Labor, business group says Pittsburgh can become high-tech manufacturing hub

A group of labor, business and civic officials on Tuesday laid out a plan for Western Pennsylvania’s traditional industries to partner with emerging technology companies to create manufacturing jobs.

Members of the Pittsburgh Works Together coalition said during a virtual news conference that following the plan could make Western Pennsylvania an “epicenter of the nation’s post-pandemic economic recovery.”

Morgan O’Brien, former president and CEO of Peoples Gas, who co-chairs the coalition, said the coronavirus pandemic exposed America’s dependence on foreign-made goods through such supply chain shortages as the lack of personal protective equipment at hospitals.

He said the coalition’s idea is to attract industries that employ local residents, provide well-paying jobs and produce high-quality products in environmentally friendly ways.

“It feels like to all of us that somewhere along the line, we as a country sort of said it was OK to move manufacturing overseas,” O’Brien said. “We see this as an opportune time to bring real jobs that pay people real salaries and real benefits that people can be trained on and create a lifelong career … back to America.”

The self-funded group began meeting before the pandemic hit Western Pennsylvania to formulate a response to attacks on industry from environmentalists, political candidates and community leaders. Organizers officially launched the coalition in March.

Jeff Nobers, who heads the coalition and serves as executive director of the Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania, said the organization has been meeting with state, federal and local lawmakers; chamber of commerce executives; and county commissioners.

“It’s not just about us saying we should do this,” he said. “Really, the goal is to bring together all these diverse groups of people that are necessary to make this work. It’s going to take some political will. It’s going to take some intestinal fortitude. It’s going to take some tough decision-making at times.”

The plan focuses on:

• Affordable energy sources available in the region. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission should work to encourage industry to use things such as cogeneration plants and microgrids as affordable, environmentally sustainable energy sources.
• Vocational education. Make grant and loan programs now offered to college-bound high school students available to students pursuing technical training.
• Rebuilding the state’s infrastructure using Pennsylvania workers and materials. Pennsylvania should direct spending on transportation and other infrastructure to projects serving industry.
• Spurring investment by existing and new companies. The state should streamline cumbersome business regulations, make corporate taxes more competitive with other states’ and prioritize redevelopment of former industrial sites.
• Providing resources to companies that employ state residents and use products made in the state.

Steven Malnight, president and CEO of Duquesne Light, said leaders must continue to focus on economic possibilities while dealing with tough economic times caused by the pandemic.

“I think that what this pandemic has shown us is real opportunities to think about how we rebuild the economy in this region,” he said. “It won’t happen overnight.”