Why Is North Carolina Paying to Train Workers for Caterpillar, With No Guarantee the Company

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http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2012/01/11/why-is-north-carolina-paying-to-train-workers-for-caterpillar-with-no-guarantee-the-company-wont-leave/

Why Is North Carolina Paying to Train Workers for Caterpillar, With No Guarantee the Company Won’t Leave?

Right now, tucked away in the rolling fields of tobacco country near Kernersville, North Carolina, men and women are training for new jobs in a former carpet warehouse. In the upcoming year, about 400 workers will be trained and then employed to work at a new Caterpillar plant located 10 miles outside of Winston-Salem, according to a feature in the New York Times.

The students spend part of the day in the classrooms of a community college receiving online tutorials and teacher instruction. They also spend part of the day on a mock factory floor using wrenches, hoses and power tools practicing to build axles for large mining trucks. While the training would appear to be welcome news for North Carolina’s unemployed, it also has taxpayers wondering why they are on the hook for $51 million in incentives used to lure Caterpillar to the Piedmont and whether the skills the employees are acquiring are transferable beyond Caterpillar’s needs.

While it does makes sense for North Carolina to spend money to help promote job growth, Caterpillar is a company with booming profits (and a lockout on their hands in Canada). By operating in a “Right-to-Work” state, the company is able pay its workers less than they would in other places.

According to the NYT piece, North Carolina is on the hook for similar training investments with other companies:

According to the state, North Carolina spent about $9.4 million to train workers as part of projects that created nearly 4,500 jobs in the 12 months through June 30. (The total cost per job rises sharply beyond the $2,000 in training because of voluminous tax breaks and other incentives.)


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