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Commonalities where guests find
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My guest today is a good friend of
mine and a former colleague from the
Pennsylvania House representative
Eric Nelson of the 57th District in
Westmore Lane County. Eric,
how are you doing this morning?
Doing fantastic, man. Great to see.
You. Well, it's good to see you as
well. Uh, today I know we have a,
a topic we want to get to,
and that is middle class jobs
and how we fill that funnel,
uh, and, uh, make sure we take care
of all of the opportunities, uh,
that we need to, uh, to provide
jobs for the middle class. Uh,
but before we get to that, I wanna talk
a little bit about your background. Um,
you have been in the
Pennsylvania House since 2016,
if I'm correct, is is that right?
Yes, 16. That was a special
election, so 2017. Um,
I've been in there right
around seven years now. So.
And you have, uh, you have
experience as a small business owner,
um, mostly in the safety industry and, uh,
and so, you know,
some of the things that small business
owners are struggling with and, uh,
and you've provided jobs
before in the past. Um,
so you will be an excellent
candidate to discuss our topic today,
which again is middle class jobs. Um,
I wanna give you a moment before we get
into the crux to things to do a little
bit of a self introduction. If
there's anything I left out, uh,
that you'd like to say about
yourself or your background,
you're welcome to do so.
And it's, it's great,
it's great to be on the show here talking
about the ever important middle class
jobs, you know, as an entrepreneur
and small businessmen, you know,
we had started a company,
uh, we worked a lot in, um,
steel power glass, petrochemical.
That was the bulk of our business.
The, the, uh, safety consulting
company that I started, um,
with a $5,000 loan, you know, from
the Greensburg Teacher's Credit Union.
We built that up over a number
of years, the 54 employees,
and also had a family business
of a Brewster's ice cream
that was located in New
Stand for 16 years.
So both from the heavy
manufacturing side and, um,
the light, you know, seven days
a week, uh, retail business,
I understand the importance of
jobs and the pathway to be able to
teach young people how to enter into
the workforce, you know, so, um,
it's one of the things
that, you know, for me,
I'm a former marine small business
owner. You know, we live on a,
a farm with my wife 25 years.
We got seven kids on 70 plus acres. And
part of my role as a state representative,
I really feel trying to represent,
you know, everyone. It's not about a
given party Republican or Democrat,
it's about families and families being
able to have opportunity for their
children to choose to stay here and
work here for the next 10 years.
And,
and Pennsylvania has been
steadily losing ground as compared
to other states. Uh, and,
and that's why middle class
jobs are so important to me.
Well, and, and we even saw that with, um,
with redistricting and the fact
that we lost a congressional seat,
um, Pennsylvania is, is kind
of bleeding, uh, residents.
And I've always said, uh, that
one of our leading exports,
at least here from Fayette County,
has been our youth. And, uh,
we wanna do whatever we can to
try to stop that and to create
family sustaining jobs that
keep people in the area. Um,
now you talked a little bit about your
background in the safety industry and
some of the other industries you worked
with. Um, kind of related to that,
I know you've been working
on legislation, um,
in the hydrogen sector, um,
that would bring hydrogen related
jobs to southwestern Pennsylvania.
So why don't you, uh,
educate us a little bit
on what exactly hydrogen
production is and how those jobs, uh,
could come to southwestern Pennsylvania
and how they could keep our kids here
for another generation?
Yes, absolutely. You know,
the, the hydrogen opportunity,
as I call it, is an,
an excellent way to be able to
continue to have people work and to,
to grow our, our region.
And a little background on hydrogen is,
and the use of hydrogen for
manufacturing is a way to be able to
generate high heat in a
short term period of time.
And with high heat that allows us to make
heavy industrial products,
the use of hydrogen and
manufacturing also really reduces
byproducts because hydrogen
is so clean burning,
it's even cleaner than natural gas,
and it's made from natural gas.
So this new technology is not brand new.
Other parts of the world, other
countries in the world, Europe, um,
they've been manufacturing
steel from hydrogen,
they've also been using manuf hydrogen
to be able to manufacture other products.
