To the Editor:
On June 18, I had the opportunity to listen to Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions, talk about how the future of the U.S. economy is tightly linked to education, training, mentorship and responsible business practices.
The audience of local business, union, congressional and state leaders was on fire as McGarvey’s talk turned to unleashing the power of collaboration to build sustainable communities. He reinforced the importance of cultivating jobs across the entire economic spectrum – and, in particular, jobs that are available to build up middle-class sectors and increase incomes.
The moment got me thinking about the just-concluded session of the General Assembly. I am happy to report that the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce played a useful role in advancing strategic legislation to keep hundreds of good-paying, middle-class jobs from leaving Rhode Island.
The issue revolved around retaining the headquarters operation of Citizens Financial Group Inc. Chamber members are well aware that neighboring states were poised to poach homegrown Citizens because of an unlevel playing field in how bank taxes are computed.
Chamber members reached out with urgency to Gov. Daniel J. McKee, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio with important legislative messages:
n Rhode Island cannot afford to lose financial services jobs to Massachusetts and Connecticut.
n Rhode Island must provide the same tax structure for its financial institutions to encourage them to stay, grow and produce middle-class jobs.
n Rhode Island must fully embrace its larger employers (with high-value headquarters operations) to propel smaller and midsize companies because we all are part of the same economic value chain.
n Rhode Island must work speedily with local employers to create high-potential private sector jobs so as to take the pressure off public-sector supports – particularly health insurance.
These messages quickly resonated with our elected officials.
The Chamber would like to vigorously applaud Governor McKee and his directors, Speaker Shekarchi, House Finance Committee Chair Marvin L. Abney, Rep. Joseph J. Solomon Jr., Senate President Ruggerio and Senate Finance Committee Chair Louis P. DiPalma. Most assuredly, these business-friendly elected leaders were proactive, intentional and aggressive in their convening power. The parties worked in a transparent and collaborative way to keep Citizens Bank’s headquarters and jobs in Rhode Island.
Thank you.
All of this bodes well for future generations of Rhode Islanders who are counting on us to keep commerce flowing. Looking ahead to next year’s legislative session, the business community is confident that Team Rhode Island will lay the foundation for us to claim the mantle as New England’s economic juggernaut.
Laurie White
Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce president
