(dramatic music) - [Lorraine Rivera] Expanding efforts in Southern Arizona to educate the next generation of trade laborers.

- All of the programs in our division are in high demand.

- [Lorraine Rivera] Threat posed by the spread of a more contagious variant of the Corona virus.

- Which eventually will catch up with almost everyone who is not vaccinated.

- [Lorraine Rivera] And what Arizonans can expect from newly passed tax cuts.

- And amounts to the biggest tax cut Arizona has seen in years.

(dramatic music) - Hello and welcome to Arizona 360.

I'm Lorraine Rivera.

Thanks so much for joining us.

The pandemic forced tens of millions of Americans out of the workforce.

Now, as the economy recovers, their help is wanted again, but some employers are struggling to hire.

As Tony Paniagua reports, demand is especially high for skilled trade workers.

- [Tony Paniagua] Cade Industries is a Tucson-based, homegrown metal fabrication company.

It was established in the 1940s (sparks crackling) and has continued to expand throughout the decades.

The company depends on hundreds of qualified employees to accomplish its mission.

(machine whirring) Sharon Niekamp is one of them.

She's based in the welding area.

A relatively new environment for her and very different from her previous profession.

Niekamp used to be (controls beeping) a busy nurse in intensive care.

- Nursing is like (door squeaking) walking into work and putting your head in a vice.

This is nothing like that.

You know, with nursing you're constantly reacting to and trying to mitigate.

- [Tony Paniagua] Niekamp loved helping patients, she says, but her job was requiring (controls beeping) an ever-growing amount of paperwork each day.

After 20 years in that field, she was ready for a change.

It involved challenges.

(door clicking) - After I became a homeowner I kind of was looking into different paths and had become more hands-on because you have to.

And I thought, oh, it be really nice to be able to stick a couple pieces of metal together.

I could make my own gates, that sort of thing.

So, I decided to enroll for a class at Pima, just thinking it would be, it would be useful and it would be a great hobby.

I fell in love from my first day in the welding booth.

And I said, no, this is what I wanna do.

- [Tony Paniagua] Like many other companies across the country, Cade Industries has a need for machinists, project engineers and maintenance electricians, people in the trades, (sparks crackling) such as Niekamp and her welding skills.

Dirk Schneider (Dirk talking) is one of the managers here.

- It's something that, as we move forward, something that the industry trends have been showing that we're falling short.

So, having individuals (machinery humming) willing to take the necessary steps towards the training, towards the certifications, (sparks crackling) is an extreme benefit to the industry and the company that they're working for.

- [Tony Paniagua] Niekamp's training at Pima Community College is one of dozens of certificate programs that can take from six months to a year to complete, although they can be supplemented with additional education.

This new Automotive Technology and Innovation Center encompasses about (machinery humming) 50,000 square feet.

It is scheduled to open for in-person learning for the fall semester, on August 19th.

Students will get hands-on experience, covering topics, such as engine diagnosis and repair, steering alignment and electric vehicles.

Greg Wilson (men talking in background) is the Dean of Applied Technology at the college.

- And I actually had an earlier conversation.

We're looking at bringing in a kit, so students can actually learn how to do conversions from internal combustion engines to electric.

And we're always looking to see what can we offer that will better prepare students for the different types of careers that are out there.

This is one of the three OEM areas, Original Equipment Manufacturers.

So, this room in particular, we recently signed a contract with Ford Motor Company out of Detroit.

And so we will deliver (hydraulics whining) Ford-specific training in this room.

- [Tony Paniagua] PCC also received millions of dollars from the State to expand its other trades programs.

New buildings will offer more space and opportunities for additional students (signal beeping) in areas such as CAD, Computer Aided Design and HVAC, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.

- Students that have technical skill sets, whether it's automotive, HVAC, for example, design in our CAD program, certainly welding (machinery humming) and machining, (sparks crackling) all of the programs in our division are in high demand.

(object squeaking) (man talking in background) - [Tony Paniagua] So is aviation technology and that's where 21-year-old (signal beeping) Jose Perez is planning to soar.

- And I've heard about it (signal beeping) through a couple of my family members at first that have been through this program and have had major success and hopes for me going through it and finishing everything that it plays out for me as well.