And so as we look at
Pennsylvania's next 10 years,
if we can embrace what
industry wants to do,
and that is to supply consumers with low
carbon products because they
feel there's a market to be made
and do it in a more responsible way,
it's a win-win across the board.
We have the,
a multi-billion dollar investment in the
shell cracker that's going to be coming
online, and that cracker
will generate ethane,
which is used for plastics
in all sorts of products.
So as the ethane cracker begins to supply
what would be the plastic
to be able to make things,
if we layer in a hydrogen hub
or a facility that would take
natural gas, which is
already clean, split it,
use those byproduct chemicals and
the hydrogen to be the heat source,
we can make some of the lowest
carbon steel and plastics
in the nation. And,
and that really would be what I call a
decade of development for southwestern
Pennsylvania. And, and the process,
the competitive process is
actually beginning in January.
Now you're talking about the
competitive process. I, you know,
I believe there are a limited number
of hydrogen opportunities that are
going to come available. Um,
and I know that, you know, uh,
a little bit more about that. Why
don't you explain that to us and,
and how can Southwestern
Pennsylvania compete to obtain
one of those hydrogen opportunities?
Well, uh, it is, it
definitely is game on and for,
you know, industry itself over the last
several years have been working on this
initiative. And, um,
I've been personally engaged in it
probably about maybe a year, 14 months,
15 months. Um, and what's happening is
there's a competition between states.
The federal government has
created an incentive, and again,
regardless of the politics, um,
whether you support actions that the
federal government or you oppose them,
um, the competition is on,
and states across the nation
are competing for four
h four different hubs. The hydrogen hub,
hydrogen manufacturing, which is
what Southwestern Pennsylvania will,
is really going after,
would be a multi-billion
dollar award to build a
hydrogen hub facility,
which we would then very
close to it have hydrogen
consumption,
and that would allow us
to make low-cost products.
So the partnership that was
created between some of our,
our major players,
and it's a public partnership
between US Steel EOR and Shell.
Um,
there's a number of different
hosts of additional employers
environmental groups, and
it's a bipartisan effort.
There are Republicans and
Democrats that want Pennsylvania to
make low carbon products because
it's about making the products,
building the manufacturing plants,
and then supplying the downstream
opportunity for all the other
plastics and materials made.
Right now we, we live in the northeast,
which is a large concentration
of people in America,
and we are within one trucking day's
hall from southwestern Pennsylvania
to supply some of the most populated
areas in the country. We are positioned,
ideally to be able to build
it here, make it here,
and then continue to supply
products from water bro
bottles to medical devices to the steel,
low carbon steel that would
go into automotive facilities.
We just have to work
together to bring it home.
Sure.
So how do we make Pennsylvania friendly
enough that one of these federal
opportunities could, uh,
could be placed here?
Well, that's an excellent
question because unfortunately,
Pennsylvania has a bit of a
national stigma. You know,
we are a high tax state
and we have very arduous
environmental regulations,
which oftentimes prevent
companies from dropping that
large investment because when a company
makes an investment, you know, they are,
they need to generate profit
from it. And so, you know,
it's a responsibility of government to
be able to allow Pennsylvania businesses
and the families to compete
on the national stage.
And we were fortunate it
was a bipartisan effort. Uh,
then carried some controversy to pack,
pass an incentive package
for four different products,
projects throughout Pennsylvania, which
we did right at the end of last session.
One of those was for this hydrogen hub,
another was for a food
manufacturing facility.
We have another very large
low carbon gasoline that
it'll be one of the,
the most modern facilities to make
low carbon gasoline and fertilizer
in central northeast Pennsylvania,
a multi-billion dollar project.
So I'm not a lover of tax credits at all,
but I am even more so
not a lover that Ohio,
West Virginia,
North Carolina are seeing
multi-billion dollars investments plant
that will hire over a thousand workers.
Because Pennsylvania isn't
engaged in recruiting large scale
investment,
we have to go all the way back to the
days of Governor Corbett when he was able
to incent that shell cracker,
which was a multi-billion dollar,
hundreds of thousands of construction
jobs, industry trades, jobs,
union workers,
and small businesses from
merit chops as well for
multiple years. And that's really the
opportunity that lays for us here,
that everyone will be able to work
and continue to work as we grow
our economy.
