Congressman took a backhoe for a spin and talked small business issues
Running a backhoe is difficult enough – try doing it for the first time in front of a crowd. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth was a good sport during NFIB’s Small Business Challenge in Greenwood at Whalen Construction. With small business owner Ezra Hill by his side, the Representative successfully moved sand from one pile to another.
Thanks for having me! https://t.co/hd0m9xHmQO
— Trey Hollingsworth (@RepTrey) August 28, 2019
NFIB’s Small Business Challenge is a national campaign that invites lawmakers to spend a day “on the job” at a small business in their community and allows them to experience firsthand the challenges small-business owners face, including day-to-day management, compliance, and tax issues.
At Ezra Hill’s small business, the biggest problem is hiring and keeping qualified workers. Right now, he has 15 employees and would like to hire another four, but he can’t find anyone. Ezra pays well above minimum wage and tries to entice workers with benefits, but even that doesn’t always work. Ezra says blue-collar work is becoming more important in Indiana, where the labor market is tight, and people have lots of options for employment. He jokes – when you’re little and ask yourself, what do I want to do when I grow up? – the answer is probably not “get dirty and work on water lines.” Joking aside, Ezra worries he may not be able to expand his small business if he can’t find the right workers.
Rep. Trey Hollingsworth runs a backhoe at Greenwood small business Whalen Construction.
Rep. Hollingsworth listened to Ezra’s concerns and promised to continue to advocate for small business issues in Washington, D.C. The two spoke about Workforce Development and how he can help foster the right kind of employees for small businesses like Ezra’s.
