Latest news with #AssociatedIndustriesofMassachusetts
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘What do businesses hate?': Mass. employers navigating uncertainty and fear
SPRINGFIELD — Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the group representing 3,400 businesses across the state, said surveys of its members show the business community is unsure of the state's economy these days. April results showed confidence among Massachusetts employers at its lowest level since the pandemic closed down much of the commonwealth's economy in March 2020, according to AIM, which surveys its members monthly and distills the results into a business confidence index. May's results showed confidence rebounding a bit. June's survey is not out yet. 'What do businesses hate? Uncertainty, rules changing,' said Brooke Thomson, AIM's president, during a visit this week with editors and reporters at The Republican. She detailed how trade, tariffs and immigration enforcement are all making life less predictable for AIM's members across the state. Add perennial concerns like the high cost of housing and living in Massachusetts, and Thomson said the trade association is a busy advocate on Beacon Hill. AIM also finds itself much more involved in federal-level matters, Thomson said. What follows is excerpts from that conversation, edited for brevity and clarity. Q: Do you find yourself working on both bills, but also matters that can be taken up by the executive branch? A: Where we are now in 2025, you could say that AIM is involved in federal, state and local matters. So where we are in 2025, much more involvement in federal issues than ... — I came to AIM in 2019 — more than we've ever been involved in federal issues in my time. We've always been that voice for business at the state level. And then we're very involved in local issues in a variety of different ways right now. ... Probably the largest one would be housing because of the dramatic impact that housing has and the lack of available housing on workforce and the economy as a whole. Q. What is the current situation with tariffs? A. I talked about them (Wednesday) morning with the minister of the economy for Quebec and with the Canadian premiers and the New England governors on Monday. I would like to say that we were in a spot six months into 2025 where we had resolution. But unfortunately, and that is the challenging part here, I think what continues to frustrate me on behalf of the members of the business community is that I still think there's a lot of misinformation out there around tariffs. There's, you know, this notion that every time there's sort of a new negotiation or a new settling of a deal or a new negotiation around a percentage that somehow we've struck a deal and now it's resolved. And the real situation is that it continues to keep this uncertainty, and this really tense and quite frankly fragmented trade relationship. ... Our conversations with our Canadian counterparts, they have had to completely adjust the way in which they do business to understand that they can't rely on their dependence on the United States. And that really is primarily New England and Massachusetts, who are their number one trading partners. So, they are doing wisely what they should do, which is saying, we have to diversify, we have to go find other alternatives because we don't know where the story ends or how it ends. Q: Are you hearing from members about immigration issues, particularly with their workforce? A: Again, it is the uncertainty around what we're seeing and the fear, certainly you've seen a dramatic uptick and the impact on the workforce. At AIM, .. we provide HR support to our members. We've tried to be very proactive, again, around education, telling folks, you know, have your I-9s ready. Here's how to be prepared. If somebody comes to your place of work. Here are the numbers you call, here's what you do. But, you know, we've heard from members that folks just aren't showing up to work. People are afraid … You have this temporary status for Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants that's going to be now coming into question in August and September. What does that mean, particularly in Massachusetts, where we are so heavily dependent on an immigrant workforce at all levels. Whether you're having a conversation about our high tech, you know, you're talking about doctorates and Ph.D.s at MIT and Harvard, or you're talking about people that are working in our hospitals and food service, in our schools, in our manufacturing facilities. Q: Do you get a sense from employers that they're all operating above board when it comes to immigrant workers? A: Are there bad actors? I think there's bad actors. I think I'm more aware of the members of AIM who have kind of gone above and beyond to try to follow the rules. We've had folks come in, how do I do whatever I need to do to try to get temporary work status for (employees)? How do I bring in resources, whether it's Haitian translators or something else. And now they're saying, I've made this investment, what do I do if come Aug. 3, Aug. 5 and 20 people are pulled off the floor. Q: What are you looking at, at a state level? A: Keeping the economy strong while trying to keep a watchful eye on maintaining costs. And that's everything. The hard thing is that they're all things at the same