PA Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein visited Westmoreland County last week, where he spoke at an event hosted by the Westmoreland Chamber and toured Elliott Group’s manufacturing facility in Jeannette.
On Wednesday, the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce hosted local business and civic leaders for an event at Westmoreland County Community College that featured state Auditor General Tim DeFoor. During his remarks, Bernstein discussed the need for pro-business tax and regulatory reforms to boost Pennsylvania’s economic competitiveness and praised the Auditor General’s work.
Bernstein also commended Westmoreland Chamber president and CEO Dan DeBone and his team for their efforts to promote economic development in the region, citing the chamber’s partnership with the community college as an example of what employers can do to help fortify the workforce pipeline in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward was in attendance, alongside State Representatives George Dunbar, Eric Nelson, Eric Davanzo, and Jill Cooper.
Later, the PA Chamber team traveled to Jeannette, embarking on a tour of Elliott Group’s impressive engineering and manufacturing operations. Elliot Group is deeply connected to the local community, having been in Jeannette for over a century and employing generations of workers at the Westmoreland County facility.
Today, Elliott Group employs over 2,000 people worldwide, including approximately 1,000 in Jeannette. Elliott products are used in oil and gas fields, refineries, chemical processing plants, steel mills, electric generating stations, sugar and paper mills, and various mining operations in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Like many employers, Elliot Group recruits much of its skilled workforce from the Commonwealth’s world-class colleges and universities, including Westmoreland County Community College.
In fact, Elliott’s approach to keeping talented employees close to home has been cited as an economic development model for the rest of the state to follow. During the tour, Bernstein lauded the company’s commitment to Pennsylvania and echoed the crucial role worker retention plays in the state economy.
The PA Chamber supports forward-looking solutions to address the current labor shortage and equip Pennsylvania workers with the skills necessary to succeed in the modern economy. We appreciate the important work that our partners at the Westmoreland Chamber and Elliott Group are doing to facilitate dialogue between employers and learning institutions, and we will continue to promote this approach as a key component of our workforce agenda.