Last winter, Electric Boat announced it would add 4,000 jobs over 15 years. This afternoon, Democrats running for the state legislature called for credit for helping the submarine maker become what their leader calls the epicenter of job growth.
Electric Boat will have a work force of 18,000 if its plans for making submarines pan out. The Democrats said Electric Boat's supply chain will be hiring too.
"We see the ripple effect of this, the real ripple," said Joe De La Cruz, "really small companies doing really well as a result of these contracts that were won."
He sees new interest in building housing in Groton because of Electric Boat's growth. The top House Democrat running for re-election said there'll be enough economic expansion to afford state income tax breaks for social security income for the elderly and student loan debt for students who stay.
Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, majority leader, said, "What we'll see in the added economy and the added value to the economy, the investments in the towns, the purchases of homes, we're pretty confident will offset any losses we may see in the tax base."
Specifically for manufacturing, the Democrats said they want to see more programs in the technical schools that meet employer's specific needs, the way Electric Boat wanted welding in the local technical school. Republicans who showed up at the Democrats' presentation said they have manufacturing in their blood.
"I actually had a manufacturing company for 20 years here in Connecticut so I understand it fully - I worked for Electric Boat, I had a security clearance," said Heather Somers.
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The Republican candidates said the Democrats have mishandled apprenticeship tax credits for small manufacturing.
Rep. John Scott, (R) Mystic, said, "The bill passed on a bipartisan basis in both the House and the Senate, the governor vetoed it, then when we went to bring it back during the veto session, they wouldn't bring it back up."
Republican or Democrat, they said they're all for skilled labor.
