State lawmakers on Wednesday approved a $247 million tax incentives deal for Steel Dynamics Inc., a Fort Wayne, Indiana-based company that already has a manufacturing presence in Mississippi, to expand and build an aluminum mill near Columbus.
Steel Dynamics, a Fortune 500 company founded in 1993, is the third-largest producer of carbon steel products in the U.S. and one of the largest metal recyclers. It owns facilities across the U.S. and in Mexico.
The company for the third quarter of 2022 reported record steel shipments of 3.2 million tons, net sales of $5.7 billion and an adjusted net income of $994 million. The company is considered one of the most profitable steel companies in the world and it employs around 10,000 people.
The company already operates a scrap-fed electric arc furnace steel mill in Columbus and plans to build a massive aluminum flat-rolled mill and other new operations in Mississippi that the company says will create at least 1,000 new high paying jobs.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Wednesday, after state lawmakers approved the incentive deal, praised Steel Dynamics and the people who work at its existing Columbus plant.
“Do not forget the men and women employed at Steel Dynamics today,” Reeves said. “They would not be investing $2.5 billion today if not for the fact that Mississippians show up every day for work and they produce.”
According to industry reports, electric vehicles are requiring substantially more aluminum than traditional automobiles, and Steel Dynamics is positioning itself to take advantage of this. Company leaders in late summer, when discussing plans for a new plant, said labor and energy costs at their planned facility will be much less than traditional because of state-of-the-art equipment they plan to install. They said the aluminum rolling mill will work along with satellite recycling centers in the U.S. and Mexico.
Steel Dynamics’ existing Columbus steel mill was previously owned by Severstal North America and was bought by Steel Dynamics in 2014. The company said its Columbus mill “is currently the most technologically advanced (electric arc furnace) facility in North America” and can produce 3.4 million tons of steel a year. It serves the auto, agriculture, appliance and construction industries along with HVAC and pipe companies.
In 2021, Steel Dynamics settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after the federal government alleged the company was not complying with emissions standards at two of its facilities in Butler, Indiana. The company agreed to pay a civil penalty of $475,000 and spend $3 million to upgrade its air pollution control equipment.
The Mississippi Legislature, in a one-day special session with only a handful of dissenting votes, approved $247 million in taxpayer-funded incentives to help a company build an aluminum mill and other operations near Columbus and create at least 1,000 jobs.
Lt. Gov. Hosemann said Mississippi was in competition with at least two other states for the project. Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday when he called the special session on short notice that the incentive package needed to be approved quickly to help the company with “speed to market” and ensure the mill was built in Mississippi.
State officials said they agreed not to name the company until the deal was inked, and referred to the deal as “Project Triple Crown” during Capitol deliberations Wednesday. But numerous sources and industry trade journals said the parent of the deal is Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Steel Dynamics, the third-largest producer of carbon steel products in the U.S.
The company already has a steel plant in Columbus. Over the summer, Steel Dynamics announced plans to build three large facilities — including one in the Southeast — to supply the automotive and packaging industries with flat-rolled recycled aluminum material. An officer for Steel Dynamic recently filed paperwork with the state registering Aluminum Dynamics LLC in Mississippi.
“A $2.5 billion project doesn’t come to Mississippi very often,” Hosemann said, “but it will be happening more often because Mississippi is open for business.”
House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, said the project “would be a big economic development opportunity for the Golden Triangle, creating at least a 1,000 jobs and hopefully economic prosperity.”
(Note: Details of deal are itemized below in this article)
While there were few dissenting votes on Wednesday, Democrats and even some Republicans questioned why lawmakers rushed to pass the incentives deal while ignoring other problems pressing the state.
When asked about why lawmakers were not spending or passing policy to tackle water infrastructure woes, hospital closures and other urgent issues, Hosemann noted that only the governor can call lawmakers into special session and set the agenda. He vowed the Legislature will tackle such issues when the regular session starts in January.
“In about eight weeks you’ll see us tackling all the rest of it,” Hosemann said. “This particular Legislature has not been timid in looking at issues and I anticipate those issues will range from water and sewer to hospitals and just about anything else the Legislature thinks should be addressed.”