- [Tony Paniagua] Perez prefers working with his hands, moving around instead of sitting at an office in front of a computer.

(man talking in background) He's not interested in a traditional four-year university.

- Even for example, (chattering in background) people on my job, they've had a bachelor's degree in some crazy degree.

They'd been school for six years and they're stuck working at a restaurant.

So, and I figured in aviation, there's a lot of job opportunities, even right after school.

- [Tony Paniagua] For Sharon Niekamp, her bachelor's in nursing was desirable and profitable.

(gear clacking) Still, she took a pay cut to enter this field.

No regrets, she says.

- The trades are wide open, there are jobs available, especially for women.

(machine whirring) You know, more women need to consider themselves in these roles.

You don't need massive brute strength to be a welder.

I think it took age and maturity to be able to look at myself a different way and say, you know, I think from a personal standpoint, maybe this would be a better fit.

And it definitely has been.

I wish I had done it a long time ago.

(Sharon laughs) - The latest unemployment figures put Arizona's jobless rate at 6.7%, slightly above the national average.

The trades are one of the many industries with openings.

For insight into the fuller picture and how labor shortages are impacting the state's business landscape we turned to Danny Seiden, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

- We're no different than the rest of the country in this area.

However, I would address one particular area.

You know, I'm new in the job.

I've had a couple different conversations.

Healthcare, (people chattering) we have an acute shortage right now, of nurses, and that's probably because of the pandemic in particular.

These were heroes, (lady laughing) frontline workers who are suffering a lot of burnout and our hospitals and their CEOs are being very innovative in how they're trying to address this.

Lorraine, they're seeking out-of-state workers and out-of-state nurses, out-of-state doctors.

The Governor and legislature have waived a lot of licensing requirements, allowing people to come in across state lines to address that.

When you hear about occupational licensing reform, it might not sound like this really fun, exciting idea, but that's how you address this in one way, is you allow people to come in from out other states.

We have the jobs here.

What we need are the workforce.

- If programs and supports, financial supports are in place, why does it seem to continue lagging?

Is it because people simply don't want to do that type of work?

- I'm never going to say that people would rather stay home than go get a job.

We had this unprecedented time in our country, where we're going through a pandemic and more money was coming in for unemployment benefits, people weren't leaving their houses, lifestyles were changing and I think our country just went through a really challenging time.

And so, now I think we'll see a re-evaluation of priorities.

As I said before, I think employers can get very innovative, whether the offerings are, not just signing bonuses, but the ability to work from home, childcare.

It's a workers' market.

It's a buyers' market.

So, I think employers are gonna have to do what they can to get people through the door.

- If there is a labor shortage in certain industries, does that impact whether or not a business wants to relocate or start its work here in the State of Arizona?

- Yes.

I have not heard that from any business so far.

And I'm involved with the ACA in Sandra Watson at the Commerce Authority pretty closely.

And when it comes to business relocation, they're at the forefront of that battle.

And our universities have stepped up to the plate.

We are graduating thousands upon thousands of engineers to meet the demand of these companies that are coming here now.

- So, bottom line, I mean, there is a need all across the nation, but you're particularly proud of the efforts here in Arizona to meet those challenges and to get people into the workforce?

- Absolutely.

I have a lot of members who are in the home building workforce, who are in the commercial building workforce, and they talk about all the time for the need for laborers, for the need for skilled workforce.

And they are paying (machinery humming) top-market price right now.

And it does trickle down to consumers.

It's unfortunate, in one aspect, if you're trying to buy a house right now, but if you're a homeowner, you're seeing that the value of your home go up.

So, there are two sides to that point.

You know, people vote with their feet.

You've heard that when it comes to where you wanna live and people are voting on Arizona right now.

It's a great place.

They know there's opportunity here and that's driven, in large part, by our policies and by our people.

We demonstrate warmth to everyone who comes here.

Not just by our weather, by our people too.

- All right, Danny Seiden from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, thank you.

- Thank you so much, Lorraine.

Thanks for having me.

(suspenseful music) - This week, Pima County rescinded its COVID-19 emergency resolution.

