Alabama business roundup: Headlines from across the state
Here’s a roundup of some of the weekend’s top business headlines from across the state: Alabama Newscenter: Kamtek expansion to swell to $530 million, create 354 jobs Kamtek International officials said today the company’s Birmingham expansion plans will total $530 million in capital investment and add 354 jobs by 2019. The automotive supplier won Birmingham City Council approval this morning to purchase 78 acres in Valley East Industrial Park where it plans to build an $80 million, 148,000-square-foot high-pressure aluminum casting plant, creating an initial 120 jobs. That plant is set to be completed by July 1, 2016, in time to start producing parts by the end of that year. The project could grow to 400,000 square feet by 2025, Kamtek officials said. The subsidiary of Canadian-based automotive supplier Magna Ltd. has operated and expanded its stamping and assembly operations in the industrial park multiple times since locating there as the former Ogihara in 1997 to supply Mercedes-Benz in Vance. Magna purchased Ogihara in 2008. Since the purchase, Kamtek has invested $473 million in Valley East Industrial Park, including the purchase of the vacant Del Monte warehouse and its 36 acres three years ago. Employment at the facilities has bloomed from 293 employees at the time of the Ogihara purchase to 922 today. But officials said today more expansions are coming to the existing facilities. The investment eventually could top $530 million and create 354 jobs Magna/Kamtek is one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world and it manufactures and supplies exterior and structural welded assemblies from its Birmingham facility to Mercedes-Benz U.S. International in Vance and several other automakers in the state and the Southeast. The Alabama Department of Commerce, the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, the Jefferson County Commission, Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority, the Birmingham Business Alliance and Alabama Power worked closely with Kamtek to finalize expansion plans. Kamtek has said it intends to use AIDT, the state’s workforce development entity, to prepare new hires to work at the plant. “The expansion of Kamtek is yet another sign that the Birmingham region is a great place for advanced manufacturing facilities to locate and grow,” said Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite, chairman of the board of the BBA. “Our city and our region are drawing companies from across the globe because of our superior workforce, excellent infrastructure, competitive costs, quality of life, and the outstanding level of support and cooperation we offer to business and industry.” Kamtek said it hopes to start construction within the next few weeks in order to complete the new plant next summer. Birmingham Business Journal: Bham City Council approves minimum wage increase to $10.10 in 2017 The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance to increase minimum wage in the city to $10.10 an hour by July 2017. The measure was proposed by Council President Johnathan Austin, who called for wages to increase to $8.50 in July 2016 and $10.10 in July 2017, according to a report from Fox 6. Alabama currently has no set minimum wage. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 is applied statewide. The ordinance also calls for minimum wage in the city to rise annually as the city’s cost of living goes up. This comes after council members on Aug. 6 voted to increase the salaries of council members from $15,000 to $55,000 in 2017, following the next city council election. AL.com: Alabama trucking company to pay $113,000 to workers after investigation An Alabama trucking company has been ordered to pay $112,735 to employees after a federal investigation found them guilty of failing to pay its workers overtime. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Fitzhugh Contracting LLC, a logging and trucking contractor, paid 63 workers their regular pay rate, when the Fair Labor Standards Act requires that hourly workers receive their hourly rate plus half for all hours worked past 40. “Employers need to understand and be aware that it is unlawful to underpay employees, misclassify them as independent contractors, or pay straight time for overtime to increase their profit margin,” Frank McGriggs, the Wage and Hour Division’s deputy regional administrator in Atlanta, said in a statement. “Other employers who may be paying workers in a similar manner should take note of this investigation and change their practices immediately.” Fitzhugh Contracting LLC is located at 30513 Highway 43 S. in Gallion. The investigation also found that Fitzhugh misclassified 46 workers as independent contractors, which denied them certain wages and benefits. Fitzhugh also didn’t keep accurate records of hours worked. Fitzhugh agreed to pay $56,367 in back wages plus the same amount in damages, bringing the total to $112,735. AL.com: Alabama Revenue Department makes online tax payments more secure for retailers The Alabama Department of Revenue is taking steps to make its online taxpayer portal more secure. The site, My Alabama Taxes, or MAT, allows retailers to file state and some city