The bills for the incentives passed the 122-member House with only five “no” votes — all from conservative or Libertarian leaning Republicans who oppose “corporate welfare.” Four House Democrats voted present. In the Senate, the measures passed with no dissent and only Kathy Chism, R-New Albany, voting present.
Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, expresses his concerns during a press conference about Gov. Tate Reeves’ plan for an economic development project after the Senate passed it during a special session at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Wednesday, November 2, 2022. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
But legislative Democrats held a news conference during Wednesday’s session to point out emergency needs facing the state.
“No one here is arguing that economic development isn’t a good thing,” Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez, the House Democratic leader, said Wednesday on the south steps of the state Capitol. “But while we’re in this building, facing a crisis that affects each and every Mississippian, we should talk about solutions. It would be malpractice to walk out of here, at the height of this crisis, without passing legislation that would begin to address the myriad issues facing our state’s healthcare system.”
Given past boondoggles that left Mississippi taxpayers on the hook for millions when companies went belly-up or didn’t deliver jobs for incentives, legislative leaders assured their colleagues Wednesday that this deal includes stringent “clawback” and other measures to protect the state.
“I think these are the strictest clawbacks we’ve ever done,” said Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood. “In large part, it wouldn’t even be clawback — it’s on reimbursement. We’re not just going to cut them a check up front. It will be provided as reimbursement once they’ve done certain things … This is a strong, performance-based contract, if you will. They’ve got to produce to get incentives.”
Tax rebates and abatements would be suspended if the company didn’t meet job and investment benchmarks laid out in phases, lawmakers said, although state Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Jackson, noted during floor debate that the language in the bills said the Mississippi Development Authority “may” enforce clawbacks and suspensions, not “shall.”
House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar said this was to give MDA ability to negotiate with the company to get it back in compliance and he assured colleagues state taxpayers would be protected. He said that all clawback provisions are with the parent company, which is “well-heeled” and not a start-up like some of the companies that burned the state in the past.
Reeves and others called the deal the largest economic development project in state history, and said the company is promising the average salary for the jobs will be $93,000 a year. Hosemann said he was told the lowest salaries for the project would be “$58,000 plus bonuses.”
Lamar said: “This will be life-changing money for families not used to making that much money here in the state of Mississippi.”
Some highlights of the “Triple Crown” deal:
Lawmakers authorized state borrowing up to $246.7 million — enough to cover the entire incentives package the company wants, including grants, road work, tax breaks and land. This was to ensure the company all incentives are guaranteed. But lawmakers approved spending $81.1 million in cash up front, and said they hope to not borrow any money for the deal but pay cash as it goes along as long as state finances remain rosy. The first borrowing would not take place for three years, regardless, Hosemann said.
The incentives include $155 million in grants for the company. This would include $54 million in a first payment, then other “tranches” as various buildout and hiring goals are met. The state is also loaning $18 million to Lowndes County to purchase the remainder of the 2,100 acres the company plans to use. The grants also include $25.1 million in state road work for the project.
The incentives include up to $92 million in tax incentives and rebates, much of this tied to jobs created. Because the state is still considering massive tax cuts or elimination, the state will guarantee up to $45 million in a reserve account if the company keeps adding jobs, even if lawmakers eliminate or cut taxes further. Lowndes County is also providing major local tax breaks for the company.
The company is pledging to invest $1.9 billion in a recycled aluminum flat rolled mill and create 700 jobs. It pledges to invest $150 million in a “Renewable biocarbon facility” and create 40 jobs. An MDA official told lawmakers this plant would burn organic material to create ash that would provide feed stock for steel production.
The company has pledged $200 million in investment and 160 jobs from other businesses — customers and suppliers — locating at its new aluminum mill campus. Lawmakers said that although this would be other companies, the parent mill company would be on the hook for this as part of the incentives deal. The company has also promised to invest $250 million in a “Future project to be named later” and create at least 100 jobs.
