FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Emily Pritzkow, Wisconsin Building Trades Council; Talking Trade with Chris Wojtowicz, Wisconsin District Export Council

May 17, 2024

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” features Emily Pritzkow, executive director of the Wisconsin Building Trades Council.

The returning guest discusses a recent pledge from the state’s major utilities to use local union labor on clean energy projects in Wisconsin — something she describes as the first of its kind in the nation.

“What you’re seeing with the appearance of this pledge here in Wisconsin is kind of the fruit of seeds that have been planted through a number of ways,” she said. “We’re talking about a longstanding relationship between the state’s largest utilities with union labor … but also policies that have been enacted at the national and state level.”

The pledge involves Alliant Energy, Madison Gas & Electric, WEC Energy Group and Xcel Energy, which collectively pledged to “ensure that our renewable energy projects in Wisconsin employ local union workers and are built according to recognized, competitive labor standards.”

Pritzkow points to the “rapid expansion” of clean energy infrastructure in the state, noting labor groups are working to train workers for the jobs needed to facilitate that transition.

“We are putting people on as quickly as we possibly can,” she said. “If there’s any sector that can handle a tall order like this one, it is the unionized building trades … We are very good at training people, at giving them the skills they need.”

But she acknowledged the union workforce isn’t “immune” to the workforce challenges facing virtually every industry.

Still, Pritzkow touted the future impact of the pledge, noting “projects like these, when they’re done with local labor, reap benefits many times over to local communities and businesses.”

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

Check out a previous podcast with Pritzkow.

— In the latest edition of “Talking Trade,” Wisconsin District Export Council Acting Chair Chris Wojtowicz discusses the latest developments in the global export landscape and how it connects to the state.

Wojtowicz, who’s also an international trade consultant with the Small Business Development Center, said he’s seeing “a lot of continued opportunity and growth” in the ports of Superior and Duluth.

“Around the state, we’re seeing really cool opportunities in foreign direct investment,” he said. “That’s something that we really don’t talk about quite a bit, but you know, between Japan, China’s still investing of course, Mexico’s investing, Italy — it’s just been really kind of neat.”

The discussion also touches on companies looking at alternatives to China for diversifying their supply chains, as well as some recent disruptions that have underlined the fragility of these networks. That includes the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, caused by a collision with a large container ship.

The DEC recently re-launched its website with a new events page, Wojtowicz said, aimed at capturing all international trade-related events happening across the state.

Watch the show.

“Talking Trade” is now available in audio form on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Subscribe and find more episodes here.

— State unemployment in April fell below 3% for the first time this year, according to the latest Department of Workforce Development data.

Wisconsin’s unemployment dipped to 2.9% last month from March’s rate of 3%. The last time it was that low was August 2023, DWD figures show, and the record low was 2.4% a year ago.

The state’s labor force participation rate was unchanged at 65.6% in April, which was 2.9 percentage points higher than the national rate of 62.7%.

Meanwhile, total nonfarm jobs increased by 24,100 over the year, reaching 3,035,300 in April.

“We’re still on upward trends of adding jobs, which means income and spending and consumption side of things looks to be fairly healthy going forward,” DWD Chief Economist Dennis Winters said yesterday during an online briefing.

He also highlighted the statistically significant increase in the health care and social assistance category, which added 1,300 jobs over the month and 10,800 jobs over the year to reach 420,100 jobs in April.

“The health care industry continues to grow, even with the layoffs we’ve seen in parts of the state,” he said, pointing to rising health care demand linked to the state’s aging population. “And still a lot of recovery that’s still coming back into the private clinics and things like that, that lost a lot of employment through COVID. So those numbers are still on their way up.”

See the release.

— Developers have finished the $456 million expansion of the Baird Center in Milwaukee, design firm Henderson Engineers announced.

Local leaders and economic development officials yesterday celebrated the expansion’s opening, which doubled the size of the facility to 1.3 million feet. The project included adding a new grand entrance, extending its exhibition hall to 300,000 square feet, adding dozens of meeting rooms and six loading docks, and more.

Henderson Engineers was the engineer of record for the project, according to the release, and Convention Center Practice Director Russ Murdock said “it’s an honor” to have been entrusted with the future of the facility.

“Flexibility is a priority for modern convention centers as these facilities are increasingly focused on serving multiple functions at once rather than the traditional approach of mainly booking large single exhibitions,” he said in a statement.

See the release, and see more on the project in headlines below.

— State officials have announced $32.6 million in tax credits for developers of multifamily housing projects.

Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority yesterday said selected developers will soon receive grant awards from the 2024 Housing Tax Credits program. WHEDA says it received grant requests for more than $56 million from developers.

A total of 23 projects in 14 counties will create 1,383 new affordable housing units in urban and rural communities, according to the release. The tax credits are expected to result in housing for more than 3,270 people based on the state’s average household size.

“No matter where you are — whether it’s the Driftless Area or in the heart of our largest cities — the need for affordable housing continues to be one of the issues I hear most about as I travel across our state,” Evers said in a statement.

See the release.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, this week introduced a bill seeking to ensure women have access to affordable mental health care and substance use disorder services.

The Mental Health and Making Access More Affordable, or MAMA Act would require private and public insurance plans to cover the services for pregnant women and new mothers at no additional cost to them.

One in five American women suffers from a mental health disorder leading up to or after giving birth, according to Baldwin’s release, but most of them aren’t treated. It also notes women of color are three to four times more likely to suffer pregnancy-related complications and die from them.

“Wisconsin is in a maternal mortality crisis, and we need to do more to support new and expecting mothers and their babies,” Baldwin said. “I’m proud to lead this effort to help more new mothers get the mental health support and substance use disorder treatment they need to stay healthy and set themselves and their babies up for success down the road.”

Moore said the legislation would help expand access to care for people who might not be able to afford it.

“Making substance use treatment and mental care more accessible and affordable is critical to tackling the maternal health crisis and protecting the health of mothers and their children,” Moore said. “With this legislation, we can help remove cost as a barrier that prevents too many mothers from seeking the care and treatment they need.”

See the release and see more from the WisPolitics DC Wrap.

Top stories from the Health Care Report…

— Marquette University has launched a new graduate degree program focused on psychology data analysis, which is slated to begin next year.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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