S.C. Johnson & Son awarded for being family-friendly
Racine-based S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. ranks among the top 10 of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," according to Working Mother magazine.
S.C. Johnson is the only Wisconsin-based company on this year’s list of "family-friendly" companies.
"S.C. Johnson is committed to creating an all-inclusive, family-friendly work environment," said Fisk Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of S.C. Johnson. "This honor acknowledges the culture we have maintained for more than 122 years; a culture where people feel good coming to work because they know they will be treated with respect, integrity and fairness. On behalf of S.C. Johnson, we applaud all the companies on the list who understand the importance of advancing the standard of worklife programs and policies."
In bestowing this year’s top honors, Working Mother gave particular weight to the areas of new mothers’ lactation rooms and lactation pump compensation. The magazine also took into consideration family-friendly programs, child care, company culture, advancement of women and compensation.
In 2007, S.C. Johnson completed an expansion project at the company’s Childcare Learning Center, one of the nation’s first childcare centers for the exclusive use of its employees and their families. The addition is 9,600 square feet and includes 10 new classrooms, a sunroom for reading and group activities and a conference room for parent-teacher conferences. This initiative helps ensure that employees’ children will not have to be placed on a waiting list.
"The economy is not going to alter the commitment of S.C. Johnson to working mothers, because they’ve made family-friendly policies a part of their corporate DNA," said Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Media. "Supporting families is a vital part of their culture and not just an added benefit."
The 100 best companies will be honored in October during a special ceremony at the WorkLife Congress in New York. The complete list of the 2008 Working Mother "100 Best Companies" can be viewed at www.workingmother.com.
Federal grant to help retrain displaced GM workers in Janesville
Wisconsin’s First District Congressman Paul Ryan recently joined the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Agency (EDA) to announce a grant to Rock County and Forward Janesville Inc. to support their regional economic initiatives in the aftermath of General Motors Corp.’s closure of its assembly plant in Janesville.
The EDA grant will provide $450,000 to assist in the transition and retraining of regionally displaced workers, as well as to assist redevelopment initiatives proposed by local leaders.
"The local leaders in Janesville and Rock County have put together a forward-looking economic development plan for the region, and this grant will go a long way in supporting these efforts," said Ryan. "This has been a gut-wrenching summer for southern Wisconsin, and today’s announcement provides our community with much-needed support. I remain firmly optimistic that Janesville’s best days are ahead."
The EDA serves as a venture capital resource to meet the economic development needs of distressed communities throughout the United States.
"Communities that work together to create dynamic regional economies that foster innovation and competitiveness are the key to America’s continued success as the leader of the 21st century global economy," said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Benjamin Erulkar. "This EDA investment will help provide the critical staff needed to implement the Rock County 2020 Economic Development Plan."
WE Energies offers outage alerts for businesses
WE Energies now offers outage alerts for commercial customers, which provide emails about the occurrence, status and resolution of power outages. The emails can be sent to computers, PDAs, cell phones or pagers. Multiple recipients from the same account can receive the same alerts.
The service is free. For more information or to enroll, click here.
