Media Minute— a weekly dispatch of local, national and world news impacting West Virginia’s manufacturing industry.

West Virginia

WVMA to help charities, communities
Huntington Herald Dispatch
CHARLESTON - The West Virginia Manufacturers Association is launching a new support program called WVMA Cares to help charities and ...

Several Reasons Why Business Tax Cuts Don't Work
The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration)
The libertarian-leaning Cato Institute said in 2008 that West Virginia's business tax cuts were “probably the most pro-growth tax reforms of any state.

W.Va. Paving president says DOH 'acted hastily' in filing asphalt suit
West Virginia Record
CHARLESTON – The president of a paving company at the center of an antitrust lawsuit says the West Virginia Division of Highways “acted hastily” in ...

New WV Senate committee aims to rewrite state tax code
The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration)
Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, set up the Select Committee on Tax Reform specifically to study how to restructure West Virginia's tax ...

Judge says national laborer can't intervene in WV lawsuit against right-to-work
Charleston Gazette-Mail (subscription)
A Kanawha County circuit judge on Friday refused a motion to intervene filed by a national right-to-work organization in a lawsuit state labor unions ...

Justice's budget, tax proposals receive pushback
Herald-Mail Media
The governor proposed several small tax increases, which raised ... His announced goal to make West Virginia the eighth state with no income tax received ... A Senate committee is expected to present proposals for tax reform in the ...

WVU Researchers Join National Program to Develop Technologies to Enhance Natural Gas ...
Newswise (press release)
This serves a real-world need for many production locations in the Marcellus Shale, especially those in West Virginia, where some shale gas ...

Justice says he's going to make DEP stop saying 'no' to industry
Charleston Gazette-Mail (subscription)
Justice says he's going to make DEP stop saying 'no' to industry .... Rebecca McPhail, president of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, said ...

Fairmont Senior High Teacher named W.Va. Teacher of Year
The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration)
Teacher of the Year; Leah Curry, Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia president; Dave Perry, W.Va. Board of Education; Miller Hall, W.Va.

United States

American Chemistry Council wants bigger say on new EPA panel
desalination.biz
The American Chemistry Council has called on the US Environmental Protection Agency to expand its new Science Advisory Committee on ...

1.3 Million Jobs Created By Closing Trade Deficit Says Think Tank
IndustryWeek
Trade pressure and faltering U.S. competitiveness, not automation was the main reason the U.S. lost 5.7 million manufacturing jobs between 2000 and .

The new face of manufacturing jobs
The Boston Globe
The relatively strong job and wage growth in the country belies the reality that quality jobs are disappearing for lower-skilled workers, particularly ...

Robots are taking jobs, but also creating them: Research review
Journalist's Resource
Since 1990, the United States has lost 30 percent (5.5 million) of its manufacturing jobs while manufacturing output has grown 148 percent, according ...

In their first meeting, Trudeau needs to sell Trump on NAFTA
The Globe and Mail
There no evidence that NAFTA has been a factory job-killer. Technology and productivity are to blame. Manufacturing jobs were in steady decline in ...

Survey: 9 in 10 processors say workforce top issue for 2017
Plastics News
A new survey says workforce development has shot up the ranking of challenges facing plastics firms in the last five years. Now 92 percent of ...