Flanked by the primarily African American Democratic legislative caucus, Johnson dropped to ground bills that would:
Expand Medicaid to provide health care coverage to primarily the working poor.
Provide $40 million to the beleaguered Jackson water system to deal with immediate issues regarding accessible and quality drinking water.
Provide grant funds for rural hospitals.
He said those bills were ready to be taken up immediately if the governor would include them in the special session. The governor has indicated those issues can be considered during the regular session.
Johnson pointed out state Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney recently said as many as six hospitals were in danger of closing.
The closure of the hospitals would negatively impact Mississippi’s health care outcomes that already are the worst in the nation. The hospital woes are occurring, Johnson said, as state officials projected an additional 5,000 births per year with the Supreme Court decision giving states the right to ban abortion as Mississippi has done.
In addition to being issues of life and death in terms of having quality water and accessible health care, the Democrats said they also were economic development issues.
Derrick Simmons of Greenville, the Senate Democratic leader, said expanding Medicaid, by accepting more than $1 billion annually in federal funds for health care would provide more economic development for the state than the aluminum plant.
The closing of the hospitals in Greenville and Greenwood would result in greater job losses than the aluminum would produce.
“Apparently, only new jobs constitute an emergency meeting of the Legislature,” Simmons said. “The jobs that hardworking Mississippians continue to lose as hospitals close do not. That logic doesn’t add up.”
On social media, state Rep. Zakiya Summers, D-Jackson, said, “Mississippi needs economic development. Yet we are not having a special session on the water crisis or hospitals closures happening across the state. Mississippi needs those basic services as well.”
Johnson said the economic development package could have been passed in the regular session, beginning in January. Instead, he called the special session “a campaign event — a political pep rally” for the governor.
Mississippi’s longest serving transportation commissioner Dick Hall died on Wednesday at the Baptist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. He was 84.
Hall had been retired from the elected, three-person Transportation Commission since he opted in 2019 not to seek reelection for the current four-year term.
“Mississippi lost one of its longest tenured public servants, and I lost a great friend and mentor,” said Brad White, the executive director of the transportation department who previously served on Hall’s staff. “Commissioner Hall led by example and my life is much better because of the major role he played in it.”
Before being appointed to the Transportation Commission by then-Gov. Kirk Fordice in 1999, he served three terms in the Senate and three terms in the House, representing the Jackson area in the Legislature. He was one of a few Republicans serving in the Legislature when he was first elected.
He was elected to represent the state’s 22-county central district on the Transportation Commission five times after being appointed by Fordice to fill a vacancy. He served 11 years as chair of the Commission.
But before being elected as transportation commissioner, Hall had an eventful tenure in the Legislature, including serving as Senate Appropriations chair. He first was appointed to the post by Republican Lt. Gov. Eddie Briggs. Briggs removed him from the position after the Legislature was required to run for election in consecutive years by a federal court because of conflicts over redistricting. Briggs appointed Hall to chair the Public Health Committee after removing him from Appropriations.
But Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, who defeated Briggs in the 1995 election, re-appointed Hall as Appropriations chair where he served until his appointment to the Transportation Commission by Fordice.
“I am saddened by the passing of my friend and colleague Dick Hall. I had the honor of serving with him on the Transportation Commission and developed a deep respect for him and his dedication to our great state,” said Southern District Commissioner Tom King, who also is chair of the Mississippi Transportation Commission. “He has left a legacy of service and hard work not only at MDOT, but for the entire state of Mississippi.”
As transportation commissioner, Hall was an outspoken advocate for providing additional revenue to deal with a deteriorating infrastructure system. Finally in a 2018 special session, the Legislature passed bills to address some of the road and bridge issues highlighted so often by Hall.
College Gameday went off without a hitch in Jackson, but the big news in the Magnolia State over the weekend was Mississippi State Athletic Director John Cohen leaving for Auburn. The Cleveland boys discuss that move, recap last week’s action and look at what lies ahead for Jackson State, Ole Miss and Delta State, which are now a combined 24-1.