time. What we're trying to say is let's continue the momentum that we saw really take off last session. You saw great work for the Economic Development Bill that said, okay, we need to invest in key sectors. We need to make sure that we're going to, you know, put some bonding behind, clean tech behind, again, you know, biotech, things like that. Housing bond bill. We have to build more housing because we have to make sure that we have market rate housing. And that's again, what AIM would say over and over and over again, market rate housing. Q. You mentioned in an interview in January that we should attract new industry to the state. Obviously, you just got done saying a lot of business decisions are on ice right now. But are there particular industries that may end up in Western Mass.? A. So the two that we and I know the state are actively working on ... are climate tech, green tech. What's going on with a lot of the (old mill space) ... and then what we keep talking about ... taking a lot of the innovation economy that is continuing to happen, whether it's biotech, whether it's AI whatever it is ... and how are we utilizing, how they put, whether it's manufacturing, warehousing, whatever else is central to their business out in the western part of the state. ... So that when ... the R and D folks want to go see manufacturing, the R and D folks want to go to the call center, they're just going down the pike. They're not getting on a plane. That is really where I think our opportunity lies that we're not fully manifesting yet and I would like to see us really pursue here in Massachusetts. Q. Is there something that you think state leaders can do in the short term to better compete with the Tennessees and Texases of the world? A. One hundred percent. Taking a look on two fronts as far as zoning and siting of just general location of property. ... If it's a warehouse, if it's a call center, whatever it is (making it) easier and more efficient with the municipality. And then same thing with respect to making sure we have sufficient electricity, working with the, whether it's a municipal light plant or working with the utilities, to make sure (of) that. Because that seems to be oftentimes one of the number one challenges is particularly with manufacturing in some of these climate tech, green tech sectors that they're usually high intensity use of energy. ... Everyone's well intentioned, but how do we get better about having the state and those folks work together to make it more efficient and come together quicker? MGM Springfield reports gambling take for May Cannabis workers at Holistic Industries in Monson ask for vote that could end union Shame: Springfield councilors want to publish names of people with unpaid ordinance tickets Read the original article on MassLive.
Boston Globe
10-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
‘Tumult and uncertainty': Massport gets ready for potential slowdown at shipping terminals, Logan Airport
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We have to be prudent but we're not panicking,' Davey said. 'We feel reasonably confident that for the first half of 2025, travel should remain reasonably strong. It remains to be seen in the back half of the year whether there will be a softening.' Advertisement So what's keeping Davey up at night? Here are a few crucial factors. Cargo ship fees The Office of the United States Trade Representative Advertisement Davey mentioned these fees first when asked at an Associated Industries of Massachusetts event on Tuesday how Trump's policies might affect freight coming into Boston. Data provided by Massport show that 21 Chinese-made vessels stopped at Conley last year, representing one-fifth of the market share, and considerably less than the industry average. But Davey's still worried, especially after the port authority 'It's entirely possible that ocean carriers might say 'Forget it, I'm not calling Boston and paying $1 million, I'll just stop in New York and pay the fee,'' Davey said in an interview. The new fees could also drive up costs of goods to consumers, much like Trump's tariffs would do. The industry pushback has been severe, and reports have started circulating that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer may pare back the proposal. 'Bringing back more ship and maritime manufacturing to the United States, that's good,' Davey said. 'How you're achieving it? Not so good.' Massport CEO Rich Davey addressed the Associated Industries of Massachusetts this week about the impact that President Trump's tariffs could have on travel this year. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Tariffs Unlike air travel, cargo volumes still haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels at Conley. Trump's tariffs won't help. While Trump put many of the higher tariffs on pause on Wednesday, all trading partners still face a 10 percent tariff on goods coming into the US. And for China, the minimum actually went up, to 145 percent. That's bad news for Conley because more tonnage arrives from China than any other country, by far. Advertisement Davey seems particularly concerned about Trump's threatened tariff of 200 percent on all wine and spirits imported from Europe. It's a big business for Massport: If Trump follows through with his threat, that could affect the costs of 10 percent of products imported through Conley — another threat that could drive down shipping volumes there. There's also the fear that opening up trade wars with other countries (or other unfriendly policies) could deter their residents from choosing to vacation in the US. Recession Trump's various trade battles are one reason why economists have said the 'The ones we've spoken to in the last couple of days have said they still expect a solid second quarter, April through June,' Davey said. 