Manufacturing | Diversity
Tri-City leaders offer tips to foster workplace LGBTQIA+ inclusivity
PFLAG’s Benton-Franklin chapter offers several training sessions every month for employers Janie Romine remembers the time she was counseled by administrators against openly talking about her gay son with her colleagues. It taught her a valuable lesson: the workplace is not inclusive and supportive by default. “That was a glaring example of discrimination of just…
Tri-City area women not (yet) holding up half of the business sky
By D. Patrick Jones “Women hold up half the sky,” Chairman Mao Zedong famously uttered, when discussing the role of women in the Chinese revolution. Since then, the phrase has become a rallying point for many women. Do they hold up half of the economic sky in the greater Tri-Cities? Some data are available to…
Understanding generational differences improves company culture
By Danielle Kane We’ve all heard the stereotypes: millennials are entitled. Gen Xers are slackers. Baby Boomers can’t adapt. And Gen Z? So far, the youngest generation to enter the work force has been pigeon-holded as “too obsessed with themselves to produce quality work.” But, when we dig deeper, we find that the labels that…
Washington among best states for female entrepreneurs
The Evergreen State is among the top 10 best states for female entrepreneurs. That’s according to FitSmallBusiness.com, a digital business publication. Washington ranked No. 4 on the list after Texas (No. 1), Ohio (No. 2) and Minnesota (No. 3). FitSmallBusiness.com said the state is well positioned to be the next Silicon Valley, thanks to big…
Q&A with Kimberly L. Harper
Columbia Basin College’s 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award winner Company/business/agency: U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science – Pacific Northwest Site Office/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (DOE-SC/PNNL) Tell us about your team: PNSO is a small staff of 30-plus people. I work with a team of five scientists and engineers. Brief background about your…
Manufacturing jobs on the rise in Benton, Franklin counties
Regional manufacturing jobs to grow 1.84 percent this year Manufacturing jobs in Benton and Franklin counties are expected to grow at a faster rate than the state average as food manufacturing rebounds in 2019. Locally, there are more than 8,100 manufacturing jobs, which accounts for about 7 percent of total nonfarm employment in 2018, according…
Richland company adds new manufacturing plant, robotic automation
Plastic Injection Molding expansion allows for improved capacity, speed A north Richland company is poised for growth with the addition of a new 28,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in the back of its existing building that includes a 4,000-square-foot mezzanine. Plastic Injection Molding Inc. manufactures filter body parts for agricultural irrigation, special parts for medical diagnostic equipment,…
PNNL collaborates with medical isotope producers
Partnership to ensure continued nuclear explosion monitoring Medical isotopes are used daily around the world to visualize and diagnose cancer, heart disease and other serious ailments. However, their production can emit gasses that, while posing no danger to the public, have features that look similar to those produced by a nuclear explosion. The Department of Energy’s Pacific…
Diversity vibrant in Tri-City population but not so much in economy
By D. Patrick Jones Diversity comes in many dimensions — gender, sexual preference, racial/ethnic makeup, to name a few. This column takes up one — racial and ethnic diversity — in part because it tells such an interesting story for the two counties. First, let’s state the obvious: Benton and Franklin counties show unique racial…
Pasco works to identify historic African American sites
The city of Pasco is working quickly to identify historic African American buildings and locations of significance in the community before they’re lost to city growth. “It just seemed like it was prime time, if you will, to capitalize on this opportunity and preserve the history of this community,” said Tanya Bowers, project manager for…
