PA Labor Secretary Tours Montco To Promote Job Growth, Industry

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Pennsylvania's labor secretary paid a visit to Montgomery County last week, touring various communities and speaking about job growth and industry in the third most populous county in the Keystone State.

Jennifer Berrier, who heads up the state's Department of Labor and Industry, joined local State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, on a tour of local businesses in the central and western part of the county.

The tour, according to Ciresi's office, began with a roundtable discussion with multi-generational business owners in the Collegeville and Pottstown areas, and ended with visitations to various businesses and companies in the region.

Ciresi, a member of the House Tourism and Recreation Committee, said he brought Berrier to the region to meet with representatives from the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board and Pottstown Area Economic Development in order to discuss how Montgomery County is using tourism opportunities to celebrate communities, drive job growth and support the overall economy.

"I want to thank Secretary Berrier for coming to our district to meet with the men and women whose businesses and factories are the engine of Montgomery County's economic power," Ciresi said in a statement. "I am especially appreciative of her discussions on how the commonwealth can best support workforce development and industry expansion in the 146th Legislative District. State support of local industries is the key to helping business owners thrive by providing critical resources, training a highly skilled workforce to succeed in profitable industries, and support economic growth in Pennsylvania."

Ciresi said that Berrier used her visit to Pottstown car builder Jamie Orr's workshop to highlight the potential for expanding car manufacturing in Pennsylvania, and she stressed the importance of workforce development for Pennsylvania's economic growth during a stop at Precision Polymer Products, a producer of high-quality rubber products, in western Montgomery County.

Another highlight of the tour, Ciresi said, was a visit to Custer's Garage, where both Ciresi and Berrier had the opportunity to write messages on the side of a school bus that is being donated and shipped by a local bus company to a school district in Ukraine.

Berrier became Pennsylvania's Labor and Industry secretary in late 2020.