— The union for Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac has a vote set for Thursday and Friday on the contract proposal voted down last month. The union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, says a supplement to be voted on as well contains clarifications of the Aug. 19 proposal. The supplement and the contract proposal will be voted on by members of IAM Local 1947. Mercury’s deadline for acceptance by the union of the company’s “best and final” proposal was originally set for midnight Saturday, Aug. 29, at which time the company would have removed the contract from consideration. However, due to questions surrounding the voting process, Mercury informed the union that its membership can continue to consider the original proposal through the new voting. “Hundreds of employees expressed a desire to voice their true feelings, and that’s something we can’t ignore,” said Mark Schwabero, president of Mercury Marine. “Obviously this is a difficult situation for all employees in Fond du Lac and Stillwater.” — We Energies has announced plans for a $250 million power plant that would be fueled by waste wood and sawdust. The power plant would be built at a central Wisconsin paper mill owned by Domtar Corporation. The plant will be used to produce 50 megawatts of electricity and will also support Domtar’s sustainable papermaking operations. The project would be funded by We Energies. The utility says the project could bring in as many as 400 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs. See details: http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=168889 — Gov. Jim Doyle and Michigan counterpart Jennifer Granholm are once again set to co-host Obama administration officials for a forum in Michigan. In March, the two Dem governors hosted the first of several Regional White House Forums on Health Reform in Dearborn. Today, Doyle and Granholm will host Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and other White House officials in Saginaw for a Clean Energy Economy Forum. Doyle’s office said the forum will provide the administration an avenue to “continue to lay out President Obama’s vision for a comprehensive energy plan to jump-start the American clean energy sector” with local and regional energy stakeholders. The forum, which is invitation only, is slated to begin at noon. See the details: http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=168709 *************************
David W. Hadley, vice president of state regulatory relations at Midwest ISO, is keynoting the forum, which will take place at The Madison Club. The event begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 9 a.m. with breakfast starting at 7:15 a.m. The event is presented by American Transmission Company and Xcel Energy. Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group is an event partner. Panelists for the event include: Additional sponsors include Dairyland Power Cooperative, Wisconsin Public Service Corp. and We Energies. More sponsorship opportunities are available; contact Jim Greer at 608-237-6296 or greer@wispolitics.com. The event is open to the public. General public tickets cost $10. The ticket price includes breakfast. TO REGISTER GO TO: http://www.esurveycentral.com/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=5117l3337o6KG ************************* TOP EXPERTS TO DISCUSS WIS. GREEN JOBS FUTURE “Green Jobs: Growing Wisconsin Employment” is part of a series of forums at Discovery World and aims to assess Wisconsin’s future in the green jobs market. The forum, sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, UW-Milwaukee, We Energies, Wisconsin Environmental Initiative and Johnson Controls, begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 9 a.m. Breakfast begins at 7:15 a.m. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will provide remarks about his city’s efforts to cultivate green jobs. Confirmed panelists include: The event is organized by WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com with the help of MMAC, Discovery World, and UW-Milwaukee. More sponsorship opportunities are available; contact Jim Greer at 608-237-6296 or greer@wispolitics.com. The event is open to the public, and the price is $30 per person. But WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com subscribers, members of the Wisconsin Academy, the UW-Milwaukee community, and members of MMAC and Discovery World are able to attend for $20 per person. The price includes the breakfast buffet but not parking. ************************* TOP STORIES Mercury Marine workers allowed new vote: A day after it looked clear that 850 jobs making boat engines in eastern Wisconsin were moving to Oklahoma, Mercury Marine and its union said Tuesday workers would again vote on a package of wage and benefit concessions. Maysteel to close Wis. factory, cutting 165 jobs : Maysteel says it will close one of its Menomonee Falls factories, eliminating 165 jobs and relocating another 25. We Energies plans $250 million biofuel project in Rothschild: We Energies of Milwaukee has proposed building a $250 million biomass project at the Domtar paper mill in Rothschild, creating 400 temporary construction jobs and 150 permanent positions.
************************************************************ See commentary from around the state and columns from WisBusiness contributors Jennifer Sereno, Kevin McKinley, Tom Burzinski, Gregg Hoffmann, Tom Still and Steve Jagler: ************************************************************
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