It isn’t as if this Mississippi football season wasn’t already interesting enough, even before the John Cohen-to-Auburn-where-Bryan Harsin-has-just-been-fired news erupted.
I mean, Ole Miss has achieved an 8-1 record and is ranked No. 11; Jackson State is a perfect 8-0 and ranked No. 9 in FCS rankings; Delta State is 9-0 and ranked No. 6 in Division II; Southern Miss has won three straight and five of six and looks an honest-to-goodness college football team; and Will Rogers continues his assault on Mississippi State and Southeastern Conference records.
Rick Cleveland
As Mississippi college football seasons go, this one is a doozy. Monday’s news kicked the spice level up several notches. Besides all the winning, we’ve got some really juicy trimmings. You’ve got Cohen headed to Auburn, where his first job will be to hire a football coach. You’ve got Auburn playing at Mississippi State this Saturday. You’ve got Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and Jackson State coach Deion Sanders all listed among the leading candidates in widespread speculation about who will be the next Auburn football coach.
We all know the Ole Miss to Auburn football coaching bridge has been crossed before. Tommy Tuberville made that trip 23 years ago, although he did not do it, as he had promised, in a pine box. No, he went in an Auburn jet. He is now a U.S. senator. How crazy is that? I mean, think about it: 23 years from now, could we have Sen. Kiffin? That would be no crazier.
The crazy level in college football really is off the charts — and I am looking west to College Station, where Jimbo Fisher’s team is now 3-5, has lost four straight, has lost to both Mississippi State and Ole Miss and still has games with Florida, Auburn and LSU. At this point Fisher’s record is three games worse than his predecessor Kevin Sumlin’s was at the same point in his tenure. Sumlin got fired, and the Aggies could fire Fisher, too. The catch is, the Aggies would have to pay Fisher approximately $90,000,000 to fire him. That sets records for crazy.
But let’s get back to the Mississippi stuff. Before we go any further, a shoutout to Todd Cooley at Delta State, who ought to be line for Coach of the Decade for Delta State’s turnaround this year. The Statesmen were an injury-riddled 5-6 last year and often were hammered, such as when Valdosta State blanked them 55-0. This year, Delta State whipped Valdosta State 70-31. That’s an 84-point turnaround if you are keeping score, and we always do. This Saturday, Delta State plays West Georgia in a battle of ranked teams. Delta State will try to avenge a 44-7 loss to West Georgia last season. Just a reminder: The last time Delta State started 9-0 was 2000. Those Statesmen, coached by Steve Campbell and quarterbacked by Josh Bright, finished 14-1 and as National Champions.
Jackson State also remains undefeated after blistering Southern University 35-0 with ESPN College GameDay in town. With each one-sided victory and each huge crowd comes more national attention for JSU coach Deion Sanders, who has has been mentioned as a possible hire for not only Auburn, but also Georgia Tech and Arizona State.
Sanders has done little to quell such speculation. Asked by ESPN about whether he would entertain offers from Power Five schools, Sanders said he would be crazy if he did not. “Yeah, I have to,” he said. “Going to the Power Five don’t change my lifestyle. But guess what? It changes my coaches’. So I got to weigh all offers.”
At this point, it would be insane for schools with an opening not to consider Sanders. He has proven he can recruit and he has proven he can coach. He has surrounded himself with good coaches and he lets them do their jobs. He connects with his players. He connects with recruits. He will bring instant energy wherever he goes. John Cohen is not insane and surely will consider making a run at Sanders.
Kiffin and Freeze also make sense for Auburn, where the alums and fans are forever comparing themselves to cross-state rival Alabama and Nick Saban. Freeze, at Ole Miss, has proven be can beat Saban. Kiffin revamped Saban’s offense at Bama and has won 18 of 22 games the last two season at Ole Miss.
Yes, Freeze recently signed an extension at Liberty that would take him through 2030, but the deal reportedly includes a friendly buyout on Freeze’s end. It would not scare a rich, Power Five school away from courting Freeze. So, you ask, why would Kiffin leave Oxford for Auburn? Well there’s this: Kiffin has been outspoken about how NIL money has become the single biggest factor in college football recruiting. If Auburn has significantly more money available to essentially buy players, then Kiffin might prefer the Plains.
