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MEADOWS: Hello everybody and welcome to "The Mark Meadows Show".  I'm State Representative Mark Meadows and I have some very special guests with me today.    You know, Michigan has been suffering through quite an economic downturn over the last couple of years and the House has put together a package of bills that we think are going to make a big difference.  Today I have the Chair of the Labor Committee Fred Miller, welcome Fred...

MILLER: Thank you.

MEADOWS: ... and from Building and Construction Trades, Patrick Gleason.  Welcome Pat...

GLEASON: Thank you, thank you for having us.

MEADOWS: ... and we're going to talk about "Hire Michigan First".  I'm proud to have a bill in this package so, Fred, why don't you take it away.  Talk a little bit about the package for me, will you? 

MILLER: "Hire Michigan First" is a job creation package, it's 12 bills, one of which, as you mentioned, you are the original sponsor and I appreciate your work on this issue, Mark.  As you know, everything that we do in the legislature right now is viewed through the prism of job creation.  What can we do to help fight unemployment?  What can we  do to put Michigan back to work, and what can we do to spur the economy?  So, "Hire Michigan First" is kind of a means to those ends.  It basically says that when Michigan taxpayer dollars are being used in the form of a state construction contract or in the form of a tax break or tax abatement, that Michigan workers should get first crack at those jobs.  We give away about $1.25 billion dollars every year in the form of tax breaks, tax abatements and they're given out for a myriad of different economic development programs.  From the 21st Century Jobs Program to brownfield redevelopment, MEGA grants, on and on and on.  So that's why there are about 12 bills in the package because we have to go through and amend every section of law.  But this kind of came to focus for us last year.  There was a project going up in Marysville, Michigan, it was an ethanol plant that was being built, partly with taxpayer dollars and tax payer funded incentives.  And workers that were there, they were literally lining up to apply for the jobs to build this ethanol plant, and they stood by as trucks were driving through with out of state plates that were packed to the gills with workers from outside of Michigan.  The workers that were there were kind of left scratching their heads, frankly, there were a little insulted that it was their taxpayer dollars that were going to create these jobs, here they are, unemployed, and the jobs are going to workers from other states, possibly even other countries.  So "Hire Michigan First" is about saying, when we can control things, when the state is a market participant in the form of a contract or a tax break or whatnot,  that it's Michigan workers that should be put to work by those dollars.

MEADOWS:  Obviously, I support this program and I that that's really the message that we need to be sending.  Every poll that we've seen has indicated that jobs and the economy are the number one priority, doesn't matter what area of the state that you come from, I come from a highly educated district, I represent a highly educated district, our polling shows that their number one priority, like 88% of the people responding, indicate that jobs and the economy are the number one issues that they want to see addressed so, Pat, talk a little bit about Building and Construction Trades, your background if you will, and how you came to be involved in this particular package of bills. 

GLEASON: Well first of all, I want to thank both of you for your leadership and for your initiative to take this on and this is going to make a huge difference for the construction industry.  Not only will it put the men and women in the Building and Construction trades to work, but it's going to help out our contractor associations, it will even help out your engineering firms, your design and build firms, because, unfortunately, a contractor comes in from out of state, not only do they bring their workforce with them, but they bring their supplies, their materials to the construction site as well.  So, in essence, you're losing all the warehousing abilities for your mechanical, your electrical, your lumberyards, your things of that nature, fabrication shops, and this bill, or this series of bills, will keep everything located right here in the State of Michigan which is going to be a big improvement for the construction industry because we have actually been dealing with this problem for years and it's time that we address the problem.  We have a tremendous amount of unemployment here in the State of Michigan in the Building and Construction trades now and certainly, it will put people to work and we're ready, willing and able and ready to take these projects on and with your leadership, I know we can get this accomplished.  Thank you.