Sure. Well, representative Nelson, we
have to get our first break in today.
We are talking, uh, on the
show about middle class jobs.
We've been talking about the hydrogen
opportunities in the area, and we,
when we come back,
we're gonna talk even more about some of
the struggles that the middle class is
dealing with, such as
childcare and so forth.
So I look forward to the rest of our
conversation. If you're listening,
stick with us. We'll be with
back to you in just a moment.
You are listening to commonalities
where guests find common ground through
uncommon conversations.
We'll be back after this brief
break to recognize our sponsors.
When it comes to buying a home,
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and other touches.
What you can't see is the
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A home inspection is an opportunity
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Founded in 1991,
bright Stripe has succeeded on the
premises of quality work done right at an
affordable cost. At Bright Stripe
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Matt George, the owner
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Matt has provided excellent customer
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Brights Stripe is the premier provider
of seal coating or pavement ceiling.
The process of applying a protective
coating to asphalt based pavements to
provide a layer of protection from the
elements, water, oils, and UV damage.
They also specialize in driveway
and parking lot. Crack ceiling.
Crack ceiling is the process of applying
a protective coating to asphalt based
pavements.
Bright stripe also abides by all safety
laws and standards in line striping and
layout. For a no obligation
estimate, contact Bright Stripe at
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Believe in the political world,
don't have any place believing
in time commit crimes
world.
Well,
thanks for sticking with us here on
commonalities on five 90 am W N B S
1 0 1 0.1 fm,
and any place you download
your favorite podcasts.
My guest today is Representative
Eric Nelson of Westmoreland County,
and we've been talking a little
bit about the politics of,
uh, the hydrogen opportunity that could
happen here in southwestern Pennsylvania
and what that would mean for
middle class jobs. Um, Eric,
before we went to the break,
you mentioned that, uh,
there was a bipartisan effort that, uh,
came about to bring, um,
to bring this hydrogen opportunity
or the credit that we voted on last
session. Um,
what do you think is going to happen
with that in this coming session?
And do you think there will continue
to be bipartisan support for this
opportunity?
Yes, yes, I do. We were
really fortunate. I mean,
despite what sometimes makes
and fills the news, um,
that it's just too extreme
sides slugging it out there,
there are a lot of people that are
willing to work across the aisle to
be able to win for their constituents
and for Pennsylvania, and,
and that's what we're, we're
looking and striving to do.
There's a multi-billion dollar, I mean,
literally hundreds of thousands of
man hours of both construction work.
And when people are working,
they're buying dds. They're,
they're putting in swimming
pools, they're buying trucks,
they're building new hotels.
And if we look at the last multiple
years of the cracker build,
a hydrogen hub can do
wanders for an economy,
and we're in the midst of a
recession. Um, unfortunately,
however you wanna slice it or dice
it, it's about working family jobs,
continuing to work and to provide, and
then keeping people here in Pennsylvania.
And that's what's really
driving this bipartisan effort.
Responsible environmentally
responsible production and development,
um, is key to the future because
people want to buy lower carbon items.
And using new technology
to make low carbon,
plastic and steel is our pathway
to be able to have a boatload
of not only construction work, but
those downstream manufacturing jobs,
the key people here in Pennsylvania.
Now, to be able to, uh, to go to
work, to go to those jobs, uh,
if you have children, you need
childcare. And I know, uh,
that the childcare cliff,
uh, provides, uh, a problem,
especially for single
parents here in Pennsylvania.
And as a member of the Labor
and Industry Committee,
I know this is something that
you've been looking at and, uh,
some legislation has been developing.
Why don't you talk a little bit
about the childcare cliff and how
we solve that problem
here in Pennsylvania?
Sure. And, and as a
small business guy, um,
I first learned of the childcare cliff
after giving an employee a raise,
and she declined it or said, I
won't be able to work here as much.
And I was completely baffled. I was
like, Hey, you're doing a great job.
We wanna give you a raise. And she's like,
I can't do that because if I
earn too much money, money,
I'm gonna lose my childcare.
