Visiting Madison manufacturer Manitou Monday, Congressman Dusty Johnson spoke two phrases that could get him kicked out of the South Dakota Republican Party:
U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, toured the Madison manufacturing plant Monday to learn about the expansion. He said Manitou has set a positive example for other businesses grappling with the workforce shortage.
“They clearly understand that if they want to keep growing, they need to offer great wages,” Johnson said. “And they clearly understand the value of embracing diversity” [Joshua Haiar, “Leaning into Pay and Diversity, Manufacturer Expands amid Workforce Shortage,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2023.06.27].
I’m stunned that our lone Congressman dares say such things in a state where his one-party regime usually resorts to wordplay and gimmicks to avoid talking about pay as the obvious solution to the chronic worker shortage and where the Governor views diversity as a divisive concept.
But evidently Dusty, like Manitou, can’t deny plain economic reality: if French-owned Manitou wants to keep making skid loaders in Madison, it’s got to expand its worker base and pay them well:
Plant manager Jeff Minnaert said the company is trying to distinguish itself by offering the highest wages and most comprehensive benefits packages in the area.
“Our goal is to be the employer of choice,” he said. “If the people here don’t enjoy working here, they’re not going to tell others to work here.”
The company has conducted three pay adjustments in recent years, with workers now ranging from $21 to $30 an hour, depending on experience.
…The company has grown its female employment at the South Dakota plants from 1 to 40 in the last 20 years. And Minnaert said about 25 of the 250 workers at the Madison plant are Hispanic U.S. citizens.
To foster that diversity, Manitou has bilingual employees to help non-English speakers and has converted instructions and signage to pictures rather than words [Haiar, 2023.06.27].
Welcome diversity and share the wealth—that’s the simple yet effective blueprint for economic survival in 21st-century America.
Well done, Manitou. You chose well to put down roots in a town ripe for growth. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I’ve been saying this for years, there is no worker shortage that can’t be addressed with higher pay and better working conditions.
I think we can expect Dusty to run from, if not retract his (mis)statements. Early on, I thought he might have some common sense. He made a couple of statements that departed from the “with me or against me” philosophy of the Republicans party. I’m sure he was take to the back room and had some ‘splainin’ done to him, because it wasn’t long before he was towing the party line.
Congressman Johnson is almost universally known as a “good guy”. Personable and non judgmental, he is up from nowhere, a young man who made his career out of being a willing worker, talented and committed to the task, reliable, and willing to toe the Republican line. His remarks in Madison probably truly reflect his personal feelings about the right way to move South Dakota forward. He is likely repelled by far right wing nonsense infecting the Party. He probably feels he is strong enough to occasionally speak his mind.
Young Mr. Dusty seems a pretty swell fellow to most. I’m sure that is irksome to many, including Mr. H.
That “pretty swell fellow” was a major whip for Kevin McCarthy votes to become Speaker. Mr McCarthy does NOT seem to be a “swell fellow.” Young Mr Dusty may want to check his moral compass to see which direction he wants to go.
Yes Loren, I understand the Congressman’s rising stature within the Party. I am not at all supportive of his slavish duty in the House, but that’s the way the game is played and if you aspire to be a player, you demonstrate your skills at the game. Where this leads Mr. Johnson, is unknown. We can hope it will be good for South Dakota since the Democrat Party does not choose to run and fund a viable candidate against him.
I knew Congressman Johnson leaned woke. Hope he is aware he’s letting it peek through a little.