'Beyond that, it's hard to project. ... There's so much uncertainty. Major policy decisions are happening daily.' Delta Air Lines, the busiest carrier at Logan, offered a somber prelude during its quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. Chief executive Ed Bastian said the airline started the year expecting strong growth. But now, he said, 'given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.' As a result, Delta is keeping its jet capacity flat when compared to last year, with domestic main cabin seats actually declining. Advertisement A Delta Air Lines flight arrives at Boston Logan International Airport in 2023. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Federal funding cuts One bright spot, if you can call it that: Massport's budget doesn't rely on federal dollars, so the massive operating cuts implemented in the federal government by Elon Musk and his ilk should only have a minimal impact on Massport operations. (The Federal Aviation Administration does support Logan with its air traffic controllers, but Davey believes the federal government might spend more to bolster those crews, not less.) The port authority's operations are essentially self-funded, largely from fees collected at Logan Airport. Davey said its annual revenues total $1.3 billion, while operating expenses are around $680 million; the rest is used to pay down debt or make capital improvements. But federal cuts in other areas, such as research funding, could curb travel, particularly for a local economy that's highly reliant on 'Our economy depends on students and universities and medical institutions,' Davey said. 'That drives some of the travel in and out of Logan. To the extent that the administration has been focused on education grants and HHS (Health and Human Services) grants, that could have a ripple effect on business travel.' For now, Davey's taking a wait-and-see attitude, and remains hopeful about Massport's initial projection of 44.8 million passengers through Logan this year, up from 43.5 million in 2024. He's asked chief financial officer John Pranckevicius to put together a prudent budget for the next fiscal year, and he's prepared to delay capital projects if necessary, just like Massport did during the pandemic when air travel dropped by some 90 percent at Logan. Davey doesn't expect anything as severe to occur now. Advertisement 'The tumult and uncertainty today is not to anybody's liking,' Davey added. 'But it's not like anything we had five years ago.' Jon Chesto can be reached at
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Westport Dem claims ‘silence was deafening' from biz community on MCAS ballot question
The Senate budget chief criticized the state's business community on Thursday for allegedly not fighting hard enough against last fall's ballot question that eliminated the use of the MCAS as a high school graduation requirement. "I'm very disappointed in the lack of business community involvement in the MCAS test repeal. The silence was deafening from the business community," Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues said on Thursday at an event in Boston hosted by Associated Industries of Massachusetts. Rodrigues was among the lawmakers who opposed the ballot measure which decoupled the exam from the state's long-held standards for who gets a diploma in Massachusetts. In the aftermath of the question passing, lawmakers, top education officials, teachers unions, and Gov. Maura Healey's administration are all trying to answer the question of what the state's standards should look like now. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education advanced draft regulations this week to create minimum coursework requirements and other standards; and Healey signed an executive order last month creating a council tasked with creating a new permanent statewide standard that complies with the voter-approved law. Stephanie Swanson, executive vice president of government affairs at AIM, asked Rodrigues how he sees the Senate's role in maintaining high state education rankings without the MCAS graduation requirement. "Last year, the commonwealth approved a ballot question through the voters that repealed the requirement for high school students to pass the MCAS exam in order to graduate. Since that had been in place, Massachusetts is number one in education and student success. We are worried that that could be at risk with that change," Swanson said. Rodrigues replied that the state's high education rankings, in his view, are due to a population that values education; high state investment in education; and "a strong system of accountability and standards" that included the MCAS exam graduation standard. "We just took that third leg of the school away," Rodrigues said. "And I'll be honest with you, and bluntly to the business community -- I was very disappointed in the lack of business