Charleston, W.Va. — Energy industry leaders from the West Virginia Business & Industry Council joined Gov. Jim Justice Monday to decry an anti-coal and natural gas campaign promoted by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“We will not stand idly by while out-of-touch New York liberals try to decimate the West Virginia economy with no thought or concern about what this could do to our people and our energy security in the United States,” said BIC Chairman Chris Hamilton. “At BIC, we have created a special new committee focused on uniting West Virginia’s energy interests to create a cohesive development approach, and there is no greater rallying cry for our efforts than to unite against Mayor Bloomberg’s incredibly dangerous pledge.”
What hope West Virginia has for future economic opportunity, economic diversification and reversal of the trend of outward migration of our people is conditioned on our capacity to more fully develop our human resources – an educated and trained workforce for the jobs of today as well as the jobs of tomorrow. The transportable and flexible nature of the global economy requires us to compete not only with neighboring states, but nations across the globe for job opportunities for our people. Current and future generations of West Virginians must be prepared to take their place as part of a workforce prepared to compete for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
As state government leaders and stakeholders continue the ongoing debate about education reform, the West Virginia Business & Industry Council wants this conversation to include the perspective of employers. Our members represent some 26 different industries that employ nearly 400,000 people. We know better than anyone what capacity and skills are required of those making careers in our industries.
Pro-Business policies leading to growing economy
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – With recent data from WorkForce West Virginia showing that the state’s unemployment rate has dropped to 4.2 percent – the lowest level since 2008 – and record state revenue collections building to what may be one of the largest state budget surpluses in memory, West Virginia is experiencing incredible economic growth.
Thanks to pro-business policies advanced by Gov. Jim Justice and the West Virginia Legislature, the West Virginia Business & Industry Council says the Mountain State is seeing exciting new developments in the energy industry. CLICK HERE to read more!
Policy initiatives put in place by Governor Jim Justice and the state’s legislative leadership have resulted in what may be the largest single month revenue collections in state history for April. CLICK HERE to read more.