LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE State presents check for efforts

The state is trying to raise the profile of the labor-management effort.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- Representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & amp; Industry came to town to present a $75,000 check to a local labor-management committee.
The public presentation, made Wednesday at Duferco Farrell Corp., was part of an effort to inform the community about the Northwest Pennsylvania Cooperation Council Inc. and the work it does, said Jay R. Lantzy, director of the state's Office of Labor-Management Cooperation.
There are 12 state-recognized labor-management committees now operating in the Commonwealth, and Labor and Industry gives them a total of $450,00 a year to help meet operating costs.
Raising profile
Lantzy said the public presentation to NwPACC was the idea of Ed Neilson, deputy secretary of labor-management relations and safety, who saw it as a way to raise the profile of the local labor-management group.
Neilson had a death in his family, however, and was unable to make the trip, so Lantzy made the presentation instead.
The financial support is important for the work the committee does, Lantzy said, referring to the seminars, support of workplace labor-management groups and work in health care.
Robert Liptak, president of Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. and management co-chairman of NwPACC, said the organization is grateful for the funds.
NwPACC provides programs in Mercer, Crawford, Venango, Erie, Warren, Forest and Clarion counties.
It has been around for 18 years, first as the Mercer County Area Labor-Management Committee but changing to the NwPACC title when it expanded to pick up Erie and Crawford County labor management groups.
Health-care costs
In addition to its efforts to improve labor-management relations and thereby improve productivity and eliminate labor strife, the organization has been involved in health-care cost-containment for its labor and unionized member companies.
It runs an HMO Medicare supplement insurance program for 500 retirees and a Taft-Hartley Trust that administers health-care benefits for 550 families.
Its efforts haven't gone unnoticed. NwPACC has earned two Pennsylvania Governor's Awards for Labor-Management Cooperation, one in 1992 and the second in 2002.
Duferco honored
Duferco won a similar award in 2002 after being nominated by NwPACC for the honor.
Dick Miller, NwPACC executive director, said the agency runs on a budget of only $125,000 a year.
In addition to the state support, money comes from company and labor unit memberships, fees for seminars and an annual golf outing.