Valley will be put to the test in 2015, but we will do well

It is an article of faith that residents of the Mahoning Valley are resilient, and that when knocked down, get back up to fight another day. We’ve done so for more than three decades, since the collapse of the steel industry.

No challenge is too great for us, which is why we greet 2015 with a sense of optimism and resolve, despite an announcement Monday that has sent shock waves through the region.

The decision by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons not to renew a contract with Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America to house federal prisoners at its Youngstown facility could have major economic ramifications. We use the word could because the Valley isn’t about to let the decision by some bureaucrats in Washington be the last word.

CCA has more than 400 well-paid employees at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center who are important participants in the area’s financial and social well-being.

For its part, the private-prison owner has become a key corporate partner and a reliable supporter of many community and charitable organizations.

But there is a reality the region can’t ignore: If the 1,400 federal prisoners are pulled out of NOCC in May, when the current federal contract expires, there could be a significant reduction in the number of jobs.

That’s why local political and community leaders, state officials and Congressmen Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, and Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, along with Ohio’s two U.S. senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, should strive to put a hold on the Bureau of Prisons’ decision until a full review is conducted.

(We will have more to say Sunday about the decision and how we, as a region, can fight it.)

Another challenge

But the uncertain future of the NOCC isn’t the only dark cloud hanging over the Valley as we start the new year.

The possibility of a strike by Youngstown State University faculty spoiled last July’s homecoming of the region’s favorite son, James P. Tressel.

Tressel, the national football championship coach at YSU and Ohio State, took over the presidency from Dr. Randy Dunn, who unexpectedly resigned to become president of Southern Illinois University.

Tressel had been serving as executive vice president of student success at the University of Akron when YSU’s trustees decided he was imminently qualified to lead our economically challenged urban institution.

In discussing his priorities, the new president mentioned the need to reverse the decline in student enrollment, eliminate the budget deficit and set the institution on a path to academic excellence. He acknowledged the ongoing contract talks, but did not express a concern about a strike.

However, as 2014 came to a close, negotiators for the university and the Youngstown State University-Ohio Education Association Chapter had returned to the bargaining table after a tentative agreement was rejected by the faculty — even though it contained bonuses and pay raises. The trustees had approved the agreement.

Today, as the university prepares for the start of the spring semester, the prospect of labor unrest weighs heavily upon the administration.

It is to be hoped that cooler heads prevail because YSU can ill afford to be on strike while the Ohio Board of Regents, the state Legislature and Gov. John Kasich take a hard look at higher education in the state with an eye to eliminating the duplication of academic programs, cutting operating costs and making affordability a top priority for every institution.

Streaks of sunlight

That said, there are streaks of sunlight penetrating the dark clouds, which give us reason to be optimistic about 2015.

It should come as no surprise that General Motors’ Lordstown assembly plant is one of the main reasons the Valley’s economic recovery will continue.

The plant has become the showcase for GM production worldwide, as evidenced by the best-selling Chevrolet Cruze in the automaker’s lineup. A diesel version of the Cruze is now being built in the Lordstown facility, and GM executives in Detroit have announced that the next generation of the Cruze will have the Mahoning Valley label.

But it isn’t just in traditional manufacturing that our region is blazing a trail.

America Makes, the Youngstown Business Incubator and YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are attracting national and international attention for their leading roles in establishing the Mahoning Valley as the leader in additive manufacturing and high-tech research and development.

All this week, The Vindicator is featuring the Top 10 stories of 2014 in various categories. While the region did suffer some black eyes last year, especially in politics, there were positive developments that give us reason to believe we’ll do well in 2015.