Q1 2021 Pulse

President's Quarterly Letter

2020 was a year of challenges and changes for many! Our products and services have been well utilized by our membership. To name just a few of our accomplishments for 2020:
MAEA’s roundtables continue to provide a quality source of networking for our member companies. Roundtable discussions included: The current and future state of Schuylkill County Economic Development, Families First COVID-19, OSHA Guidelines for Industry related to COVID-19 & OSHA Updates, An ADA Accommodation & Performance Guide for Anxiety, PTSD, & Stress in the Workplace, Solutions for Addressing and Preventing Sexual Harassment & Bullying, Act of Violence-Preparing for the Worst and Common Pitfalls in Complying with OSHA Standards with an OSHA Amputation Update. A MAEA Tour was held at Tredegar Corporation.

MAEA trainings in 2020 had to be flexible and be able to adapt to current needs and safety requirements. We were able to continue to offer face-to-face trainings at our MAEA Office in Pottsville while following appropriate CDC Covid-19 guidelines. In addition, we were also able to offer classes on a variety of other virtual platforms including Cisco WebEx and Zoom. We continued to offer customized and on-site trainings as well. Some of our most popular classes included the supervisory development certificate series and the newly updated Mobile Elevated Work Platforms Train the Trainer.

MAEA has been at the forefront in identifying the process involved in communicating the Legislative Pro-Growth, Pro-Manufacturing Public-Policy Agenda from Northeast PA to Harrisburg and then on to Washington, D.C. A few of our grassroots legislative efforts we worked closely with the National Association of Manufacturers were: Paycheck Protection Plan, Infrastructure Investments and the HEALS Act.

MAEA continues to respond to member companies’ needs by providing valuable benchmarking data. The surveys conducted were the Regional Wage & Salary, National Wage & Salary, Pay Trends, and Regional Holiday Survey. Companies participating in the regional surveys receive a complimentary copy of the results as well as discounted pricing on the National surveys.

We continue to offer our member companies numerous free services. They include State and Federal Legislative Updates, Payroll Tax Summary, Records Retention List, Quarterly and Electronic Journals, Resume Register, the Rapid Response and Hotline Surveys.

The Council successfully adapted to the new virtual demands placed on education caused by the pandemic. The YES Northeast curriculum was offered virtually and all YES tours, mock interviews, and guest speaking appearances were all coordinated in a remote capacity. Since the program began in 2006, 8,459 students have participated with 2,918 earning their certifications.

We are looking forward to another great year in 2021, and we look forward to seeing you at our roundtables, trainings and events. 

Darlene J. Robbins

MAEA President