And small businesses and larger
corporations are struggling with this
same issue. Where right
now, in Pennsylvania,
government is the biggest glass
ceiling we have because if
you have children that are receiving
and you are lower income and
you are receiving a childcare benefit,
if you earn above a given government
set threshold for more than
six months, the government
resins your childcare.
And so people who are working
have a choice, and it's,
it's really three choices, which are
three struggle points in the economy.
They can
quit that job and keep their childcare.
They can tell the employer
that they can only work less,
and then they can also say, I'll
begin to work under the table.
And the underground economy
presents its own challenges,
but part of Pennsylvania's biggest
struggle right now are getting people to
reengage into the workforce itself.
And when government is the
roadblock, because right now,
if a single mother or a, you
know, a couple that's working,
if they earn $50 more than
the government threshold,
they'll lose their entire
childcare. I have had seven kids,
and some we use childcare. My wife was
fortunate to be off for some of 'em.
Everybody follows their own pathway.
But if you start making $150 more a month,
like that's great,
but it takes people a while
to continue to earn in order
for them to work their way
out of a lower income status.
And so the addressing and
confronting the childcare cliff is
in what I feel, a, a
strong bipartisan effort.
We've been working with, um,
democratic senior individuals,
the House Black Caucus, to be able to say,
let's create a pathway where if
someone has a better job and they get
to that six month mark, they can continue
to keep their childcare benefits,
but begin to participate in a
copay. The benefit of a copay,
let's say 10%, that they would
continue for the next six months,
allows that person or that
family to earn more money to be
able to fix their car,
get a better apartment,
get their legs underneath
themselves, and even into year two,
if they keep that job for a year,
they could keep their childcare
and then the second year
pay 25%. Now,
the great part about copay is
it allows someone to continue to
work and to continue to earn.
It also allows private
dollars to contribute to
childcare versus continually
raising government
paid childcare and then taxes on
people to be able to supply the
childcare. So that's,
it's a very basic concept,
but it is establishing a reliable
and consistent pathway so
that lower income earners
can begin to earn more.
So, just a quick,
quick example of the
financial cliff that exists.
And it doesn't only exist in
childcare, it exists with healthcare,
it exists with a lot of other
things, um, right outta college. Uh,
going back here now, uh,
over a decade or so ago, uh,
I took a job for TeleTech as a
training and quality assurance, uh,
manager and I trained new
hires for 30 days before they
went onto the call center floor. Uh,
TeleTech is now T Tech still
located here in this area,
but on day three of training,
we would have our hr,
uh,
representatives come in and talk
about the benefits that our company
offered. And we offered, uh,
very good healthcare at the
time for anyone after 30 days
of employment. And on day three,
I used to have people that would
leave class and not come back
again because they realized that if they
accepted the benefits that come along
with this job, uh, they would no,
they would no longer receive their
government benefits. And, uh,
so they would quit the job
on day three before, uh,
before they even got onto the
call center floor. My point is,
as a, a young Republican, as a
conservative, uh, I used to think,
man, look at these lazy
people that don't wanna work.
And as time has gone
by, and as I have, uh,
developed more experiences
and become wiser, uh,
I look at the fact that what
they were doing just made good
financial sense. And as a fiscal
conservative, I have to say, I,
I give them props for doing the math
and knowing that keeping that job
was actually going to cost them money. Uh,
so these financial cliffs or hurdles
are something that we have to deal with,
whether it be in childcare,
healthcare, et cetera.
Oh, and, and unfortunately,
one of the evils of government is
government needs to have people
dependent on itself in order
to provide more government.
So it doesn't matter whether you're
looking at a Republican view or a
democratic view,
government wants individuals
that have to rely on it
because it keeps government then as the
most essential thing in that family's
lives, and that we're actually stealing
the liberty and liberty. To me,
that's the ability to pursue
one's individual happiness,
which is different for everyone.
But when government sets
mandatory thresholds and tells a
family, if you make a
hundred dollars more a month,
you are going to lose several
hundred dollars a week.
We are disincentivizing
people to be able to
pursue their own happiness
and their own dreams,
like home ownership or a car,
or just even the ability to be able
to live in a safer neighborhood.
