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Transforming vehicles and the future of mobility. Magna works with leading automakers to push the boundaries of technology, backing innovative thinking with world-class manufacturing and engineering processes. Magna innovations travel millions of miles each day. Where will they take you next? What has a chamber done for you lately? Stood up for you in city hall. Welcomed new residents to your area – and recommended your business. Worked to bring a new factory to your city. Made your downtown look beautiful. Organized a networking event – and invited you. Every day, chambers are making a difference. Connect with your chamber at ccemo.org/directory 32 MISSOURI BUSINESS
HR UPDATE People with disabilities make up a valuable, untapped workforce By Kat Cunningham After years of sustained economic growth, unemployment is now reaching near rock-bottom levels. In Missouri, unemployment is approximately 4 percent. This is something we should celebrate. We want to have abundant jobs and opportunities for workers. However, we also need to recognize that today’s economic opportunities are not equally shared among all workers. One area of concern is that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is more than double the rate of unemployment among nondisabled workers. A report this summer from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that while the unemployment rate for nondisabled workers continued to fall in 2016, the rate for disabled people held steady at 10.5 percent. Disabled workers simply are not finding the same access to jobs as everyone else. Having too few occupational options for disabled people is a problem in our society. But as with many problems, we can find opportunities as we work toward addressing them. Last month — National Disability Employment Awareness Month — I helped launch a new effort in my region to address this problem. We formed the Mid- Missouri Business Leadership Network in an area covering eight counties, including Boone County, where my business resides. This new network will bring tools and programs into our region from the United States Business Leadership Network, a national organization that focuses on disability inclusion in the workplace, supply chain and marketplace. This national organization currently has more than 130 corporate partners spanning the technology, health care, financial, transportation, entertainment and retail industries. Our new mid-Missouri network is one of nearly 50 similar groups now established in regions across the country. I am excited to start promoting new tools such as the Disability Equality Index, a confidential benchmarking tool that helps businesses understand their strengths and shortcomings in regard to how inclusive they are of people with disabilities. We will also promote a certification program for businesses owned by people with disabilities. Today, it’s easy to see the opportunity in this endeavor. With such low unemployment, businesses are having to search hard for viable candidates for open positions. Disabled people could provide a valuable, untapped workforce for many of these positions. However, the real goal here is to help communities and businesses do a better job of making opportunities accessible to people with disabilities so that the gap between unemployment levels can begin to disappear — no matter what is happening in the economy. If your business is in mid-Missouri and you want to get involved in our new business leadership network, please let me know. I would also be happy to share my knowledge on this topic with anyone in another part of the state who would like to set up a similar group in their community. Let’s work together and make Missouri a leader in this area. Kat Cunningham is president of Moresource Inc. Contact Moresource at 573-443-1234. MOBIZMAGAZINE.COM 33
Page 1 and 2: THE MAGAZINE OF THE MISSOURI CHAMBE
Page 3 and 4: The 2017 Leadership Missouri class
Page 5 and 6: OUR VIEW We are building something
Page 7 and 8: YOUR VIEW DATA DIVE Many Missourian
Page 9 and 10: FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING WITH ATT
Page 11 and 12: Elevate your event monumentally. It
Page 13 and 14: Moresource ® handles ALL of these
Page 15 and 16: Rebuilding 65 Planned closures spee
Page 17 and 18: In addition, the department develop
Page 19 and 20: A visit from Vice President Mike Pe
Page 21 and 22: WILLIAM GREENBLATT By summer, the n
Page 23 and 24: ON HIS APPROACH TO IMPROVING MISSOU
Page 25 and 26: SPECIAL REPORT Progress! Two years
Page 27 and 28: CASEY BUCKMAN Our investment in the
Page 29 and 30: Accomplishments: Policy For many ye
Page 31 and 32: IMPROVING WORKFORCE TRAINING In add
Page 33: DREAM IT. DO IT. The Missouri Chamb
Page 37 and 38: LEGAL ISSUES Missouri Supreme Court
Page 39 and 40: FOCUS ON GROWTH New study: Missouri
Page 41 and 42: Time Traveler revealed Silver Dolla
Page 43 and 44: Leadership Visions Jefferson City J
Page 45 and 46: MILESTONES Cape Girardeau Area Cham
Page 47 and 48: EMPLOYERS! FREE BENEFIT for your EM
Page 49 and 50: tons of coal, according to the arti
Page 51: Health insurance costs keep rising?

Winter2017

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