Rep. Timmons hears supply, labor, vaccine mandate concerns from Upstate small businesses

Expect to pay more soon for extra sausage on your pizza, warned Upstate Little Caesars Pizza franchisee Andy Hall of Melotte Enterprises.

Hall and several other Spartanburg area small business owners met Tuesday with 4th District U.S. Congressman William Timmons at Spartanburg Community College's Downtown Campus to discuss how COVID-19-related supply chain issues and labor shortages are affecting their livelihood.

Hall said business has been good during the COVID-19 pandemic, but what once took a day to obtain an oven part that needs replacing for a pizza operation now takes months because of shipping delays.

As an example, he also said bacon and sausage toppings are getting harder to obtain due to a shortage of meats and longer waiting times for deliveries. Those factors will ultimately cause pizza prices for consumers to rise, perhaps by the start of 2022, he said.

JoAnne LaBounty, of Spartanburg Meat Processing, told Timmons the meat shortage – particularly pork – is real.

"There is a tight supply. When our costs go up, prices go up," she said.

LaBounty said 70% of the meat her company buys is imported, and some larger companies have been exporting much of their supplies to China, which also experienced a meat shortage last year.

Todd Horne, vice president of Clayton Construction, said there are delays of up to six months or a year for building materials such as wood framing and sheet metal. The larger builders get priority over the smaller ones, he said.

Dallas Burnett of Integrated Dental Group said dental offices are having trouble buying X-ray machines because of microchip shortages that are driving prices upward.

"Some (dentists) are overspending due to the fear of a lack of supply," he said.

Timmons, the congressman who represents Greenville and Spartanburg counties, said the examples illustrate a larger problem with supply bottlenecks nationwide.

Part of the problem is backups at ports and warehouses, a shortage of truckers, factories that have closed due to the pandemic and a lack of shipping containers, according to USA Today.

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To get supplies moving again, last month President Biden announced plans to move the entire freight transportation and logistical supply chain to a 24/7 operation.

'An employees' market'

Timmons also listened to concerns about labor shortages.

Jessica Coker, an accountant who has small business clients, said many people are leaving small business jobs to work with larger employers that can pay more.

In the end, some small operations may go out of business because they can't compete, she said.

"This is an employees' market," Coker said. "Right now, small businesses are struggling."

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LaBounty said she's been paying bonuses and giving extra time off to employees in order to retain them.

More competition in the labor market

Timmons said the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress Friday night will soon provide many with new, good-paying jobs.

While that's good news, he said it will add more jobs to a labor market where finding employees is already difficult.

"Hopefully supply will rise to meet the demand," Timmons said, adding that he voted against the bill.

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"I have long said that America needs targeted investments in our roads, bridges, highways, and especially to expand rural broadband in order to remain competitive in the global economy," Timmons tweeted Friday. "I continue to believe that is the case. Today’s "infrastructure" bill was nothing of the sort.

"No matter how Democrats split it, this bill – and the associated 'social infrastructure' bill – are two major pillars of Biden’s tax and spend agenda that will cost Americans trillions. A vote for this bill is a vote for their Socialist spending spree. I will not be a part of it."

Vaccine mandate: 'Wait and see'

Timmons also discussed the president's vaccine mandate for companies with more than 100 employees.

Michael Mikota, president of Spartanburg Community College, said he is looking through details of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration mandate and hasn't yet decided on a plan to cover the college system's 700 employees.

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"For now we are being patient," Mikota said.

Hall said he has no plans to require his 200-plus Little Caesars employees in the Upstate to be vaccinated or be tested weekly.

"We operate as a Christian, family business," he said. "We don't have the right (to mandate vaccines)."

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He said it was unclear who would pay for weekly testing of workers who refuse to vaccinate.

"It would cost tens of thousands a week to follow the order," he said.

Timmons said between the thousands in the military and private sector who won't abide by the mandate, as many as 150,000 people could become unemployed.

"This whole thought that we're going to fire half a million people because they refuse to get the vaccine is insane," Timmons said.

He said he's confident the courts will override the White House mandate.

"I do believe they're going to change course," he said of the Biden administration. "The president doesn't have the authority to issue the order. It will be overturned. 'Wait and see' is going to be the best approach."

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Rep. Timmons meets with Upstate business leaders over supply concerns