Mar 19, 2016 2 min read

You don’t have to be a genius to see that big energy companies are laying off employees left and right. Pennsylvania won’t enjoy the billions of investment dollars it has received from companies developing shale gas. These are facts, and they hurt.

However, let’s focus on the hundreds of Pennsylvania businesses employing thousands in the shale gas supply chain.

Our company employs 70 Pennsylvanians, and 85 percent of our workforce is blue collar. Our employees and their families live in towns like Belle Vernon, Connellsville, Monongahela, New Castle and Uniontown.

We’ve postponed 2016 capital projects and can’t hire an additional 20 employees. And we are not alone. If they were to be imposed, additional taxes on the shale industry would be coming at a terrible time. This commonwealth competes for energy investment dollars, plain and simple. How can small business in Pennsylvania grow when additional taxes will further stifle investment?

I’ve always admired elected officials who say they are for “the working man.” Now is the time for these elected officials to “man up” and join the fight. They need to be accountable and provide a responsible and competitive fiscal framework that doesn’t require Pennsylvania workers to fight with two hands tied behind their backs.

Nicholas S. Haden

Bridgeville

Haden is the vice president for marketing and governmental affairs for Reserved Environmental Services in Bridgeville.