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JOBS & ECONOMY

Taking measures to ensure our businesses will recover and thrive despite the spread of COVID-19 

The COVID-19 recession presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities. We must support new thinking in novel ways to address the enormous challenges. This will require long and short term solutions, but it's  the perfect time to invest in our communities and expand opportunities.

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As a business owner in Rochester Hills and a member of the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce, I understand the importance of a strong, vibrant local economy. I grasp the enormity of the task ahead in supporting  our economy’s recovery  as we move through the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Here are the areas I am focused on:

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Small Business Sustenance & Growth

  • Support The HEROES Act, a response to COVID-19 and its impact on our local, state and federal economies and governments, our public health initiatives, and Michigan residents and Michigan based  businesses, which helps ensure tax dollars return to Michigan. 
     

  • Create actions and strategies to encourage and grow a racially diverse business climate.
     

  • Support business development of green technologies and industries to grow jobs in Greater Rochester and Michigan.
     

  • Create a welcoming climate for tech entrepreneurs in District 45 (possibly  in the vein of a downsized tech version of Oakland County’s Automation Alley).
     

  • Support access to Microloans and other toolkits for entrepreneurs
     

  • Support local growth with pro small business legislation such as the Payroll Protection Program (PPP).
     

  • Support a tax credit to help businesses continue to pay employees while absent due to quarantines, closings, or limited operations.
     

  • Call for low- to no-interest business loans to cover lost revenue due to COVID-19. 
     

  • Support legislation that would attract more companies to Michigan (this must include improving education & infrastructure to attract these businesses).
     

  • Support and promote best-business COVID-19 navigational practices in coordination with DDA Rochester Regional Chamber and Oakland County. 

- Identify and promote free platforms and technologies for remote business practices. 

- Explore SAAS (Software as a service) options for Rochester businesses. 

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Employee Protections/Help   

  • Support Universal healthcare
     

  • Support a $15 Minimum Wage
     

  • Support prevailing wage for laborers in the construction trades
     

  • Advocate for District 45 inclusion in the Southeast Michigan transit program, offering access to both downtown Rochester and outbound locales. 
     

  • Advocate for universal paid sick leave, allowing employees to stay home and quarantine if sick, reducing the spread of illness. 


Benefits of Paid Sick Leave:

- Less emergency room visits

- Improves preventative care
- Improves employee morale, reduces employee turnover

- Economic benefits in aggregate in cities that have paid sick leave
 

  • Revisit and streamline unemployment process for improved user accessibility.
    Since mid-March 40% of Michigan’s eligible workforce have filed for unemployment, creating a strain on the current system, revealing the need for an overhaul.
     

  • Support families through an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit. 

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ISSUES

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