By Samantha Maziarz Christmann
Assemblyman Sean Ryan joined local community activists in the Town of Tonawanda on Friday to call for reform of the way industrial development agencies operate.
The group gathered outside Science Kit on East Park Drive, which closed and terminated 41 jobs Tuesday, just days after a 15-year package of tax benefits from the Erie County IDA expired.
While parent company VWR is terminating 41 jobs in Tonawanda, it is adding seven jobs to its Ward’s Natural Science plant in the Monroe County. For that, it is receiving tax breaks from Monroe’s IDA.
But critics say VWR is just shifting work from one New York county to another and eliminating jobs after years of taking taxpayer money. They have asked the County of Monroe IDA to take its tax breaks off the table, saying there is actually a net loss in jobs rather than growth, and that VWR has a history of hopscotching from county to county, taking millions of taxpayer dollars without delivering on its promises of jobs.
“It doesn’t lead to true economic growth,” Ryan said. “And every one of us taxpayers is paying [for companies like VWR] to shuffle the pieces around.”
The situation with VWR is just the “latest and most egregious example” of companies gaming a broken system, according to Richard Lipsitz, president of the WNY Area Labor Federation.
He said the IDAs, which are meant to develop struggling economies, actually contribute to the region’s decline by bankrupting taxpayers and giving little more than lip service in return.
“This is part of a bigger problem. If corporations don’t start paying their fair share and delivering on their promises, then we need to start taking our money back,” said Creighton Randall, a board member at the Coalition for Economic Justice.
Ryan said IDAs have created an unlevel playing field for businesses.
“We’re supposed to have competition among businesses. What we’ve got is competition among IDAs,” Ryan said. “The most successful businesses are supposed to rise to the top. But now, whatever business attracts the most subsidies rises to the top.”
Ryan said he will be meeting with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to look at ways to “rein in IDAs” and to find alternate methods of “fostering true growth.”
Ryan said Cuomo’s formation of regional councils — which competed together for project money that would benefit the entire region — shows that he understands the “inefficiency and ineffectiveness” of IDAs.
“It’s obvious to me that Gov. Cuomo specifically excluded the IDAs from the process,” Ryan said. “The governor knows they have failed in their mission of economic development.”
Ryan joined the Coalition for Economic Justice, Citizen Action, Alliance for Quality Education, WNY Area Labor Federation, Teamsters Joint Council 46, Communications Workers of America Local 1122 and the Civil Service Employees Association in calling for IDA reform.
VWR reported sales in excess of $3.6 billion for 2010. Owned by Chicago private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners, it employs more than 7,000 people in 25 countries around the globe. Science Kit makes educational science products for teachers.
VWR and the County of Monroe IDA did not return requests to comment.