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V O L . X X V I N O. X I V J U N E 2 9 , 2 0 2 0 10 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E established three new fixed wireless network sites that add services in Rumford, Livermore Falls and North Jay. Activation of the sites brings broadband access, at 25 megabits per second, to 7,400 new households and 900 previously unserved locations, ac- cording to a news release. BIW workers call first strike in 20 years Bath Iron Works' largest labor union has called its first strike in 20 years, and began picketing outside the shipyard on June 22. e International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers Local S6, representing about 4,300 of BIW's 6,800 employees, launched the job walk- out at 12:01 a.m. after voting overwhelm- ingly to reject a new contract proposal from the yard's owner, Virginia-based defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD). A proposed three- year agreement has been the subject of heated bargaining since May 26, with Local S6 objecting to BIW's wishes to alter job seniority privileges and to use non union subcontractors. e last strike by Local S6 was in 2000, and lasted for nearly two months. Since its founding in 1884, Bath Iron Works has built over 400 ships, most for the U.S. Navy, including dozens of DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. e average annual base wage for BIW production workers is $49,480. N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T The U.S. Navy awarded Bath Iron Works a $43 million contract modification to a previously awarded contract for lead yard services for the DDG-51-class destroyer program. The modification provides engineering and technical assistance for the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and tasks include planning and DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class Flight III upgrade design efforts. Pandemic's effect on economy being felt in different ways B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f V arious reports in recent weeks are showing the longer term impact of COVID-19 on Maine's economy. The impact on retailers and restaurants has been appar- ent for some time, but now we're getting a fuller sense of the loss of hotel tax revenue as well as the potential impact of colleges operating at reduced levels. An analysis by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Oxford Economics showed that Maine stands to lose $65.9 million from state and local tax coffers this year due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on hotel operations. The sharp drop in travel caused by the pandemic will drastically reduce tax revenue from lodging, sales, gaming, personal income and corporate income, as well as taxes paid for unemployment insurance and other government programs. That means Maine could be short $40 million in lodg- ing taxes that would typically have been incurred, and will also lose out on an estimated $16.8 million from legalized gambling proceeds. The figures do not include the property taxes generated by hotels. Nationally, the hotel industry directly generated nearly $40 billion in state and local tax revenue across the country in 2018. But the pandemic and resulting public health restric- tions have led many lodging establishments to close at least temporarily, and forced many guests to cancel bookings. "With the impact to the travel sector nine times worse than 9/11, hotels need support to keep our doors open and retain employees as we work toward recovery," said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The downturn has spurred a group of Maine's tourism and hospitality businesses to propose an emergency plan for the industry, to be paid for with $800 million from the state's federal funding from the CARES Act. 'Town-and-gown' impact Another area of concern for the economy will be a decline in spending related to college campuses. The latest school to announce restrictions was Bowdoin College, which has 1,830 students and is a mainstay for Brunswick's economy. On June 22, it said it would welcome first-year students and transfers, but most sophomores, juniors and seniors will study remotely. Most classes will be offered online. Maine's 38 colleges and universities have 72,600 students and 20,000 employees, including student workers. They have an estimated economic impact of $4.5 billion, including the multiplier effect of spending by students, employees and visi- tors to the state, according to the University of Maine System. Bowdoin, a private liberal arts college, attracts students from around the world. Last year, its tuition was $55,822, with room and board and other fees bringing the total to $73,800 for the academic year. This semester, on-campus students will pay $33,935, while off-campus students will pay a fee of $27,911. Bowdoin, which announced its plans in a letter from President Clayton Rose posted on its website, expects to have "a substantial budget deficit this next year, likely the largest we have ever had by a significant margin," he wrote. Bowdoin does not plan staff furloughs. As part of cost- cutting procedures, senior officers will see a 10% reduction in salary; Rose himself took a 20% cut, he said. Contributions to the retirement fund were cut by 50% for next year. Hourly workers will see a "modest increase" in wages, with the college honoring its commitment to increase the minimum wage to $14, he said. Bowdoin had an endowment of $1.74 billion as of June 30, 2019, though Rose did not indicate whether that would be used. B I Z M O N E Y With the impact to the travel sector nine times worse than 9/11, hotels need support to keep our doors open and retain employees as we work toward recovery. — Chip Rogers American Hotel & Lodging Association $1M earmarked for mill redevelopment Five communities in Somerset, Aroostook and Penobscot coun- ties that have been hit by timber mill shutdowns will share more than $1 million from groups work- ing to diversify and develop the state's wood products industry. e FOR/Maine coalition and Maine Development Foundation grants are designed to attract capital investments and develop economic prosperity for rural communities. e five communities are Ashland, which will get $150,000 to develop a Structural Round Timber market that will serve the East Coast; East Millinocket, which will get $210,000 to stabilize the former Great Northern Paper mill cam- pus, including repairing several structures; Lincoln, which will get $185,000 to redevelop the Lincoln Paper & Tissue mill site. Madison, which will get $400,000 to rede- velop the Somerset County site for a new use of the site by GO Labs; and Millinocket, which will get $216,090 for energizing the substa- tion on the brownfield portion of the Great Northern Paper site. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant announced it is now pow- ered 100% by solar energy after Sundog Solar in Searsport com- pleted the installation of 112 solar panels on three rooftops, including its iconic barn. The University of Maine at Presque Isle is scheduled to introduce its new bachelor of science in health admin- istration this fall. The program, which focuses on developing administrative and organizational skills for leading health agencies as well as under- standing and addressing community- level health issues and their impacts, includes two concentrations, communi- ty health and health informatics, both of which are subdisciplines of public health, with an emphasis on rural com- munity health. M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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