Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1190168
wbjournal.com | December 9, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com A division of: Worcester Business Journal WBJ Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher education, health care) Staff Writer Thomas Grillo, tgrillio@wbjournal.com (Real estate, manufacturing) Contributors Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon, Sarah Connell Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle, tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Distribution and Database Coordinator A Guide to STUFF, a publication of New England Business Media Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com F or a second, let's put aside all the political issues surrounding the U.S. immigration debate: cultural clashes, language bar- riers, children in cages, forced Mexican refugee camps, the wall. Strictly looking at the numbers, the U.S. can't continue to have the world's No. 1 economy with the world's No. 3 popula- tion without relying on outsiders coming in to help. China has nearly 1.4 billion people – more than triple America's 332 million – and its economy now ranks second in the world with a projected $16 trillion in gross domestic product for 2020 (vs. $22 trillion for the U.S.). If the U.S. continues down its path of shunning immigrants of all talents and backgrounds, in order to maintain its spot as the global economic leader, the country will have to rely on its workforce just to work harder (super duper harder). Or, maybe (and I'm just thinking out loud here), the U.S. could stop turning away people because they look, talk and act differently than us. e U.S. unemploy- ment rate is 3.6%, and in Massachusetts, it's 2.9%. Businesses are having a hard time finding workers. A wave of immigrants coming isn't going to take jobs away from U.S. citizens; they are going to shore up areas where we need the extra help. e fastest-growing job in Massachu- setts between now and 2026 is expected to be home health aides, according to the state Executive Office of Labor & Work- force Development. Yet, with a 2018 salary of $30,830, it is one of the lowest-paying jobs. If we let them in the door, these jobs with lower education requirements can be filled by immigrants who may be coming from poorer backgrounds. On the other end of the skills-and-sal- ary spectrum, News Editor Grant Welker reports in his Page 8 story "Keeping the best foreign talent" Central Mass. businesses are among the national leaders in using the H-1B visa program, where employers hire international workers when they can't find U.S. citizens with the appropriate skills. Yet, the process of getting these visas has become much more arduous under President Donald Trump. Your business won't thrive if you ignore the talent of half the population and hire only men. You will fall behind your com- I N T H I S I S S U E petitors if you ignore the benefits brought by having a racially diverse workforce. And, we can't continue to be the best busi- ness nation if we shut the door to people who want to help us. - Brad Kane, editor The new U.S. immigration policy is just so stupid Your business may be young, but you've got big plans. The local lenders at Webster Five can help you get there with fast, flexible, hassle-free commercial loans. When you're ready to grow, we're ready to go. Member FDIC Member DIF NO DETAIL TOO SMALL. NO DREAM TOO BIG. IF THIS IS YOU, THEN THIS IS YOUR BANK. Visit web5.com or call 800.696.9401 WEBSTER • DUDLEY • OXFORD • AUBURN • WORCESTER • SHREWSBURY NMLS #523049 NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 4 Central Mass. In Brief 8 Focus on Immigrants 16 The List: Top minority-owned businesses 18 Know How 19 Movers & Shakers 20 Photo Finish 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: Pattie Hallberg, Girl Scouts 6 Investors seeking Worcester multi-families Priced out of Greater Boston, real estate professionals are driving up demand and prices in Worcester. 17 Empathy improves business In her Outside the Box column, Bonnie J. Walker says teaching employees empathy for each other will lead to more productive and happier workforces. CORRECTION In the chart about the fastest-growing jobs in Massachusetts over the next two years appearing in the Nov. 4 Fact Book: Doing Business in Central Mass. publication, the projections shown are from 2018. W