valley has a gross domestic product greater than that of the state of Vermont (even though their populations are roughly equivalent).<br /><br />At the presentation, my fingers weren't quick enough to write down the names of relocations and expansions—and the jobs that they created—but I'll give you a few examples for my town of Bethlehem.<br /><br />Reeb Millwork in Bethlehem, which manufactures wood products using high-tech equipment, is spending $38 million to expand its facilities in the city and add 100 jobs. Curtiss-Wright was lured from New Jersey, which will bring 96 manufacturing jobs to Bethlehem. <br /><br />New high-tech startups are being created at the Pi facility on the South Side. It may take awhile to bring these to fruition but their work is a step forward.<br /><br />Bethlehem is ideally situated for distribution facilities. Primark's new facility—the size of a football field—is expected to employ 100 people by year's end.<br /><br />Several distribution centers pay much more than the existing minimum wage. My newspaper clippings show that the new Walmart distribution center in Bethlehem pays 1,000 full-time employees a starting salary of $14.75 per hour plus benefits and profit sharing. <br /><br />The online retailer Zulily (based in Seattle) had a job fair on Saturday to recruit 50 employees for its distribution center in Bethlehem. Starting pay is $13 per hour plus benefits. The company has been hiring additional employees each month. When all is done, Zuilly will employ 1,200 people. <br /><br />Granted, the new wages for the distribution centers are not the same as unionized Bethlehem Steel workers got a decade and a half ago. But those days are gone forever and it's time people catch up with reality. We're not living in the "Leave It to Beaver" era of the 1960s. (If you think these distribution centers aren't paying enough, then call or write your legislators to insist on a $15-an-hour minimum wage.)<br /><br />The global economy is far from perfect. The same thing with the local economy. They're not up to my standards either. But we have what we have. We should be glad that people such as Don Cunningham and groups such as the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. are working to improve the situation.<br /><br />If you don't like what Mr. Cunningham is doing, explain your alternative. In detail. Present an economic development strategy that won't be laughed off the planet by the business community. A lot of the people who commented on this report seem to be nothing but cranks incapable of growing the economy. (If each syllable of their bitching counted as a dollar, then we might be getting somewhere.) As for Scott Armstrong, I never met him. Based on his comments here, I hope I never encounter him in the future. <br /><br />Thanks, Bernie, for laying out the facts.<br /><br />Frank Baran<br />BethlehemAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-88395902965884430962016-05-10T13:40:57.603-04:002016-05-10T13:40:57.603-04:00LVEDC has never been a significant factor. LVEDC a...LVEDC has never been a significant factor. LVEDC administers some state & federal low interest loans available to a few of these businesses, that's about it. <br /><br />Businesses locate in the valley for their own reasons, such as proximity to major markets, infrastructure, water resources, workforce, personal or historical connection to the Lehigh Valley. <br /><br /> <br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-52484389821713599522016-05-10T11:28:47.360-04:002016-05-10T11:28:47.360-04:00Neither Cunnigham now nor the LVEDC ever has broug...Neither Cunnigham now nor the LVEDC ever has brought industry and jobs to the Slate Belt. The Green Knights in the Pen Argyl area and Jeff Manzi (Voltaix and Lamtech) in the Bangor Area are the job and economic developers there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-80125392457864596492016-05-10T11:17:17.255-04:002016-05-10T11:17:17.255-04:00Certainly the valley needs a focal point for Econo...Certainly the valley needs a focal point for Economic development & LVEDC makes more sense than 2 counties having DCED departments trying to do the same thing. Glad to hear they played a role in most of the development. Now time for them to engage brokers to attract NYC firms to leave the high tax climate & come to the valley where NIZ/CRIZ & 3% personal income tax would be very attractive to corporate execs looking to escape Bloombergville soda & income tax haven!!!Patriot2https://www.blogger.com/profile/16597615733062912051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-78522914835676588752016-05-10T11:04:11.002-04:002016-05-10T11:04:11.002-04:00You are largely incorrect, at least as far as NC i...You are largely incorrect, at least as far as NC is concerned. LVEDC brought in each of the internationals. They helped Guardian stay. They helped finance the Easton Public Market. While I am sure some business came of its own accord, and for good reason, LVEDC was heavily involved in most of the new business coming into NC. <br /><br />Can't you just accept good news for once? Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-19330077228402192922016-05-10T10:56:39.778-04:002016-05-10T10:56:39.778-04:00I do think Cunningham is the best LVEDC head but y...I do think Cunningham is the best LVEDC head but you have to sort out what of those businesses were brought into the valley by LVEDC vs which came of their own accord. My guess is that 90% found their home thru other than LVEDC. The LVEDC report did a nice job of reporting "what is happening" but not necessarily what "they made happen". masterful presentation but perhaps without substance? Where is the first out state company to occupy NIZ or CRIZ offices or Martin Tower??<br /><br />Patriot2https://www.blogger.com/profile/16597615733062912051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-25595978566467891192016-05-10T09:08:10.554-04:002016-05-10T09:08:10.554-04:00Scott, You're abe to laugh at yourself, which ...Scott, You're abe to laugh at yourself, which is more than most people can do. And you sign your name, unlike th anonymous coward at 4:22 who is apparently unaware that LVEDC was not even good at touting itself pre-Cunningham, and it even took him about 2 years to nail it. That commenter is also unaware just how important communication isBernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-3088597432526514172016-05-10T07:05:38.317-04:002016-05-10T07:05:38.317-04:00Bernie,