Indeed, the NIL effect could have had much to do with Cohen moving from State to Auburn where he will be reunited with his old pitching coach Butch Thompson and where Auburn has reportedly piled up some serious coin for NIL purposes.
At this point all we know for certain is that an already interesting Mississippi football season has come all the more interesting — and intriguing. November and December potentially could bring much change.
Some Democrats in the Mississippi Legislature are questioning plans to dole out about $240 million in incentives to a big company while not addressing health care and water infrastructure crises facing the state. Some Republicans question whether it’s “corporate welfare” or crony capitalism.
Neither group is likely to derail Gov. Tate Reeves’ plan for lawmakers to provide millions in taxpayer funded incentives for a company to build an aluminum plant in the Golden Triangle. But both are asking why they aren’t being given more information and for more time to vet the deal.
The Republican governor announced on Monday that he was calling the Legislature into special session Wednesday at 10 a.m. to take up the incentive package in what he said he hopes will be a one-day special session. As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, rank-and-file legislators still had not seen the particulars of what would be provided to the company, which is yet to be officially named by the state.
“I have been in the Mississippi Legislature for going on 12 years, and I am always concerned when legislators have to rush in and approve economic development projects in one day,” said Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, who is the Senate minority leader.
Members of the small but vocal Mississippi Freedom Caucus of conservative Republican lawmakers on Tuesday complained about a lack of information being provided ahead of Wednesday’s special session and questioned whether they were being asked to provide “corporate welfare” to a business.
“With no advanced warning, the governor is calling a special session for Wednesday to consider some kind of ‘economic development’ legislation,” Rep. Dana Criswell, R-Olive Branch, said in a Freedom Caucus release. “We don’t have many details at the moment, but we’re concerned that GOP leaders will try to push some kind of corporate welfare package through with little debate and oversight … We will also not sit back as state leaders spend your money on pet projects and on crony capitalist ideas.”
But Simmons said calling the special session quickly with legislators convening with little or no information and being asked act quickly “is par for the course.” He said that is dangerous because there have been instances when the companies did not meet commitments they made, “leaving taxpayers on the hook” for those funds.
Democrats are also voicing concern that the extraordinary special session is being called for the Columbus project while other emergency needs in the state are not being addressed. Both Simmons and his counterpart, House Minority Leader Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, said other emergencies facing the state need to be addressed as soon as possible.
“The governor describes the economic development project as an emergency,” Johnson said. “It is not an emergency. But if he is going to call it an emergency, we need to look at other issues that are emergencies while we are in session.”
Those emergencies, Johnson and Simmons said, include hospitals potentially closing, particularly in the Delta; lack of reliable, clean water in Jackson; and a government corruption scandal involving at least $77 million in welfare money for the poor being stolen, misspent or diverted to supporters of powerful state leaders.
Johnson said he supports the economic development project, but he does not rule out voting against it “to call attention to those who are not being heard.” He said the state has the revenue, including hundreds of millions in federal COVID-19 relief funds that can be used to address those emergencies.
Simmons said, “I have always supported economic development projects anywhere in the state,” but said there needs to be efforts to bring economic development projects to depressed regions of the state, such as the Delta and areas of southwest Mississippi.
Reeves, who previously served eight years as lieutenant governor presiding over the Senate, said on Tuesday he understands the frustration of legislators concerned about the lack of notice for the special session.
“At the end of the day (legislators) come together to pass economic development projects” by large bipartisan margins, Reeves said, adding he is moving quickly to pass the project at the behest of the company. He said the talks on the project began four months ago and have moved quickly. He said the legislation would have “claw back” provisions where the state would be reimbursed if the company did not live up to its commitments.
“I am of the utmost confidence this deal is going to get done and benefit the taxpayers of this state significantly,” Reeves said.
He said there is a good chance that more than 1,000 will be employed and that the average salary, when factoring in bonuses, will be more than $93,000 the company has committed to pay.