And that's really frustrating to
me. I recognize, um, you know,
the, the battles of old where
people will just club each other
and say, no, you don't.
You don't care about low income
people or you have no heart at all.
And actually, I have a pretty big heart,
and I've seen how people
have been stuck and trapped,
and they're trapped in public housing.
They are not allowed to earn more.
And so then they get driven
to the underground economy.
And the underground
economy is an unsafe place.
Bad things happen there.
People are taken advantage of.
And some of the worst employment
practices that we have in the state happen
under the table, and they're
all interconnected. You know,
we are so blessed to have great
families across the board, like,
and whether you are a wealthy family
or you are a lower income family,
you love your children and
you want the best for them.
But when children grow up in a
house where their parents have been
beaten down by government
glass ceilings, then they get,
they get the mindset that they are going
to be stuck in this same thing too.
And the way that we begin to turn
around is by using our western
Pennsylvania work ethic,
which is nationally known,
and the basic principles of the
Constitution, which is life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
All we have to do is get government
to agree just a little bit
to allow people to work more.
Now, you touched a little
bit on a buzzword, um,
underground economy, and, uh,
and that's referring to the people who
are working under the table and that
underground economy is taking
advantage of something called the U
E G F. And before we were,
uh, here on the show,
you and I were talking
a little bit about that.
I want to get to the topic of U E G F.
As soon as we get back
from this next break.
You are listening to commonalities
for guests Find Common Ground through
Uncommon Conversations.
We'll be back after this brief
break to recognize our sponsors.
When it comes to buying a home,
what you see isn't exactly what you get.
That's why home buyers should
call Dave Dowling at Grandview
Inspections at 7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8.
You'll see colorful flowers, freshly
painted walls, granite countertops,
flaming hardwood floors,
and other touches.
What you can't see is the
cracks, ancient plumbing,
dangerous wiring,
or broken appliances that might
be revealed when you hire a
home inspector. And when it
comes to home inspectors,
knowing yours has the qualifications
and experience needed should be
your number one concern.
Dave Dowling with Grandview Inspections
is an architectural engineer
with over 30 years of commercial
construction experience and hundreds
of inspections under his belt.
A home inspection is an opportunity
for you to hire an expert to walk
through the home and prepare a
report outlining the home's major
components.
What needs immediate attention and
what will require maintenance after you
move in Your home is one of
your biggest investments.
So make sure your investment is
everything you hoped it to be.
Call Dave Dowling at
Grandview Inspections at
7 2 4 2 0 8 4 1 0 8.
Are you enjoying the program?
You're listening to support commonalities
and help keep us on the air by making
a donation of five, 10 or $25, or any
amount you feel comfortable sharing
[email protected] Again,
that is donate.commonalities.online
on the worldwide web.
Buy our host a cup of coffee or help pay
for airtime at donate dot commonalities
online.
Founded in 1991,
bright Stripe has succeeded on the
premises of quality work done right at an
affordable cost. At Bright Stripe
personal service has always been a must.
We strive to be the premier
asphalt ceiling and striping
company in the region.
Matt George, the owner
of Brights Stripe llc,
brings experience from his
construction and maintenance company,
mounting free construction
and maintenance.
Matt has provided excellent customer
service to many happy businesses and
homeowners.
Bright Stripe is the premier provider
of seal coating or pavement ceiling.
The process of applying a protective
coating to asphalt based pavements to
provide a layer of protection from the
elements, water, oils, and UV damage.
They also specialize in driveway
and parking lot. Crack ceiling.
Crack ceiling is the process of applying
a protective coating to asphalt based
pavements.
Bright stripe also abides by all safety
laws and standards in line striping and
layout. For a no obligation
estimate, contact Bright Stripe at
7 2 4 4 3 7 6 0 9 0.
Is your business using analog
strategies in a digital marketing world?
If so,
then contact Matthew or Rebecca
Dow length at Coordinated 360 for a
professional consultation where we
bring in-depth knowledge and functional
expertise with a holistic perspective.
