WHAT'S AT STAKE ON SUNDAY

Source: Steve Prestegard, Marketplace Magazine

Mercury Marine employees who are members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Lodge 1947 will vote on changes to their union contract Sunday. Russell Kamphuis, president and CEO of the Bank of Oakfield and vice chairman of the Fond du Lac County Economic Development, discusses what’s at stake in the vote:

As the next chairman of the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corp. board of directors, it is my job to look to 2010 and assess, with staff, what the near future will hold for our communities, our businesses and our residents. The outcome of the vote by Mercury Marine’s union on Sunday will most assuredly affect our future.

This is a difficult situation for everyone involved, especially the employees who will be casting their vote. I truly empathize with them for they must feel like the weight of the world is on their shoulders. It is not only their job at stake, but the jobs of approximately 4,000 of their neighbors in Fond du Lac County who work for companies who are suppliers to Mercury Marine or work for organizations who will be greatly affected by the potential loss of the company. The responsibility of each voting employee is incredible.

It is important that everyone understand the impact of Mercury Marine on Fond du Lac County. All told, an estimated $353 million in annual income in our county is on the line, and it is an impact that extends far beyond the boundaries of Fond du Lac County. In the seven-county region (Fond du Lac County and its adjoining counties), the direct and indirect impact is expected to result in the loss of almost 8,000 jobs and $450 million loss in annual earnings. Bump the scope to the state level, and loss climbs to over 11,000 jobs and $600 million in annual earnings.

As incoming chair of FCEDC, I have to look at how it would affect our business climate. Approximately 1,000 companies in Wisconsin provide products or services to Mercury Marine, 250 of which are in Fond du Lac County. Among the hardest hit industries will be local governments, restaurants, health care and a wide-range of manufacturing businesses.

Our stakeholders are also the citizens of Fond du Lac County. So how does this decision affect us as individuals? Mercury Marine is a significant water and sewer customer of the City of Fond du Lac. If no new customers took their place, the water and sewer rates would possibly have to increase by up to 5.5 percent which equates to approximately $44 a year for the typical residential customer. In addition, Mercury pays more than $620,000 in total property taxes, $219,000 of which is to the City of Fond du Lac. If the buildings were vacated, the value would decrease significantly leaving the other property taxpayers in the city, county, school district, and technical college district to pick up the difference.

The negative impact will be felt in all communities in Fond du Lac County. Nearly 400 of Mercury Marine’s employees live in Fond du Lac County communities outside the Fond du Lac zip codes. The potential loss of population could impact some of the smaller communities quite severely. For example, Oakfield is home to many Mercury Marine employees and their families. The loss of the company could directly affect more than 12 percent of the 1,038 residents. This is not taking into account supply chain and those additional job losses previously mentioned.

The list goes on — property values, the impact on the area technical college system, the effects of higher unemployment rates, etc., but you get my point. The vote of the workers is a responsibility I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, but it is a challenge they face none-the-less. I would like to personally thank each and every one of the employees for making an educated decision based on facts, integrity and conviction.

A big campaign is taking place in Oklahoma to get Mercury Marine to move to Stillwater. Oklahoma’s secretary of commerce and tourism, Natalie Shirley, wrote this in the Stillwater NewsPress:

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce, as the state’s lead economic development agency, is committed to helping Mercury Marine grow and prosper in Stillwater.

The agency is working with Stillwater community leaders, company officials and state legislators to review all possible scenarios.

Retaining Mercury, which employs almost 400 people, is critically important to the community of Stillwater and to the entire state of Oklahoma.

The company’s presence in the Sooner State represents a valuable asset for Oklahoma’s advanced manufacturing sector.

The plant manufactures high quality sterndrives — some of the most innovative in the world.

Mercury Marine has been an excellent corporate citizen in Stillwater.

As it explores the consolidation of production sites, we can tell you we have done everything possible to position Oklahoma as the right place for Mercury Marine to expand its business.

As the company weighs the business merits of Wisconsin and Oklahoma — a process they have made public — Commerce is diligently reminding Mercury Marine why Oklahoma is THE place to live and do business.

A right-to-work state, Oklahoma offers nationally recognized incentives; top-notch low-cost/no-cost customized training; a highly skilled workforce; a central location that provides market access to more than 80 million people within a 500-mile radius; and some of the lowest business costs and tax burdens in the nation.

In short, Oklahoma’s robust, pro-business economy and competitive living costs make it hard to beat.

Even in these uncertain financial times Commerce remains focused on growing our state’s economy and raising the standard of living for all Oklahomans.

Commerce has long considered Mercury Marine — a valued member of our business community — a partner in that endeavor.

The Stillwater Chamber of Commerce calculates that Mercury Marine adds $100 million to the state’s economy through suppliers, logistics and transportation vendors; invests $20 million in research and development in Stillwater; and contributes $45 million in employee payroll.

Throughout its many years in Stillwater, Mercury Marine has partnered with Meridian Technology Center, a local CareerTech campus, to develop specific classes for Mercury workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor named that partnership a best practice model for the management and administration of apprenticeship training programs.

Commerce wants Mercury Marine to remain in Oklahoma, and we are taking every step to ensure that happens.

We’ve read similar sentiments from Fond du Lac-area elected officials, economic development organizations and business leaders. Why haven’t we heard anything from Shirley’s counterparts at the Wisconsin Department of Commerce?