Impromptu, hurry-up-and-vote special sessions have become the standard for Mississippi governors to push major incentives for corporations through the Legislature, at least since the Nissan auto plant deal in 2000. Citing the need for secrecy to complete such deals and prevent other states from swiping them, governors and their economic development teams have often provided scant details to only a handful of others before the deals are agreed to.
Nearly three years into his first term, this is Reeves’ first major economic development and incentives deal, but his predecessors, including Gov. Phil Bryant, had several such deals, including the Continental Tire plant near Clinton in 2016.
Some such mega-deals, such as the Nissan plant, have created thousands of sustained jobs for Mississippians and spinoff growth. Others have been taxpayer-funded boondoggles.
Scratching for jobs and development for a poor state, governors and lawmakers over many years have provided dozens of tax breaks, credits and incentives for new or expanding businesses. Lack of oversight on the incentives has in the past resulted in businesses taking the incentives then defaulting on providing promised jobs and investments, leaving the state on the hook for millions with little way to recoup.
Around 2010, the state gave seven “green” energy companies more than $400 million in loans and incentives on the promise of them creating at least 5,000 jobs. Instead, many of the companies failed or floundered, creating a little over 600 jobs. KiOR, a company pledging to make cheap bio-crude, received about $75 million in loans and other state incentives, but went bankrupt leaving taxpayers a $69 million bill.
Nearly two decades ago, the state saw the famous “beef plant scandal,” where a Yalobusha County beef processing plant heavily subsidized by the state cost taxpayers millions when it went belly-up after just three months.
In a recent report on economic development programs and tax incentives, the state Institutions of Higher Learning reported that of 20 state incentives it examined for 2020, only nine “generated a positive return on the state’s investment and two generated a negative return.” Others had not been used in recent years, and “five could not be analyzed because of insufficient information.”
It noted that the Department of Revenue had no info available on how much tax breaks for the Tourism Tax Rebate Program had cost in forgone taxes, despite 11 projects receiving the rebates, including the Biloxi and Pearl baseball stadiums, a children’s museum, the outlet mall at Pearl and the King Edward Hotel in downtown Jackson.
HATTIESBURG — Seconds after Tiffany Murray says she was sexually harassed by a man who dialed 1-800-Medicare, she was supposed to be ready for the next caller.
Murray, 37, said she didn’t have the time to collect herself after the first time he called. Or when he called again the next day.
He wanted to know how she looked in stockings, Murray recalled. He called her slurs. She said she heard him pleasuring himself on the other end.
“I had no time to recover from that,” she told Mississippi Today. “There is no time in between.”
Because when one call ends, another one is almost always waiting – no matter how cruel or inappropriate the previous customer was, according to Maximus call center workers who spoke with Mississippi Today.
Murray is one of hundreds of federally contracted workers employed by Maximus’ Hattiesburg office. She was also one of more than 200 workers who went on strike outside of the call center Tuesday. It was the fourth strike Maximus workers have held since the beginning of the year. Workers spent the morning calling for $25-an-hour pay, more support from supervisors, and better protection from abusive callers.
Tuesday marked the start of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, which is one of the main agencies for which Maximus workers take customer calls. That means workers are entering their busiest time of the year managing 50 to 100 callers or more a day.
Calls can last a few minutes or more than an hour.
“We are never supposed to just hang up on people,” Murray said, referring to abusive callers. “We have to make a continued effort to give them a chance to correct their behavior.”
Murray and other workers said they are directed to give three warnings before hanging up – something Maxius said in a statement is not required.
Murray said when she reported the man who was sexually inappropriate, her supervisor didn’t react. In a statement, Maximus said workers can end a call “immediately” if a caller is “persistently inappropriate or obscene.”
Workers want up to 30 minutes they can use over an eight-hour shift to take short breaks between calls – time to collect their thoughts, recover from an abusive caller, or take notes about a particular incident.
Maximus says its break schedule has enough flexibility as is: Workers are given two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch.