Coordinated 360 provides
digital marketing, paid ad
and media buying services,
web design, social media management,
video production, and more for businesses,
organizations, and political
campaigns with decades of experience.
Matt and Becky at Coordinated 360 can
help you craft your unique message
and share it with the world. For a no
risk media evaluation and recommendations,
call 7 2 4 3 2 0 22 12,
or visit us online at
www.coordinatedthreesixty.com.
Find us also on Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter,
or email info coordinated three sixty.com.
Political world love,
don't have any place in time crimes.
We live in a political world.
Well, that's a little bit of Bob Dylan.
And we do live in a political world, uh,
and we're talking today the politics
that affect middle class jobs.
My guest today is representing
Eric Nelson of the 57th
Legislative District in
Westmoreland County. Uh,
representative Nelson, before
we went to the break, uh,
I kind of teased that we'd be
talking about the U E G F fund. Um,
I guess you don't have to say fund,
that's like saying a t m machine,
um, because the F stands for fun.
But why don't you tell us a little bit
about U E G F and some of the problems
with that.
Like we should probably start this
next segment by giving your listeners a
warning because U E G F
sounds incredibly boring.
And then once we, you know,
like recognize what's happening
within what is referred to as the
uninsured employers guaranteed fund a
result on what's happening to legitimate
employers in Pennsylvania, it
makes you very frustrating.
I never really knew
about U EEG F or the UN
uninsured employers guaranteed
fund. It's a pretty boring,
you know, topic line.
But what Pennsylvania did with
good intentions back in 2006
was they created a fund for workers
who were injured by unscrupulous
employers, bad employers,
who did not provide workers' compensation
coverage for their employees.
And it guarantees medical
coverage and it also
pays compensation or wages, you know,
workers' comp wages for those
injured workers who were
working for an employer that
didn't meet their obligations. Now,
fast forward to 2022.
The U E G F fund is
become a dumping ground
for injured workers under the table.
Labor brokers and labor brokers are
people who work in the cash economy
and supply either illegals, citizen labor,
or workers who are working
under the table for cash.
Anyone who gets hurt in this
underground economy now gets
plugged into an attorney,
and then that attorney ensures
their medical bills and their
payments are covered.
The unfortunate part of it
is this fund is paid for
by legitimate employers and
Pennsylvania's independent employers.
So what's happening is
our above table employers,
contractors, this happens a lot in
construction, and our major employers,
we, in 2018,
we actually increase the amount that
they are required to pay in worker's comp
to pay for the underground economy that is
now running al over a million
dollars in the red every year because
so many workers are tapping into
this system and getting paid,
and you don't even have
to show proof of wages,
and that's the goal of this bill.
Now, where is this, uh, this bill?
I know it's a new legislative session,
but, uh, has it been introduced?
Is there bipartisan support? Have
co-sponsors begun signing on yet?
Yes. So, um, we're at the
beginning of session, last session.
I introduced the bill.
We were able to advance it out of the
Labor and Industry Committee and across
the house with a strong
bipartisan majority.
And what the bill simply says is it's,
it's referred to as proof of wages.
If an employee gets hurt
and they were working for an
unscrupulous employer, they no matter
what are covered with their medical costs,
but in order to receive compensation,
they have to either
prove through paycheck,
direct deposit, legitimate,
some means it could be a company shirt,
some means of employment that
they actually were working,
because right now you can
just call it up and verbally
say, I was working and I got hurt.
And we start paying and providing
medical coverage and there's
no proof needed.
And then who pays for it are
legitimate businesses. It's,
it's crazy, Matt, out of state,
people are receiving U E G F funds
and medical coverage paid for
by Pennsylvania employers,
and they don't even have to prove they
were actually working or they were
injured. It's nuts.
It it is nuts.
But I think the important thing to
remember is that that fund was set up, um,
for good reason. And it is
important because we do have, uh,
employers that aren't doing what they're
required to, what they're supposed to.
Um, for example, my wife, uh,
Rebecca, who you know, um,
was injured, uh, at work, um,
she had slipped on ice, had fallen, uh,
was unconscious, had a concussion, uh,
and had to be treated
for several months, uh,
due to that concussion and, uh, some
lingering side effects that she had.
