In Kansas’ 4th District, Tyson Food would like to build a $320 million chicken processing plant just outside of Wichita. The company also tried to set up shop in another part of Kansas earlier this year, but the citizens successfully fought to keep them out. Those now advocating for the Tyson’s plant in my area note the 1,600 jobs that would be created here. While 1,600 new job opportunities sounds good at face value, are they the right jobs for our community?
Job creation is my number one platform piece for my run for Congress in 2018. However, both in Kansas and across the United States, we need to be strategic about the types of industries and companies in which we invest and promote. We need a clear vision of what we want our local communities, our states, and our nation to achieve economically. My district certainly does not want to be the home of chicken processing. Instead, we should strive to build on our current title as the Air Capital of the World and become the center of advanced manufacturing for the U.S.
Here are some questions we should be asking: What is the comparative advantage for our region? Will a new industry attract talent to our city? What are the negative impacts of a given industry on our communities and environment? In addition to the quantity of jobs created, what about the quality of those jobs? Will an industry create the need for suppliers, professional services, nearby restaurants, etc. that multiply the job opportunities?
Many of the jobs created through Tyson would be low-skill positions such as slaughtering and packaging. There would be more skilled jobs such as managers, truck drivers, and maintenance, too. However, the Tyson’s plant is not likely to inspire talent to move to the Wichita-area. If anything, it might drive more people away because of the negative repercussions that come with the chicken processing industry. Except for maybe chicken farms, there would be few secondary jobs created.
The negative impacts of a large-scale chicken plant cannot be overstated. Tyson’s has a record of environmental destruction and contaminating water sources. The stench that comes with chicken processing can change the entire ambiance of a community. The town in Maine in which my mother now lives used to be a chicken processing location. For decades, Mainers would hold their noses when going by the town; the bay was filled with chicken carcasses and refuse; and the economy of the town was depressed. Today, the chicken industry is no longer, the stench gone, the water clear. The town has turned to tourism as its primary industry.
I would argue that the comparative advantage of my district is in advanced manufacturing. From the earliest days of Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman’s aviation companies, Kansas continues to be the birthplace of new technology and high-paying manufacturing jobs. My own family was involved in the early development in Kansas of technological infrastructure and manufacturing as early as the 1860s. Today, Wichita is home to one of only five composite clusters in the world, led by the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). This expertise can be used in many other industries. The Center for Innovative Biomaterials in Orthopedic Research, for example, is using Kansas’ experience with composites to revolutionize medical devices. We are home of the largest 3D printer, an innovation campus at Wichita State University, and a state-of-the-art technical school.
We have the technical talent, educational institutions, central location, and physical infrastructure to attract new manufacturing industries here – renewable energy production, water technologies, satellites and drones, energy-efficient vehicles, advanced medical devices, etc. The jobs associated with these industries are high-paying and skilled opportunities for our citizens. They create secondary companies for parts production, require professional services, and encourage recreational development. In addition, a diversification of our manufacturing industries could attract talent to our region.
This is the vision we need for my district. Chicken processing is for the birds.
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Laura Lombard is a Democratic candidate for the 4th District Kansas Congressional race in 2018. She currently leads ImEpik, an online workforce development company, and MENA Consultants, an organization that assists U.S. companies with global exports.