community involvement in the MCAS test repeal." He added, "The MCAS was put in place because of the business community, because of all of you in this room, to ensure that we're investing all of this money in education, we want to make sure we have a strong system of accountability and standards." The primary opponents to the MCAS ballot question were business groups. Most of the money that drove the No on 2 campaign came from a small group of business executives and groups. Of the $3.1 million in receipts the campaign filed leading up to the Nov. 5 election, some of its biggest donors -- each giving more than $100,000 -- were Charles River Ventures partner Richard Burnes, self-employed engineer Raymond Stata, Berkshire Partners senior advisor David Peeler, Eastern Bank CEO Robert Rivers, and General Catalyst Partners advisor Paul Sagan. There were $50,000 contributions from the New York-based business group Education Reform Now Advocacy Inc., the Mass. High Technology Council and from self-employed consultant Anthony Helies. Donors who gave $25,000 were AIM itself, Charlesbank partner Michael Eisenson, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Alnivo Therapeutics CEO Michael Jacobson, retiree Charles Longfield, and the Mass. Business Alliance For Education (MBAE). The donation that caught the most headlines: $2.5 million from billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg to make sure MCAS testing remained a high school graduation requirement. "I will say, for the record, AIM was out front on the No on 2 campaign last year," Swanson replied to Rodrigues' comments on Thursday. Swanson said AIM and other business groups were also working with education officials on interim solutions for statewide standards, while Healey's council completes their work on creating a new system. "We are also working with a lot of our business community member associations on what to do sort of in the gap. That council is a two-year recommending body. What do we do for the current graduating class? I'm just hoping that the Legislature is thinking about that as well," she said. MBAE could not be reached for comment and the Greater Boston Chamber declined to comment on Rodrigues' remarks. Rodrigues said he was also glad the governor signed the executive order to reimagine the state standards. He cast the ballot question effort, which was pushed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, as an effort by the union to avoid accountability for teachers. "Let's face it, the teachers are a very strong, powerful voice. They don't want to be held accountable. They don't want to have these standards, and who does, right? No one likes accountability on them. You know, accountability is good for you, but not for me, right? Those of us that are held accountable every two years at the ballot box, we're held accountable. So we're concerned," he said. The MTA responded to Rodrigues by asserting that voters approved the ballot question not to undermine accountability, but because "MCAS exams were not a useful or fair way to determine whether a student was prepared to graduate from high school." "Senator Michael Rodrigues is mistaken when he says that educators are against accountability, and his characterization is incredibly insulting. Massachusetts has a rigorous educator accountability system, and it is shameful for anyone to suggest otherwise. We have the best-trained educators in the nation. We have statewide standards that apply to every type of course, are written for every grade, and apply to every district. Those standards are regarded as among the highest in the nation and are emulated by those states that seek to be the best, which means being more like Massachusetts," MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy said in a statement. This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Westport's Sen. Rodrigues points finger at biz lobby on MCAS
Boston Globe
14-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Mass. economic groups press state Legislature to prioritize affordability, competitiveness
The state budget Keeping the state's spending increase at a sustainable level — ideally 3 to 4 percent — should be a priority for legislators, said Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed watchdog group. Advertisement Governor Maura Healey's $62 billion budget plan, released last month, includes a spending increase of 7.4 percent from the budget she signed for fiscal 2025. Her administration has sought to frame the increase as smaller, saying it would hike spending by 2.6 percent, but that doesn't include nearly $2 billion in so-called millionaires tax revenue she is proposing the state spend. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Last year, I think one of the real strengths of the budget was that it did endeavor to keep those costs at sustainable levels,' Howgate said. 