I only need to look in the mirror to s...Bernie,<br /><br /> I only need to look in the mirror to see that. It was fun. Today's post is great.Scott Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08971257783207643697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-90278825130716848112016-05-10T04:22:13.756-04:002016-05-10T04:22:13.756-04:00This story reveals the utter disdain people of all...This story reveals the utter disdain people of all political viewpoints have for these career public trough feeders. People like Cunningham use their gift of blarney stone gab to find these sweet publically funded cheerleader jobs. They are gifted enough to convince hapless office holders that without them the local economy would tank and all jobs would never happen.<br /><br />Ask the numerous unemployed and under employed in the Lehigh Valley what they think of Don's bragging. The taxpayers deserve a refund.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-844154866210695852016-05-10T01:37:41.087-04:002016-05-10T01:37:41.087-04:00I wrote the story yet I missed the point. What sta...I wrote the story yet I missed the point. What started out on Friday was LVEDC-bashing, before the story was even written,. That continued today with completely OT rants and progressed into good, old-fashioned Cunningham bashing. Now you even blame him for the steel's demise, which any rational person knows is nonsense. After doing that, you condemn any mixture of government and business. So as I understand it, a Mayor can be blamed for the steel's failure, but government should not be involved in ant attempt to keep that from happening again. Your argument is internally illogical. This story is a fact-based article about some LVEDC successes in which we all benefit. But some of you are so negative that you even reject good news, and then try disingenuously to be really talking about something else when called on your bullshit.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-60207365148426592272016-05-10T00:02:40.363-04:002016-05-10T00:02:40.363-04:00Bernie you are missing the point. You are blaming ...Bernie you are missing the point. You are blaming everyone for not knowing how to read, yet you may need some lessons. People of all political bents are upset over the marriage of business and politics. Whether it is the scam of the NIZ or the LVEDC, they are all just scams to get taxpayer money into certain hands. In the case of the LVEDC it is a few LV insiders like Cunningham and his handpicked crony employees.<br /><br />Look if the LV business community wants to pay six figures to their pet clown Tony Ianelli that is their business. He dresses up like a Charlestown pimp and they have fun making him dance for them but its their dues and they can waste all the money they want. The problem with the Cunningham types is they suck off the public teat and make like we would all die if they didn't exist. Actually with the closing of the Steel, Donny lost more jobs in Bethlehem then he ever created. Callahan did the creating, if you want to give a pol credit, which we don't..<br /><br />People are tired of bogus groups like LVEDC and the Tourism scam that gives its Director even more taxpayer money to print brochures. Enough is enough and both Democrats and Republicans are tired of these insiders living large off our backs.<br />Why do you think both Trump and Bernie are doing so well. Your insider buddies have been scamming us for too long. Time for them to get real jobs.<br /><br />Big Boy Blue<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-58923336069876580202016-05-09T23:55:52.554-04:002016-05-09T23:55:52.554-04:00this asshole Cunningham does not know the salte b...this asshole Cunningham does not know the salte belt is even in Northampton countyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-35855681936087862442016-05-09T23:00:43.906-04:002016-05-09T23:00:43.906-04:00Scott, I forgot to mention that you're ugly, t...Scott, I forgot to mention that you're ugly, too. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-76653178629747973582016-05-09T22:35:52.081-04:002016-05-09T22:35:52.081-04:00"Again Bernie you have hit the nail on the he...<em>"Again Bernie you have hit the nail on the head. I am a complete asshole. Full of shit. Totally ignorant.A Hater.And a partisan. If I missed anything let me know."</em><br /><br />Let me think about it. I'm sure I missed a few things. <br /><br />Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-20224478718529826202016-05-09T22:20:50.624-04:002016-05-09T22:20:50.624-04:00I can't help those who won't read and allo...I can't help those who won't read and allow themselves to be swayed by preconceived notions. I see very little evidence that he promotes the NIZ to the exclusion of everything else. His presentation pretty much made that clear. If Cunningham is sending all his time promoting the NIZ, then what the hell was he doing at the Freshpet expansion? Why was he involved in keeping Guardian here? Why was he involved in the Easton Public Market or in establishing promotions for EVERY area in the Lehigh Valley? Why would he bring 1,000 jobs to South Bethlehem? I do like Don, but like has nothing to do with it. I just don't see how anyone can objectively conclude that he is ignoring the LV outside of the NIZ. And i won't condemn him for promoting the NIZ. That's all Allentown has,and it does not appear to be enough despite the shameless promotions in The Morning Call. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-32722963834948403832016-05-09T22:10:36.050-04:002016-05-09T22:10:36.050-04:00Wow Bernie, are you off your meds? I am an old tim...Wow Bernie, are you off your meds? I am an old time Democrat and can tell you many people including Dem's, know Donny is a prime time BS artist and the LVEDC is just a fancy version of the NIZ. This is the rare occurrence were Scott and many Democrats are on the same page.