Contributed photo
TOURING — House Speaker Mark Eves of North Berwick, Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Sara Gideon of Freeport, and area lawmakers stopped at Louisiana-Pacific Corp. manufacturing plant on a recent jobs tour. On the tour were, from left, LP Human Resources Manager Ryan Bushey, Patrick Strauch, executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council, Rep. Henry Bear of the Houlton Maliseet Indians, Rep. Bob Saucier of Presque Isle, Rep. Gideon, Speaker Eves, Doug Foster from LP and Rep. Roger Sherman of Hodgdon.
NEW LIMERICK — The Louisiana-Pacific Corp. manufacturing plant in New Limerick was the first stop on a three-day jobs tour led by House Speaker Mark Eves and state lawmakers in Aroostook County.
During a tour of the engineered wood products plant Feb. 18, company officials and workers urged lawmakers to partner with the industry to grow good-paying jobs in The County and around the state.
“The quality of our products is built on the quality of workforce,” said Louisiana Pacific’s Human Resources Manager Ryan Bushey. “The workers in Aroostook County are second to none.”
Louisiana-Pacific is one of the largest employers in the county with a 130 employees and growing. The company — a leading manufacturer of engineered wood building products — has plans to continue to grow with wages starting at just over $17 per hour with benefits.
Bushey said investing in the community college and on-site training programs for incumbent workers were among the top ways the state could help the industry stay competitive and grow good jobs and strong wages.
“We heard loud and clear that investment in job training and workforce development is key to growing more good-paying jobs here in The County,” said Speaker of the House Eves of North Berwick, who has introduced a measure to increase job training funds statewide by $5 million over five years.
Maine has lagged behind the nation in job and wage growth since the recession, with Aroostook County’s unemployment remaining among the highest in the state at 7 percent.
“We have so much potential in Aroostook County,” said Patrick Strauch, executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council. “It’s great to have lawmakers put a focus on growing good jobs here.”
Eves, Assistant Majority Leader Sara Gideon of Freeport and area lawmakers from both parties attended the tour. The tour also made stops on Feb. 19 at the St. John Valley Technology Center and McCain Foods in Easton. On Feb. 20, lawmakers headed to Northern Maine Community College to learn more about the precision machining and wind tech programs. The three-day visit was scheduled during the legislative break week.
Rep. Bob Saucier of Presque Isle said, “The jobs tour gives lawmakers a good opportunity to talk to the business community and the community college, and the vocational school to see how we can best prepare workers for the jobs of the future.”
