A member of the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus on Monday urged David Stickler, chief executive of Big River Steel, to hire as many minorities in upper management as in lower-level positions.
And after meeting with the caucus, Strickler said in an interview that there are plans for a second phase of growth at the company, but it could occur outside of Arkansas.
"Our issue will be do we expand in Arkansas? Do we expand elsewhere? Do we do both? There's been no definitive plans," he said. "We're geared up and poised for growth but that's going to be dependent on us maintaining the positive results we've had so far."
The Arkansas Legislature authorized $125 million in economic incentives for the project in 2013. The plant must employ 525 people at salaries averaging at least $75,000.
Stickler told the caucus that 80 percent of trainees in a pre-hire program at Northeast Arkansas Community College are black. That job-skill training is aimed at interested applicants who lack a needed skill, like welding, he said.
Additionally, about half the construction workers at the mill are minorities, Stickler said.
Mississippi County, where the plant is located, is 63 percent white and 35 percent black.
Stickler also said the company is not excluding those with criminal histories -- up to and including manslaughter -- from applying to work at the plant.
"My goal, personally, is to reach out into areas of the community where people maybe have never applied for a job or don't even know how to apply for a job," he said.
"We've worked with the community libraries, we've worked with the community religious organizations and are taking the extra step to make sure that no one will come up to me three years from now and say, 'Dave, I wanted a job at Big River Steel, but I just didn't know how to get one.'"
After his comments, Stickler was pressed by state Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, on the racial composition of his management team.
Stickler said roughly 15 percent of "white shirts" -- those in administrative staff -- are minorities.
Walker asked Stickler to ensure those jobs are available to members of minority groups -- just as the company has pledged to hire and train minorities in other areas of work.
"I hope there is always a correlation between the labor and the management group because obviously we've been laborers forever and seldom managers," Walker said. "If there is a disconnect between those two groups, it reflects either an availability or lack of interest in recruitment or it reflects something else that raises, at least, my suspicion."
After the meeting, Stickler said the Mississippi County plant was designed for expansion, but that doesn't make Arkansas a shoe-in.
The location will be chosen based on "the availability of a quality, well-trained workforce, logistics, energy cost, transportation, the level of enthusiasm shown by local, regional and state government officials," he said. "I'm now a resident of Arkansas. I've been extremely, extremely pleased with the way the state has cooperated across whatever political persuasion they may be in support of Big River."
Asked about the importance of economic incentives, Stickler said, "No one would ever make a decision to expand or locate somewhere just based on the level of economic incentives. I think too many people put that at the top of the totem pole. That's part of the equation. It certainly has never been the driving factor."
A constitutional amendment up for a vote in November would affect economic development if enacted.
Senate Joint Resolution 16 by Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, would remove the cap on the amount of bonds the state could issue. Supporters say that change would help Arkansas compete for more large projects that could bring hundreds of new jobs to the state.
The amendment also clarifies what local governments can do. SJR16 would allow cities to issue bonds for economic development projects and allow cities with populations of 500 or more, incorporated towns, school districts and counties to form compacts for economic development.
After the meeting, state Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, said she's leaning toward voting against the amendment.
"We definitely need jobs on the back end and especially in that area of the state. And so we can't get jobs without investing, to some degree, but I think we have only placed ourselves in this conundrum because we are not investing at the front end," she said.
The caucus meeting concerned early childhood education and workforce development in addition to Big River Steel.
House Minority Leader Michael John Gray, D-Augusta, said he isn't sure how he will vote.
"The term 'corporate welfare' gets people's ire up sometimes, so there's always that argument of how much is too much of our taxpayer money," he said.
"But what we don't want to see is if a Big River Steel can come into Osceola or Mississippi County, do we want to be the ones who limit that opportunity?"
Stickler said it's up to others to advocate for specific legislation.
"But what I will tell you, having done these type of projects for 20 years across the country, you never want to limit a state's ability to compete for the next large economic development project," he said.
Metro on 05/03/2016