Milwaukee Exec Says Few New Local Jobs In Mine Bill

Remember the PR spin that the iron mine projected for Northern Wisconsin meant jobs at Milwaukee-based Caterpillar?

Unlikely, says a company's VP:

A proposed iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin is unlikely to create jobs at Caterpillar Global Mining near Milwaukee, and even if it did, those workers would likely come from out of state, a company executive said Tuesday.

John Disharoon, vice president of industry relations for Caterpillar, told the Milwaukee Rotary Club that mining is a vital industry that produces the minerals and fuels needed for the world's rapidly growing and increasingly urbanized population. He noted that the Caterpillar products being made right now in Wisconsin are destined to be exported....

What tends to be imported by Caterpillar, however, is workers...

Disharoon told WisBusiness.com afterward that it's impossible to predict if the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine would mean new welding jobs at Caterpillar's Wisconsin plants, which employ about 2,000 people, mostly in Oak Creek and South Milwaukee.

"Mines open and close every week," he said...