The Board of Supervisors enacted it in March of last year.

It allowed the county to require masks and limit crowd sizes.

More than 60% of people in Pima County who are old enough to receive the vaccine, are fully vaccinated.

But for those who remain un-vaccinated, including children, the so-called Delta variant presents a threat as it becomes a dominant strain across the U.S. We discussed the risks with University of Arizona epidemiologists, Michael Worobey.

- Yeah, this variant, most likely arose in India.

That's where it was found first and it was involved in one of their earlier intense waves and has spread all around the world now.

In the UK, for example, it wiped out the previous high transmissibility variant, the Alpha variant, really in a matter of weeks and it's on its way to doing the same thing in the U.S. now.

- If you are not vaccinated, as I understand it, you are more at risk of contracting this variant, is that correct?

- Yeah, and I would say it's kind of a tale of two populations, that if you're vaccinated, (people chattering) even though the vaccine is slightly less protective against catching this more contagious variant of the COVID-19 virus, you're still very, very well protected against severe outcomes, being hospitalized, or dying.

And so, those people who are vaccinated are in pretty good shape and need not hit the panic button with this virus.

But if you're not vaccinated, this virus is still out there.

It's spreading very quickly.

And if you do get infected with this, or your family members get infected with this, it is more severe than the viruses that circulated earlier on in the pandemic.

So it really is a... You know, the bottom line is, you don't wanna get this variant.

You wanna get the vaccine so that you are protected against it.

- It seems there are mixed messages when it comes to wearing a mask, whether or not you are vaccinated.

What is your recommendation?

- I would say it makes sense to follow the CDC's recommendations for the most part, but if you are vaccinated, (traffic humming) but for example, you live with someone (people chattering) who is not vaccinated, or someone who is vaccinated, but has conditions like diabetes that could make, even if they're vaccinated, could make their outcome upon infection worse than most people, you may wanna wear a mask (ladies talking) when you go out publicly, especially in indoor spaces, because you can pick this virus up.

Even the earlier variants that were less transmissible, 1 in 20 people who got infected during that study, were people who were vaccinated rather than the placebo group.

- Earlier you mentioned younger people, for example, children under the age of 12, are they at particular risk of contracting this variant?

- They're showing up in higher numbers than with previous variants, but again, most of that I think is just due to (children chattering) this virus is not targeting particular age groups.

It's infecting anyone who is exposed and has, particularly has not been vaccinated and so, the under 12s are in that category.

For most people under 12, (feet clattering) the virus is not causing huge problems, but for a fraction of those people, of those kids, this virus can lead to all sorts of unpleasant symptoms.

- And finally, Dr. Worobey, it seems there are conflicting messages when it comes to the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, the State and County.

What is your advice to people who are not vaccinated, or are wearing a mask and vaccinated, and really struggling with the possibility of another phase of illness running through communities?

- The bottom line here is, we have the tool that can protect, basically everyone from this virus.

And so, (people chattering) get the vaccine.

You know, if you're concerned about the vaccine, the real comparison is not between getting the vaccine and not getting the vaccine.

It's between getting the vaccine and getting hit by this more transmissible, more dangerous variant, which eventually will catch up with almost everyone who is not vaccinated.

It's just a no-brainer in terms of the risks.

The risks of getting this virus, even for younger people, are much, much higher than the very modest risks associated with the vaccine.

- Okay.

Dr. Michael Worobey from the University of Arizona, Thank you.

- Thank you.

(dramatic music) - This month, the City of Tucson's new budget took effect.

The mayor and council gave it unanimous approval in June.

It sets aside tens of millions of dollars for road repairs, community safety programs, and pay raises for city employees.

A statement from Mayor Regina Romero noted that COVID-19 has tested the city's limits.

We discussed how the pandemic has shaped Tucson's current priorities with City Manager, Michael Ortega.

- Clearly, we're very concerned about our finances and our financial situation.

It was something that none of us knew what the impact would be.

What we did is, we immediately started to scale back on expenses, made projections.

We actually had a projection of a 15% reduction of revenues during the last fiscal year.

And we also engaged the Council in a very meaningful way by going to them on a monthly basis with the report.

