Barrett pledges to help Foxconn recruit workers
Mayor also highlights status of city’s port as benefit for company
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is pledging to help woo Foxconn to southeastern Wisconsin — and says the city is ready to recruit workers if the company decides to open a facility in the area.
Barrett detailed his support for the possible Foxconn site in a recent letter to Gov. Scott Walker and Mark Hogan, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. The mayor said the city would help with worker recruitment efforts and provide information about the benefits of the Port of Milwaukee being a foreign trade zone.
“I know that there are a number of states that are in the running, and we felt it was important to let people know that all hands are on deck,” Barrett said Monday at a City Hall news conference. “Here in the City of Milwaukee, there are several things that we can do even if the location is not in the City of Milwaukee or Milwaukee County proper.”
Barrett said the port’s status as a foreign trade zone would be “critically important” to Foxconn because it would provide benefits for shipping in the Great Lakes region and throughout the country. Such zones were created by the federal government in an effort to increase the global competitiveness of U.S.-based companies.
Foxconn Technology Group is considering building an industrial campus that could employ thousands in Wisconsin and perhaps other states. The company’s main production base and research labs are in China, where it relies on skilled workers trained by Chinese engineering universities and tech schools.
But Barrett said that Employ Milwaukee is eager to work with Foxconn and others to make sure there’s an adequate supply of workers for the facility. The group serves as the lead agency for the coordination, planning and administration of employment and training services for youths
and adults.
“We know if this is located in Racine or Kenosha or even Rock County, that there is going to be a great demand for jobs, and of course we have a large pool of talent here,” Barrett said. “I view this as a huge opportunity for southeastern Wisconsin.”
The agency recently has been at the heart of a struggle between Barrett and County Executive Chris Abele over control of worker training efforts.
In his letter to state officials, Barrett also stressed the need for transportation for workers.
“It is important to ensure excellent transportation connections are in place to unite Milwaukee workers with large new employers in the region,” Barrett wrote in his letter. “This is vital for the people who live in my city and it is essential for the long-term success of businesses that locate in the region.”