RESOLUTION NO. RS2008-380

A resolution requesting the Mayor to consider proposing tax abatements and/or other incentives for Nashville-Zeledyne LLC.

WHEREAS, the Nashville Glass Plant located at 7200 Centennial Boulevard, Nashville, Tennessee has been in full operation since December 1965; and

WHEREAS, thousands of employees have given their sweat, blood and labor at this plant, and, in turn, have been awarded well paying jobs and generous benefits as a direct result of collective bargaining between the United Auto Workers labor union and the Ford Motor Company; and

WHEREAS, Nashville businesses and the Metropolitan Government have been a direct beneficiary of the wages and benefits of employees and their families who have paid generously for over 50 years in the form of property taxes and local and state sales tax contributions; and

WHEREAS, the Nashville Glass Plant, the largest glass plant under one single roof in the world, has recently been sold to Zeledyne LLC; and

WHEREAS, in an effort to make the Nashville Glass Plant a success for the long-term future, Zeledyne, LLC Chairman Robert Price has confirmed plans to invest millions of new dollars into improvements to furnaces and other vital internal plant projects; and

WHEREAS, Zeledyne LLC now has long-term labor agreements thanks to Local 737 and International UAW Region 8’s leadership who made major concessions in the form of wages and benefits in order for the plant purchase to become a reality and therefore provide continued employment at the West Nashville site; and

WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Government has provided tax abatements and other incentives to other companies, both foreign and domestic, locating in Davidson County, Tennessee; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the Metropolitan Government provide similar tax abatements and incentives to Zeledyne LLC.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. The Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record as requesting the Mayor to consider proposing tax abatements and/or other incentives for Nashville-Zeledyne LLC.

Section 2. The Metropolitan Clerk is directed to send a copy of this Resolution to Mayor Karl Dean and to Paul Ney, the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development.

Section 3. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Buddy Baker