So, it was a real-time opportunity for them to weigh in, make adjustments, and I'll use the term, on the fly, which, you know, the government is a little bit different 'cause oftentimes what happens is, you establish a budget and that's almost the only time you hear the conversations about the budget until the end of the year and then you get into the next fiscal year.

Revenues were slightly better than we had projected.

And so, we were able to handle the year and the black, which is really a tall order during all the uncertainty.

- Consumer spending habits changed during the pandemic.

How did sales tax revenue fare?

- So, as you know, cities mostly rely on sales tax.

And right before the pandemic, or right before, about a year or so before the pandemic, there was a case law that came into play called the Wayfair case, which basically gave cities and states the opportunity to charge sales tax on internet sales.

And so, because the spending habits went from brick and mortar to online sales, we didn't know what the impact was going to be when it happened.

What we found is that although the spending habit and the way that people purchased goods changed, we were able to continue to see some of the revenue that was coming into the city.

- The City received something like $95 million from the federal government.

What impact did that have?

- So, it was a huge impact.

Mayor Romero and City Council really were very deliberate (lady talking in background) in how those dollars were expended to make the biggest impact possible across the community.

There were social service agencies that were shored up during this time, helping, basically, residents with everything from utility payments to rental assistance, et cetera.

Also gave us opportunity to really look at shoring up some more public safety efforts.

As you know, we had a variety of additional costs.

And when you go from, we'll call it, the good old days, right before the pandemic and everything has to be sanitized and cleaned, everything from playground equipment to offices, to a variety of areas, (bus humming) those costs start to accumulate.

And so, what we were able to do is utilize some of those dollars specifically for that.

Now, ultimately, some of the longer term opportunities were shoring up our broadband and availability of broadband throughout the community.

We're still working on that.

I think that with some of the American Rescue Plan monies, we'll be able to have even more conversation around that and include our private sector partners as well.

- It's somewhat historic, but $14 million for road repair, something that motorists will say is long overdue.

How were you able to make that happen in this budget?

- The majority of road repair money (machinery whirring) comes from gas tax.

Well, we don't normally use, we'll call it (rakes scraping) the operating budget to shore up the roads.

But because we ended the year in the black, the Council immediately, really saw that (traffic humming) as an opportunity to shore up the roads and asked me to really explore a $14 million infusion of dollars for road repair.

And so, really excited about that.

They've actually put into the budget for next year as well, as a placeholder, a similar amount for us to continue to move towards because ultimately the chemistry of how much money we get in for road repair and the needs, it's just such a big difference.

And we're gonna have to do something locally.

And so, this is really the demonstration of leadership by Mayor Romero and City Council, to do exactly that.

- The pandemic is winding down, but far from over.

As we move forward, it's clear that there will still be people who need support.

Is it there?

- As you may be aware, the City is a recipient of some American Rescue Plan money.

We have been earmarked for 139 million or 134 million.

We have received 67 million of that.

Unfortunately, the final guidance on how to use that has not been completed by the federal government, so we're sort of waiting.

We have some preliminary guidance and we're starting to organize ourselves.

But the key is making sure that it is there to support in a sustained way and manner of the needs of this community.

And so, we're still working through that.

We got a few details that were gonna be presenting to the Council on August 10th.

They have already weighed in on some of the preliminary thoughts and we'll be seeing a lot more detail here in the not too distant future.

- Okay, Mike Ortega, City Manager of Tucson, thank you.

- Thank you for having me, I appreciate it.

- With the state government shutdown looming, Governor Ducey signed a budget on June 30th, the last day of the fiscal year.

It concluded a lengthy legislative session that faced numerous hurdles when it came to passing a spending plan.

The final deal included tax cuts that divided lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

For a breakdown we got analysis from Arizona Capitol Times reporter, Julia Shumway.

Julia, this was a long exhaustive session that really went down to the wire.

What would you say was the headline out of this year's session?

- I mean, it's clearly, Godspeed, the tax cuts.

After years of trying, the Senate Republicans, House Republicans, Governor Ducey finally managed to get something that resembles a flat tax and amounts to the biggest tax cut Arizona's seen in years.