'I think we see how challenging that is this year, but I think that that remains really important for long-term fiscal health.' Healey's budget proposal includes funding for transportation, housing, education, and child care. Howgate said that between the main budget proposal and supplemental budget, the hundreds of millions promised to the MBTA could eliminate 90 percent of its operating deficit in the next three years. This structure provides some stability in the transportation system's funding for the next few years, and Howgate said he hopes it won't change with the budget now in the legislature's hands. Taxes Brooke Thomson, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, said that although Advertisement 'We certainly don't think there's any need for new tax increases, and we want to utilize the revenue that's out there in a responsible manner,' Thomson said. Healey's proposals divvy up surplus funds from the Fair Share Amendment, often referred to as the millionaires tax, which raises state income tax on income above $1 million. The proposals split the funds evenly between transportation and education, which Howgate said the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation supports. On the education side, Howgate said legislators should ensure surplus millionaire's tax revenue is used to cover one-time costs, not operating expenses, as the revenue is volatile year-to-year. Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said he hopes the state will cut property and payroll taxes, which are also costly for small businesses. Some expressed concern about how the state will navigate uncertainty, hoping the state Legislature is prepared in case federal funding dwindles under President Trump. 'Uncertainty is always something that creates a lot of concern in the business community,' Thomson said. If federal funding shrinks, the state may need to find additional revenue sources. Phineas Baxandall, MassBudget policy director, said this could include implementing measures to prevent multibillion dollar corporations from using offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes in Massachusetts, which he said could add 'hundreds of millions' to the state budget, or drawing from the state's rainy day fund. 'If we do have a federally brought out rainy day,' he said, 'then we think it's appropriate to tap the rainy day fund towards addressing some of those shortcomings.' Regulations Hurst said one of his top policy priorities is tackling state mandates that make health insurance disproportionately pricey for small businesses. Large employers operating under federal law can offer employees lower-cost health insurance in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, he said. Meanwhile, small businesses are largely beholden to state mandates requiring health plans that are more all encompassing and therefore more expensive. Advertisement Hurst said some providers have pushed legislators to make state programs like Medicaid cover specialty treatments and new high-cost drugs, which leads to more people using them. Providers can then demand higher reimbursements, he said, leading insurers to raise premiums. 'Beacon Hill has listened to the specialty doctors, specialty providers, and big pharma far more than they have [listened to] small businesses, and it's created unaffordable medical inflation with no choices,' he said. 'The employee of the small businesses are locked in. They're mandated. They don't have the choice that a large employer does to buy down and follow the ACA as opposed to state mandates.' Policy priorities Paul Craney, spokesperson and board member at Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, worries high costs cause residents and business to leave Massachusetts. Craney said he expects MassFiscal, a conservative nonprofit, to be 'playing defense' on multiple fronts this legislative session. He said the group will oppose any exorbitant spending to cover the state's right to shelter law or support the offshore wind industry, for instance. 'There's nothing that's getting proposed that's going to make our state much better than what has been the last two years,' he said. 'So we're just trying to stop bad policies from getting passed into law, because they continue to just look at the bad policies and want to double down on them.' Advertisement Associated Industries of Massachusetts is pushing for alternative standards to replace the MCAS, the exams Massachusetts voters removed as a graduation requirement via ballot measure in November that many Healey's proposed budget, supported by revenue from the Fair Share Amendment, would continue funding the Commonwealth Cares for Children program, which transitioned from pandemic relief money to state support last year, along with free community college and free school meals. Massachusetts Budget and Policy Advocacy Director Chelsea Sedani said she hopes the Legislature builds upon victories like free community college with more support for community colleges and state universities to help them accommodate the additional students enrolling since its implementation. She also has her eye on progress toward one of her organization's 'long game' goals: baby bonds for children in the state's welfare and foster care systems — essentially, a savings-bond-like investment opened at birth that accumulates value over time for the child to access when they turn 18. Legislators 'We really see baby bonds as a way to address the racial wealth gap, to provide subsidized savings for children who wouldn't otherwise have the ability to accumulate wealth,' Sedani said. Stella Tannenbaum can be reached at
USA Today
27-01-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Healey warns Trump tariffs will spark price increases
