We strongly support legislation making the credits permanent and retroactive to July 1, 1999. For the labor-intensive food retailing industry, the WOTC has helped integrate economically disadvantaged Americans into the national work force and often in grocery stores within their own neighborhoods. Our industry believes these credits are an effective approach for encouraging private sector employers to hire individuals from groups that otherwise would have difficulty securing employment in either good or bad economic times. With more individuals entering the workforce from welfare, our neighborhood supermarkets are increasingly training and hiring those who are less skilled and more costly to train.
Supermarkets play an important role in creating and maintaining strong neighborhoods.
Our members are significant employers in many inner city and rural communities across America. They provide basic products and services essential to life and health. They are places where neighbors gather and interact in productive ways. Many young people find their first job in a supermarket. These characteristics provide supermarkets with the unique opportunity to play a leadership role in developing programs to address the social and economic challenges of the neighborhoods and communities they serve.