It'll add up close to $1.8 billion by the time it's fully phased in.

- It's historic, but already there is some concern that it only benefits the wealthy.

As you have taken a deep dive into the numbers, what does it mean for the average Arizonan?

- So, for the average Arizonan, say you're someone making somewhere between 30,000 and $75,000 a year, a middle-class person, you're going to get somewhere between about 17 and $34 back.

Maybe you can go out, have a nice dinner.

If you're making more than a million dollars a year, you're looking at getting $46,000 back.

So, it is a very big dramatic difference between most Arizonans and those who are the wealthiest.

The argument that conservatives who voted for this tax cut will make, is that those Arizonans who are getting the biggest tax cut also pay the most into our system.

The wealthier you are, the more you pay.

- Now, this tax cut will be phased in over the next three years.

Once Arizona has a new governor, could that person, Democrat, or Republican, shift course and change it?

- This person could, but it would take a lot of work.

So, once you have a tax cut written in law, it's going to take a vote of two thirds of both the State House and the State Senate to undo it, or to turn around and raise taxes in some other way.

And while we may get a democratic governor in the next couple of years, it's very unlikely that we're going to get a two thirds democratic majority in both the House and the Senate.

So, they may be stuck with this.

- Okay, we'll talk politics in a minute.

But first education in public safety, always the biggest pools of the budget.

Where do those two land here at the end of the session?

- It's been a banner year for state finances and so education and public safety, both got pretty substantial amounts of the state budget.

You've got DPS officers, corrections officers are getting raises.

There's more funding for education.

Though, of course, as the governor frequently says, you can never check the box on public education.

(children chattering) There's never going to be enough funding there.

And I think teachers would agree with that, that there's not enough funding for schools, still.

And then when it comes to higher ed, they really benefited from this budget, in part because one Republican Senator held out and refused to vote for a long time.

And so, universities like the University of Arizona and ASU are getting millions of dollars more than they had in previous years.

- This was the slimmest margin the State Capitol has seen in a very long time, probably history.

You would know this the best.

But when it comes to what these lawmakers tell us about the state's political makeup, what does that mean for the landscape looking forward to the next election cycle?

- So, I think the big thing that we saw this year, especially from the state legislature, is that it's a slim margin, but that doesn't mean there's any more bipartisanship.

What you have left, the modern Republicans are gone.

You have left people who need to run to the right, because the only thing they fear is a primary challenge.

And so, the state as a whole, may be trending more purple or blue, but if you have enough Republicans in office being elected from really red parts of the state, we're going to keep having Republican priorities.

- You have Republicans though, who crossed the Alto vote with Democrats this session?

What does that tell you?

- I think that shows, in some cases, that they're standing up to some of their own values.

One of the cases where this was most clear, was with a couple of public school teachers.

Joel John from Buckeye, Michelle Udall, from out in Mesa, both crossed-lined and voted with Democrats to vote against voucher expansion.

And I think their identity (children chattering) is public school teachers and people involved in the education system took precedence over their identity as Republicans in that case.

And other cases, you have folks like Senator Paul Boyer, one of the few remaining Republicans who's representing an area that's growing more and more blue.

He had a democratic seat mate elected this year.

And in some cases it can be a little more, if you're representing an area that's no longer as Republican and you're trying to represent your constituents, you're going to cross the aisle.

- Okay, and finally, Julia, there is some idea that lawmakers take the summer off and go back to their districts and enjoy the warm weather.

Is that really what they do before the next session begins?

- I think some of them are doing that.

Some are out on vacations now.

They were really eager to just end, take some time off, turn off their phones, get back to nature.

But a number of them are still in Phoenix.

This year with the ongoing audit into the 2020 election, you've got a lot more people staying down there hoping to do more work this summer on whatever those audit results show us.

- All right, Julia Shumway, thank you for your reporting and your analysis from the Arizona Capitol Times.

Thank you.

- Thank you.

(screen whooshes out) - That's all for now.

Thanks for joining us.

To get in touch (upbeat music) visit us on social media, or send an email to arizona360@azpm.org and let us know what you think.

We'll see you next week.

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