Caterpillar relocating to N. Little Rock (jobs!)

[AllenKarber]

$10 hour is not good money for even here. I would be taking a substantial pay cut to work for that kind of money. What I make is good for Arkansas,but would still be pitiful compared to other places. The cost of living here is not exactly cheap either! Greed seems to rule the real estate market here.

[Stormcrow73]

I think there's substantial disinformation being posted here. I've seen nothing yet even hinting at the average pay that this plant will provide. The $10/hr seems to be something pulled out of someone's nether regions and not based upon any source. We don't know what they're going to pay, heck it could be lower than $10/hr on average for all we know.

Likewise, the $50M incentive number is way off by this source:

UPDATED: Caterpillar to Put Plant at Deluxe Video Site in North Little Rock, Employ 600 - ArkansasBusiness.com

$3M from the state, $13M in incentives from the city of NLR which are mainly being paid in the form of infrastructure improvements, carbon offsets, and electrical rate discounts. It looks to me like Cat is getting very little in the form of cash in their back pocket. Some of the infrastructure incentives were needed or planned already anyway!

Let's not let some sour grapes send us down a wrong path here. 600 jobs aren't a lot and maybe Cat won't be in this location for more than a handful of years but those are 600 jobs we didn't have last year and this may be one of the things that allows this metro area to survive a very nasty recession. I'd rather have 600 families employed at $10/hr than the same 600 families out of work and on the welfare rolls!

And for you guys suggesting this is a step towards Mexico...guys, if we keep losing these jobs, our country has huge problems. Not just Illinois, not just Arkansas, not just the south, but the USA as a whole. We have to begin protecting our manufacturing base even if that means protective tariffs. I don't like to hear of people losing their jobs anywhere. But I'm not going to lose sight of the fact that 600 Arkansans are going to be employed in a down economy making an American product for less than it was being made in Illinois. I'm very glad our leaders saw fit to part with $3M of state funds to make this happen. This will save our state money in the mid-run, possibly make us money in the longer run or be a net wash if Cat up and leaves, and play a part in stabilizing our local economy, allowing us to continue a growth pattern once the recession is over.

[Probender]

The Pine Bluff Commercial reported that Little Rock was chipping in 3 million and some state fund used to attract businesses was providing an additional 50 million. I can't recall the name of the fund but if I understood correctly it came from the state surplus.
I was basing the 10 dollars an hour on what they start out at here which is around 14 dollars an hour.
Cat will use you all then discard you like an old backhoe. THey proved they don't care about people.
You all don't have your plant yet. Don't be surprised if it never materalizes.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by Probender

The Pine Bluff Commercial reported that Little Rock was chipping in 3 million and some state fund used to attract businesses was providing an additional 50 million. I can't recall the name of the fund but if I understood correctly it came from the state surplus.
I was basing the 10 dollars an hour on what they start out at here which is around 14 dollars an hour.
Cat will use you all then discard you like an old backhoe. THey proved they don't care about people.
You all don't have your plant yet. Don't be surprised if it never materalizes.

This must be the article to which you're referring: Pine Bluff Commercial Online Edition

Read it carefully, the Governor's Quick Action Closing Fund was a total of $50M. Of that, $3M was used for the Cat plant. Not the entire $50M. Fact checking is good....

[Stormcrow73]

More on the GQAC and what LM Glasfiber received from the (thus far) ONE TIME appropriation of the $50M pot of money:

Governor's fund pulls jobs to state

[Probender]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

This must be the article to which you're referring: Pine Bluff Commercial Online Edition

Read it carefully, the Governor's Quick Action Closing Fund was a total of $50M. Of that, $3M was used for the Cat plant. Not the entire $50M. Fact checking is good....

Thanks for the link. I should have read it more closely.
Knowing they didn't give Cat 50 million makes me feel a little better.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by Probender

Thanks for the link. I should have read it more closely.
Knowing they didn't give Cat 50 million makes me feel a little better.

NP. As for how long Cat will be in NLR...I think it's safe to assume they EXPECT to pay back within 5 years. So we can be pretty certain that after 5 years time all bets are off. The state may have to pony up more cash at that time. If they can't be profitable here then they are obliged to look elsewhere to protect their shareholder's investments. It's not something we like to hear and it isn't at all fair but thats how our current world works...for better or worse. I don't like it any more than you. The days of workers and companies being loyal to each other are long gone (if companies were EVER loyal to their employees that is, I've had the priviledge to work for one that was...and I never expect to find another). I would suggest to anyone to always have an escape plan in your pocket even in the best of times because you just never know...

[RogMar]

Originally Posted by Probender

I grew up in Central Illinois and live here now. I'm very familar with Decatur and Peoria and all the surrounding areas. I have friends working at Decatur Cat now. Also friends in Pontiac and Chillicothe. Also a relative working in Joliet who just got the ax.
I also lived in Arkansas 17 years. I love the state. I still root for the Hogs.
Arkansas is paying Cat over 50 million dollars to relocate there. Good honest hard working tax payers are paying Cat for low paying jobs for 600 people. THe state of Illinois is bankrupt, thanks to all our Chicago Democrats and I'm sure that has something to do with Cat leaving the state. Rats leaving a sinking ship they know can't help them.
I don't believe Arkansas is winning this in the long run. How long will it take the state to recoop the 53 million in taxes? THis is just fueling the poverty in the state. Bringing more people into the clutches of a ruthless company that will use them then discard them like people do their machines. Very much like Tyson Foods.
Arkansas is just a step for Cat on their way to Mexico.

I don't think Cat will go to Mexico.

Yes, you're right about the Chi-town politicos trashing Illinois, however......

I'm not bashing anyone, but I had friends & relatives that worked at Cat.

I recall the contract negotiations. The *large* pay raises, getting Cat to run shuttles buses to the outlying towns to pick up workers and take them home so they didn't have to drive, getting the company to pay for work boots, full medical, dental, and optical, etc......

I remember talks being stalled once, and I asked a buddy, "What's the hangup?".

He tells me that they want the company to pay for vehicle license plates and subsidize their auto insurance.

Remember when Cat had a big layoff back in the 80's?

The Decatur paper had to print an extra addition of the classified adds to list all the boats, motorcycles, and RV's that went up for sale.

Now, I believe in making a good living, and I believe in the right to organize.......

I also believe that when Arkansas charges me $30 for an item, and Missouri.......30 miles away, charges me $20 for the same item, that's a no-brainer. I go get 10 units for me, 5 for this neighbor, 7 for that one, and Missouri gets the money.

Nope, you ain't gonna get rich working in Arkansas, but a $10 an hour job that's here is a whole lot better than a $30 an hour job in Illinois that ain't there anymore.

There's two sides to every coin.

Just sayin'.....ya know?

[mrrightonthemoney]

Wow Cats pay is so low for hard labor, sounds like they moved to AK so they can pay low wages Moderator cut: off topic