And, uh,
despite the fact that she was an
office manager for a doctor's office,
um, that practice had let their, uh,
workers' comp insurance lapse so
this fund would've come into play.
Now, ultimately, through litigation, we
were able to settle with the employer,
although it took us two
and a half years. Um,
but this fund is important for people
that are in that situation where they're
doing everything right as the employee
and the employer themselves is
who would be in the wrong.
Absolutely. And that's,
that's why we wouldn't want to eliminate
this fund because good people, again,
middle class workers sometimes get
hurt and they had no idea their
employer wasn't meeting
their obligations, you know,
so in that situation,
if an employee is able
to show proof of wages,
it makes sure that legitimately
injured workers are covered. Now,
what we included in the bill
was a provision that if you
can't prove anything at all,
all you would have to do is
sign an affidavit that says,
okay, who was that employer?
And that allows then Pennsylvania
labor and industry and
Pennsylvania existing departments
to pursue that bad employer.
Because right now you don't even
need to say who you were working for.
No one asked that question.
And so it is a thriving system that
unfortunately there are two benefactors,
people who are in the
underground economy and attorneys
that are filing the claims because
an attorney who files this claim gets
20% of the cut for the
length of the claim.
And so you can see what's
happening here, right?
Legitimate employers are having to pay
more in their workers' compensation
to pay 20% to the
attorneys and all the rest
for the medical bills of employers
who are competing against them.
And so that's why we're seeking
this very simple reform.
You either have to show proof that
you actually were working or sign
an affidavit with who your illegal
employer was so that we can go after them.
And to me, everyone wins in that scenario.
And just a quick note, that 20%
that you're talking about, uh,
is actually statutorily set. Um,
so you're not gonna find any attorney
that will do it for less or do it for
more. Um, they're guaranteed
that 20% by statute,
um, for any worker's comp
case that they handle. Uh,
we have to get one more quick break, and
this one will be a quick one, uh, in,
and then we'll come back.
We have about four and a half
minutes left in the show.
I want to talk about Trade U Unions
because we've been talking about middle
class jobs, and I think that's a great
avenue for people, uh, to go down.
And I know you have a good
relationship with the trade.
So a quick break and we'll be right back.
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You're listening to commonalities.
And my guest today is representative
Eric Nelson, a friend of mine, a uh,
former colleague from the 57th Legislative
District in Westmoreland County.
And, uh, Eric, we have about
two minutes and 40 seconds.
I wanted to talk a little
bit about the trades and, uh,
trade unions and the opportunities
that they provide since our topic today
is middle class jobs.
Absolutely. It's, you know,
one of the initiatives in,
in the real world and working.
We've worked with both union
employers and non-union employers,
and when we talk about middle class jobs,
everybody's on the same page
of music here. You know, I'm a,
I'm a supporter of the trades.
If we're gonna build a refinery and
we need 300 certified welders to
be able to make sure they're gonna
do quality welds on what could be an
explosive system,
you're gonna want a union coming in
here and supplying that label and
coordinating it. And,
and we in Western Pennsylvania have
been able to demonstrate to the nation
that our trades can get
work done quicker and faster
than bringing in a ton of workers
from out-of-state in the south
and taking longer to
do a lower quality job.
Yeah, and, and you know,
I keep just reminding young people when
I talk to them that that's a great way
to get an education, to become
an apprentice apprentice,
to move through those trade unions
and gain the skills that you need. Uh,
and they provide excellent service, uh,
for our industries here in
southwestern Pennsylvania.
We are out of time for the
day. Uh, representative Nelson,
I wanna thank you for, uh, your
service in the Pennsylvania House.
Thank you for your military
service. I see here in my notes,
although we didn't get
to talk about it, uh,
that you were an M one A one
tanker military policeman, and, uh,
a infantry demolitions, uh, expert.
So thank you for all of your service.
Thank you for your friendship.
And thank you for being on today's show.
You've been listening to
commonalities on Wmb S five 90
am 1 0 1 0.1 fm.
This has been Commonalities,
a show where guests find common
ground through uncommon conversations.
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