One of My Many Jobs. When I Was a State Worker...

I worked for the Milrite Council...we were a staff of four.

I used to love seeing the ceiling murals in the Finance Building every day. Those were worth waking up early for.

Here's the background on us.

Pennsylvania State Archives


RG-80
Records of the MILRITE
(Making Industry and Labor Right in Today's Economy)
COUNCIL




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The MILRITE Council was created by a statute of July 1, 1978, operated for sixteen and a half years, and was terminated, as scheduled, on December 31, 1994. MILRITE is an acronym for "Making Industry and Labor Right in Today's Economy." It was a quasi-public economic development agency consisting of a fifteen-member board which had five appointees each from: industry (from names chosen by the Chamber of Business and Industry), labor (nominees named by the Pennsylvania AFL/CIO), and state government (four legislators and one direct gubernatorial appointee). Meeting monthly at first, after about 1992 the board met bimonthly. All decisions required eight positive votes. The staff was always small. Originally there were only four positions, but as the legislature enlarged the responsibilities staff was increased and supplemented by consultants. The legislature hoped MILRITE would improve the state's economy by creating labor-management cooperation in conjunction with government planning and direct material support. Labor-management cooperation was expected to reduce the amount of time wasted in labor strife and workers' sour attitudes. MILRITE never engaged in working conditions disagreements although it evaluated the efficiency of other state services that did so. It was best known for suggesting and outlining the Ben Franklin Partnership Trust, which became the center piece of the Thornburgh administration's economic assistance and shift to high tech emphasis, and was continued as an important part of the Casey administration's economic support network. In 1984, the General Assembly mandated that MILRITE set up and administer "Area Labor Management Committees" (ALMCs) wherever need existed, awarding grants for those purposes. The number of ALMCs rose to 14, although by 1993 only 11 remained. In addition to saving floundering businesses and starting new ones, the ALMC committees were expected to increase worker efficiency through training and morale boosting. A Sunset Act audit of mid-1989 was critical of MILRITE, especially of the ALMC program, and asked for better work. MILRITE's other accomplishments included: pushing legislation that allowed the state's two big pension funds (State Employee Retirement and Public School Retirement) to invest in venture capital instruments; designing the Pennsylvania Private Placement Separate Account which brought CIGNA's financial expertise to the aid of small businesses; developing a state technology transfer program; and developing the state's employee ownership assistance program. After MILRITE was dissolved, many of its grant administering duties and the supervision of the ALMCs were assumed by the Department of Labor and Industry's Office of Labor Management Cooperation.

A more detailed history of this Council is available.