“Maximus respects the dignity and wellbeing of our employees,” the company said in its statement. “While we haven’t seen evidence of a growing trend in abusive or obscene calls, we have a very clear Standard Operating Procedure to protect our employees when we occasionally receive such calls.”
Zach Harper, a customer service representative (CSR), joined other Maximus CSR workers who went on strike today in Hattiesburg, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Maximus workers are not formally unionized but have been organizing on and off for the last several years. Efforts peaked this year, with Tuesday’s strike being their highest attended so far.
Keaira Mark, 23, is looking for a second job because her rent is about to go up $100 a month. The Hattiesburg resident has been working at Maximus for almost three years, handling phone calls for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“If I miss even an hour of work (at Maximus), I’d be this close to missing rent and risk being evicted,” Mark said, while holding her pointer finger and thumb barely an inch apart.
She is seeking out a part-time food delivery job to supplement her income so she has at least a small cushion.
“I wish I could focus on bettering my career,” she said, “but I’m just trying to find another job to pay the bills.”
About 650 workers handed in pledges to strike across four Maximus locations Tuesday, according to the Call Center Workers of America union. Half of them signed in to strike in Hattiesburg, according to the union. Workers met outside the call center off Highway 49 to march at 8 a.m. before gathering near the office’s parking lot.
Some workers chanted from nearby parking lots, keeping guard of their vehicles as tow trucks lurked. One car was towed from the Maximus parking lot, dragged across the pavement in front of a wall of protestors dressed in red.
Workers have already had some success in pushing the company to lower health care deductibles – though most are still calling for better coverage.
“Maximus welcomes the opportunity to work directly with our employees and discuss and hopefully resolve their concerns,” the company said in a statement. “Over the past several years, Maximus has improved pay and compensation, reduced employees’ out-of-pocket health care expenses and improved work processes and safety. We continue to look for ways to assure that Maximus is an employer of choice.”
During the height of the pandemic, their hourly pay was bumped to $15 an hour. The pay hike came into effect just before President Joe Biden’s executive order required all federally contracted workers to be paid at that rate.
Workers say their job requires a set of skills deserving of a wage increase. Workers are regularly helping callers navigate complex government programs such as Medicare and the health insurance marketplace. They say they deserve wages that more closely match those of federal employees who aren’t working for contract companies – especially as inflation continues to push up the cost of living.
Energy was high Tuesday. Even workers who didn’t strike drove by honking their horns in support.
Murray, the Medicare line worker, strolled around the gathered group with a portable microphone and speaker on wheels, hyping up coworkers. She encouraged them to share their own stories by chanting “let’s talk about it.”
“We want change,” Murray bellowed into her mic. “And we don’t mean pennies.”
All reader donations made Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar thanks to the generosity of the Maddox Foundation, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation’s education program. All grants have been made to help bolster Mississippi Today’s participation in NewsMatch, a national fundraising campaign to support local, nonprofit journalism.
“These three matching grants allow us to offer our largest match yet, $50,000, to help maximize the gifts of our loyal readers and fuel the work of our incredible team of reporters,” said Mary Margaret White, Mississippi Today CEO. “I’m so proud of our team and their hard work in 2022, and support from these three tremendous organizations further validates the value of local nonprofit news in Mississippi.”
Maddox Foundation was founded by Dan Maddox in 1968. He and his wife, Margaret Maddox, had a commitment to young people, a love of nature and a vision for making their corner of the world a better place. Maddox Foundation President Robin Hurdle has continued their legacy, which lives on through the current work of the foundation.
Maddox Foundation, located in Hernando, has made many signature investment grants into youth development. These investments include renovating and supporting the Margaret Maddox Family YMCA; putting an internet-connected computer in every public classroom in Mississippi; creating innovative places for children to learn and play; establishing the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi; and funding the Education Director position and the MTV exhibit at the Grammy Museum Mississippi.
The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation (JLFF), based in Berkeley, CA, supports organizations that advance social justice by promoting world-changing work in investigative journalism, the arts, documentary film and democracy. As a small foundation, JLFF’s investment in NewsMatch allows the Foundation to make a difference across the entire field of local investigative journalism.
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