<br /><br />You have hyper love fest going on for Donny boy and that is fine but his marriage of business and government is a joke. He has jumped form job to job and always made sure his landing was soft and lucrative.<br /><br />The LVEDC has done squat for Northampton County. Jobs that arrive are the result of the businesses themselves researching. They will happily enjoy a fine dinner and drink with the Don on the taxpayers dime but that is not their reason for coming here. You should honestly tell people why you are OK with the gutting of the county DCED Department. You can then also explain why when he was county executive Donny doubled Lehigh County's DCED Department. Things that make you go HMMM?<br /><br />Pleas enough with the koolade drinking mancrush BS. Scott is right on this one. It ha snothing to do with politics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-78210549348889229672016-05-09T22:10:30.605-04:002016-05-09T22:10:30.605-04:00Bernie Bernie,
As I had allways said, you are the ...Bernie Bernie,<br />As I had allways said, you are the shit! Ripped a new asshole to someone that just should go crawl up dr mayo's pant leg for the screwing of allentowns youth, thats right as allentowns political administration has called the populus a cancer!?<br /><br /><br />Just read what I redd<br />Re:publican reddAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-35431020208967916692016-05-09T21:31:06.613-04:002016-05-09T21:31:06.613-04:00Again Bernie you have hit the nail on the head. I ...Again Bernie you have hit the nail on the head. I am a complete asshole. Full of shit. Totally ignorant.A Hater.And a partisan. If I missed anything let me know.Scott Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08971257783207643697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-66560912305998873692016-05-09T20:58:53.714-04:002016-05-09T20:58:53.714-04:00Yes. I'd suggest yours are. Be honest. You had...Yes. I'd suggest yours are. Be honest. You had no clue why the state hotel tax was adopted here in the LV or what its real purpose is. You had no idea that LVEDC is a corporation, not some authority or government board, or that at least half of its funding is private. You had no idea that a county can simply stop sending hotel taxes to LLVEDC with no repercussions. The only thing you did know is that Cunningham is a Democrat and therefore must be bad. Do your homework next time. You may know about the school district, but you know shit about these kinds of issues. He is probably their best CEO to date, and you trashed him bc of his party. <br /><br />Don't build the altar (not alter) to LVEDC or Gates. Build it to me, and keep it away from the piss bottles please. You are lucky that I am in a good mood and spoke to you. Dismissed. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-9782171473634484732016-05-09T20:40:22.174-04:002016-05-09T20:40:22.174-04:00Wow! Bernie, thanks for the education. I was of co...Wow! Bernie, thanks for the education. I was of course totally ignorant of all the facts(as usual). Thank God you are here to set people like me(the ignorant) straight.As a result of this dialogue I am building an alter in the back yard to both Don Cunningham and the LVEDC.Thank the lord for people like Elmer who astutely facilitated the relationship of business and government to the point where they are virtually one and the same. <br />By the way, are someones anger issues showing? Scott Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08971257783207643697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-31549366171271482552016-05-09T19:59:34.172-04:002016-05-09T19:59:34.172-04:00Scott, I am not calling you a business hater, but ...Scott, I am not calling you a business hater, but I am telling you that you are woefully ignorant concerning the hotel tax and its purpose. I suggest you do your homework. The hotel tax is part of a state law created at the instigation of Elmer Gates and other business captains who wanted a source of funding for a corporation that would provide economic development to the LV. The law was crafted in a way that it had to go to an entity with valley-wide impact. That removed the counties from the equation. The desire to create LVEDC is precisely why the state law was enacted. Tourism was an afterthought. <br /><br />NC was more than ready to exercise the nuclear option and repeal the hotel tax. That would have caused LVEDC to come crashing down and would also make it impossible to fund tourism grants. But Cunningham has turned it around. <br /><br />Cunningham reduced the size of government in LC. The workforce as at its lowest level since 1990. <br /><br />He did reduce the cost of the courthouse expansion from over $80 million to about $60 million. He knocked off some of the fat, like 17' high ceilings in the courtrooms and private judicial shitters. <br /><br />He's not running for anything. He is in the private sector now. He has turned LVEDC around, and more than half of it is privately funded. The half that is publicly funded has to be publicly funded unless we do away with the hotel yax altogether. You can thank Republican Elmer Gates for that trick, just like you can blame republican Senator pat browne for the NIZ. <br /><br />Stop hating on people bc of their party already. It really diminishes an otherwise very astute observer. If you don't stop, I will find you in the port-a-john. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-69079958210273371982016-05-09T19:53:02.765-04:002016-05-09T19:53:02.765-04:00Don's my favorite Lehigh Valley republican.Don's my favorite Lehigh Valley republican.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-2797586852033844102016-05-09T19:42:09.564-04:002016-05-09T19:42:09.564-04:00Let me sound like a Bernie Sanders fan for a momen...Let me sound like a Bernie Sanders fan for a moment. Does not this thread serve to point out the pernicious connection of government and business that too often leaves the average citizen out of the loop.Scott Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08971257783207643697noreply@blogger.com