« Ind. Decisions - Transfer list for week ending December 23, 2005 | Main | Ind. Decisions - Judge allows takeover of state center to proceed »

Friday, December 23, 2005

Ind. Law - More on: Laws deterred retaining Colgate plant, says Gov. Daniels

This Dec. 17th ILB entry quotes from a Louisville Courier Journal story by Lesley Stedman Weidenbener and Alex Davis of that date:

INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mitch Daniels said yesterday that the state failed in its bid to keep the Colgate-Palmolive Co. toothpaste factory in Indiana because it doesn't have right-to-work legislation.

"We did absolutely everything we could do, and I think they'd tell you that," Daniels said of Colgate, which plans to close its 475-employee factory in Clarksville by January 2008. "I talked a couple of times myself to the CEO and to other leadership. We made an offer we believe was competitive in every other respect."

But, he said at a news conference, "they (Colgate) want to be in a right-to-work state."

Today Jennifer Whitson of the Evansville Courier& Press reports:
Gov. Mitch Daniels said Thursday that he will not seek to change Indiana labor laws that require workers in a union workplace to join and pay union dues.

Last week, Daniels said Indiana's lack of "right-to-work" legislation, which would allow workers to opt out of union dues in a union-represented workplace, was a large factor in Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s decision to close a Southeast Indiana toothpaste factory. When asked Thursday, though, Daniels said he wouldn't push for a change because the debate "would be enormously divisive."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 23, 2005 08:00 AM
Posted to Indiana Government | Indiana Law | Indiana economic development