For Immediate Release
Prominent North Shore Staffing Firm Hosts Committee of State Officials
R&L Associates, Inc. and The Aries Group of Beverly, Massachusetts recently hosted a committee of state officials to discuss issues and concerns that are a priority to small business owners.
Fran Dichner, President and CEO of R&L and The Aries Group and Al Dichner, COO, presented a series of questions before the committee members in attendance, which included State Senator Michael Moore, State Representative Christine Canavan of the 10th Plymouth District, and Chair of the Committee on Community Development and Small Business Linda Dorcena Forry.
Some of the issues discussed, such as the state work share program, pending legislation H1799 and Senate 688 were brought up as examples of concerns for the small business owner. The downturn in the economy and what Massachusetts is doing as a state to create jobs were also brought up as major issues many small business owners, as well as these who have been laid off in the Commonwealth, are facing.
“As a company on the North Shore that has been a key contributor to the employment process, we have seen first hand the hardship and the impact this recession has had on our employees, their families and the labor pool we are challenged to keep employed. Losing good talent and a skilled workforce is of huge economic significance to communities such as the North Shore and those communities you represent” stated Fran Dichner to the committee members.
“In addition to a reduced labor force, health care reform and data security laws will have a dramatic impact on the bottom line of small business owners. Although great in theory, the logistics of financing compliance with these laws will be a challenge to small businesses,” Al Dichner pointed out.
A follow up meeting was suggested to further discuss these issues, as well as those of granting tax incentives to small businesses for hiring new and local employees, available stimulus and grant opportunities for business growth, and opportunites for minority owned businesses to secure state contracts. R&L will open up this meeting to selected small businesses at the Cummings Center to enable other small business owners to have the opportunity to lend their voices to their State Officials.
R&L was chosen to meet with this committee which is visiting businesses statewide based on a recommendation from State Representative Mary Grant.
R&L Associates, Inc. and The Aries Group is a full service, WBENC certified staffing firm celebrating 35 years on the North Shore. Started as a small “Mom and Pop” company, R&L is now recognized as one of the Top 10 Recruiting Firms in Massachusetts and one of the Top Women led businesses in Massachusetts. The company relocated its offices from Lynn and expanded to its present location at the Cummings Center in Beverly, in 1997.