Healey warns Trump tariffs will spark price increases If President Donald Trump puts a 25% tariff on products coming from Canada starting next weekend, as he said this week he is considering, electricity costs in Massachusetts could increase by as much as $200 million a year, Gov. Maura Healey told business leaders Thursday morning. The governor said she is very concerned about the president's idea to impose higher tariffs on China and new, steep tariffs on products imported from Canada and Mexico. She told Associated Industries of Massachusetts that it will be important for the business community and her administration to speak with one voice as they urge the White House to reconsider. "Those countries are America's largest trading partners. They are also Massachusetts' largest trading partners. We trade a combined $29 billion worth of goods with them, annually. That includes lumber and materials we build homes and factories with; and the energy we power our homes, businesses, and cars with," she said at the organization's "Executive Forum" in Waltham, according to remarks she prepared for delivery. While signing a suite of executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday night, Trump told reporters that he planned to put a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican products beginning Feb. 1. The New York Times reported that the president said his decision was based on the countries allowing "mass numbers of people and fentanyl" to come into the United States. He said Tuesday he plans to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports "based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada," the Times reported. The governor noted to the influential business group Thursday morning that commercial and industrial ratepayers would bear at least half the additional cost of electricity if Trump's proposed tariffs take effect. "So there is no doubt: Tariffs will mean higher costs for residents – including for the basics they depend on, like clothing and groceries. They will mean higher costs for businesses of all kinds. They will harm our entire economy," Healey said. "That is very concerning to me, and I know it is to you. The stakes are high." Trump was a foil to Healey during her time as attorney general. But since the Republican won a second term in November, Healey has generally softened her rhetoric towards him while also promising that Massachusetts is "not going to change who we are." In December, Healey told the News Service that it was important to articulate and highlight "why tariffs are potentially really devastating to Massachusetts and to our New England economy" amid Trump's pledges to wield them as a way to influence border policies of other countries. "As somebody who's trying to grow housing in the state, the last thing I need is tariffs on the lumber coming from Canada, right? Or all the things that we need for our growing robotics, advanced manufacturing, AI, life sciences industries here in Massachusetts -- the last thing that we need are tariffs on Asia," she said. The threat of tariffs also caught the attention of the Massachusetts Lottery, where the impact of inflation is felt greatest around "anything that involves paper -- our bet slips, our terminal paper, and especially our instant ticket purchases," Executive Director Mark William Bracken said last month. "We'll be watching what happens come the new year, given the recent announcements of upwards to 30% tariffs happening, being levied against Canada. A lot of the paper that these companies uses come from Canada and come across border, so we could be seeing some significant increases if, in fact, tariffs are implemented like it has been said that they will be by the incoming president," he said. "So things we're looking at that could drastically change some of our operation, our budget, right from the start, if, if our cost is going up 30% on paper products, especially on instant tickets." Tariffs were part of Trump's trade policy during his first administration and he pledged Monday to "immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families." "Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens. For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources," he said during his inaugural address. Scott Bessent, Trump's nominee for Treasury secretary, told the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance last week that the second Trump administration sees multiple uses for tariffs. "One will be for remedying unfair trade practices," he said. "For a more generalized tariff as a revenue raiser for the federal budget ... [and] tariffs can be used for negotiations." Trump's "tariff agenda" and its impacts on U.S. businesses is among the topics set to be discussed in depth next week as the Massachusetts Export Center hosts its 15th annual Export Expo virtually. "This year's Export Expo will focus on current and imminent developments in our international trade environment, including the impact of the presidential election, geopolitical landscape, policy, regulation and enforcement on global trade operations. Critical issues such as export control and economic sanctions policy, potential implementation of widespread tariffs, escalating regulatory enforcement and more will be addressed, with a focus on helping companies to remain nimble while navigating and responding to a dynamic and increasingly complex global trade environment," the organization said.