and county sales, use, rental and lodging taxes while online. The system was launched in 2013 and, starting in July, will include additional security processes. Now, users of MAT will be required to enter their log-on and password as well as a second entry that will require users to have an authentication code. Users will have an option of receiving the authentication code via text message or email. Commissioner Julie Magee said while MAT is already a secure system, the boost will give users additional assurances their data is protected. The code will be used to verify the user’s identity when logging on to MAT. Users will also be able to check a “trust this computer” box so that it will be saved for future log-ons. ADR has also provided a video showing users a demonstration of the new system. Opelika Now: Plenty of success stories among Alabama businesses Last week we discussed the legendary story of Aflac. Three more remarkable business success stories are just as magnificent. Again, all three of these companies are Alabama born and raised fairytale ventures. Alfa is Alabama’s
Birmingham Mayor William Bell says gaming would bring thousands of per-hour jobs to city
Birmingham Mayor William Bell traveled to Montgomery today to show his support for Senate leader Del Marsh’s legislation to expand gaming options in Alabama. In a press conference today, Mayor Bell echoed Marsh’s call for a referendum on his gaming proposal. He added that at least half of the 11,000 jobs estimated in an economic impact study on the gaming proposal would go to Birmingham. “That means more wage-an-hour jobs, more earning power and more spending power for a lot of people in that area,” he said. “You would have those dollars turning over into the community, increasing the level of revenue we have at the municipal level to do a lot of the things that we currently do have revenue for.” Mayor Bell told ALToday.com that Marsh’s proposal would mean new construction, revenue, and jobs at Birmingham Race Course, specifically. He also said that added entertainment would make the city – and the state overall – an attractive option for larger conferences and conventions. “It would increase our economic footprint tremendously,” he said. The mayor dismissed concerns that a state lottery and more casino games could have a disparate impact on low-income residents, saying that a strong gaming commission could oversee how the facilities operate. “People are going to gamble,” he said. “I look at the various parking lots where people leave their vehicles to get on buses to go to Mississippi. That is money leaving our state to go to other areas, and we need to find a way to capture those dollars and keep them right here in the state of Alabama.” On Tuesday, Sen. Marsh introduced Senate Bill 453 a bill to establish an Alabama Lottery and authorize Vegas-style gaming in the state’s four existing racetracks. Gov. Robert Bentley has rejected the gambling proposal outright, saying that it would not address current budget concerns. “My legislation doesn’t deal with the immediate problems, but I think it solves the longer term problems,” added Marsh. “None of the other models bring jobs. This is as much about economic development as it is about solving our budget issues.” Marsh said he expected to hold a committee meeting in his legislation sometime next week.
Young Southern women most likely to make $7.25 or less, says new report
The typical worker making at or below minimum wage is most likely a young, Southern woman working 35 hours or less in the restaurant/hospitality industry, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey of 60,000 households found that while the largest percentage of workers (21 percent) were in food preparation and food service, the next major cluster of minimum-wage jobs were in personal service industries (6.2 percent): childcare workers, cosmetologists, hotel workers, and lobby attendants. A few other facts from the report: (h/t to The Washington Post‘s Wonkblog) Workers age 25 or younger made up about half of minimum wage earners. About 5 percent of women earned at or below $7.25 an hour, compared with about 3 percent of men. Minimum wage workers tend to have less schooling, with 7 percent of those without a high school diploma earning the federal minimum wage or less. To compare, about 4 percent of workers had a high school diploma, 4 percent had some college or an associate degree, and 2 percent were college graduates. There was little difference along racial/ethnic lines, as about 4 percent of White workers and Black workers earned minimum wage or lower; Hispanic or Latino and Asian workers each made up around 3 percent of the lowest-paid workers. But, even though Alabama is one of five without a minimum wage law, the BLS report showed that the country’s lowest-paid workers were more likely to come from Tennessee (6.8 percent), Arkansas (6.4 percent), Louisiana (6.3 percent), Mississippi (6.2 percent), or Indiana (6.1 percent) than Alabama (4.9 percent). The report comes on the heels of analysis revealing that minimum wage dollars earned in Alabama also have greater buying power, thanks to a low-cost standard of living. Earning $7.25 in Alabama compares to a wage of about $8.23 in other states.
