Richard P. Michalski
General Vice President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
According to the presidential exit polls, jobs and the economy were the most important issues for American voters; voters who chose President Obama to again lead our country. While many Americans are concerned with the slow economic recovery, we’ve seen glimmers of hope as the unemployment rate continues to trend downward, payrolls are up and the Dow has risen nearly 50 percent since President Obama was sworn in four years ago.
But our recovery is still very tenuous and President Obama and the newly elected Congress must work together, stop the road blocks and do more to create an environment that fosters domestic job creation and sustainability.
First, policymakers must a make a deal that saves the country from the “fiscal cliff.” It’s estimated that falling over the cliff would lead to 9.1 percent unemployment — and potentially send the country back into recession.
The threat of political inaction on the fiscal cliff has paralyzed U.S. industry, causing businesses to put plans to hire and expand on hold. If nothing happens, the Department of Defense would have its budget slashed nearly $500 billion over the next decade under sequestration. This would not only threaten our national security at a time of continuing global uncertainty, but it would also cost good U.S. jobs and stifle innovation.
We cannot allow this to happen — and most reasonable lawmakers agree. But whether or not our leaders in Washington will actually take the action needed to avert the sequester is an open question.
One segment of our economy that could be hit if sequestration occurs is the aerospace industry. A strong aerospace sector is critical to our national security and domestic manufacturing base. U.S. aerospace companies directly employ more than 600,000 Americans including highly-skilled engineers and well-trained mechanics. And, according to the
Commerce Department, aerospace supports more U.S. jobs through exports than any other industry, leading to $85 billion in export sales in 2010.
While we all would like to believe the rosy predictions that project the industry continuing to grow and flourish, many see danger ahead.
Washington Senator Patty Murray warned her colleagues and the nation that, “[w]ithout a clear national strategy, [aerospace] companies risk being stagnant just as their foreign competition flies ahead, and we cannot let that happen.”
That absence of a clear strategy has caused marquee American aerospace companies to make tough decisions. Wichita, Kan. alone, frequently referred to as the “Air Capital” of the world, has lost between 13,000 and 14,000 aviation jobs since 2008. The impact of a lack of a national strategy will also be felt beyond Wichita by companies like Lockheed Martin in Texas, the Boeing Company in Missouri and the state of Washington, as well as thousands of suppliers across the U.S.
Leaders in this country must place the needs of Americans first. We need to create jobs and boost our own economy. And there may be legislative opportunities to do just that. Senators Bob Casey and Sherrod Brown, for instance, introduced the Invest in American Jobs Act that would give American manufacturers priority when competing for taxpayer-funded contracts.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that others in Congress or leaders in the Defense Department understand what’s at stake.
The first indicator is the current debate about slashing the defense budget. High-skilled, high-paying manufacturing jobs are at risk, jobs that reach into the small business supply chains in communities all over the country. Estimates have this budget cut affecting more than one million jobs across the nation.
A second warning came when the Department of Defense (DoD) disqualified American company Hawker Beechcraft from the Light Air Support (LAS) aircraft contract competition. If successful, Hawker’s bid would have created more than 1,400 U.S. jobs, with 600 in Wichita alone. But, their still unexplained disqualification left the Brazilian company Embraer as the winner of the $336 million U.S. taxpayer-funded award, essentially by default. And while this contract would have been a boon to the Brazilian economy, it would have resulted in only 50 new U.S. jobs.
The disqualification is especially troubling considering Hawker Beechcraft’s long history of manufacturing high quality military aircraft for the United States. Hawker Beechcraft’s T-6 trainer has been flown by every current US Air Force a U.S. Navy fixed-wing pilot. This general sense of familiarity surrounding the T-6 makes the new attack version very popular among those who would fly and service it. The Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 is the first propeller aircraft to employ laser guided rockets, further evidence that the AT-6 is the more capable choice for the Light Air Support contract. Additionally, the LAS award will become a template for similar foreign military sales across the globe and the winner will have a significant advantage in those competitions.
Fortunately, after an internal investigation into the award, the Defense Department threw out the initial award to the Brazilians and reopened the bidding process allowing Hawker Beechcraft to again compete. A decision on who will build the aircraft is expected in February 2013. One can only hope that the DoD will recognize the critical nature of the work to U.S. security and to the U.S. economy and award the contract to a U.S. company.
In a speech at the Brookings Institution, the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka said, “Revive American manufacturing and stop exporting good jobs overseas.” Later he explained that Americans “can’t afford to replace trickle-down economics with trickle-out economics.”
We must invest in the American workforce and continue to fund research to stay ahead of our competitors — and our enemies. Our leaders must look at the big picture when making contracting decisions between American and foreign companies. The only way America will continue to lead in the aerospace industry is if we continue to stay ahead of our global competitors.
12 Days of Christmas & Holiday Giveaway – DAY 4
in Uncategorized/by MAM TeamWelcome to Day 4 of our Fabulous
12 Days of Christmas & Holiday Giveaway
8 more giveaways to go. Each day we will be giving away over $500 worth of American made prizes. All prizes have been generously donated by our Made in America Movement Members and Sponsors.
Rules for each day/entry:
(1) Comment at the bottom of this BLOG
(2) Enter via Rafflecopter widget below.
It may seem overwhelming at first, but its really quite easy.
(3) Are you on GOOGLE+? Give us a “+” up on the right hand corner of this blog. Not necessary to enter, but while you’re here… ;-)
It will help us rank higher on GOOGLE!!
(3) SHARE (via Facebook) blog link on your wall.
The more you share this link, the better your chances are to win.
Giveaway begins at 3PM EST
Giveaway will run for 24hrs only
One winner will be chosen at random.
Name of winner will be posted at 6pm EST.
Winner will have 24hrs to get in touch with us;
otherwise prize will go to runner up.
Today’s retail value of all prizes is over $565
That’s $565 worth of potential American Made gifts you won’t have to spend a dime on!
We want to keep our giveaways flexible and allow our readers to enter in whatever ways they are most comfortable. There are a LOT of entry options below, but don’t be overwhelmed. The FACEBOOK likes are required, the Twitter follows are not… however, the more entry options you complete, the more chances you’ll have to win.
This giveaway will close at 3pm EST on 12/12. The winner will be randomly selected, verified for correct entry participation, and notified by email.
12 DAYS OF PRIZES
DAY 4
12 Days of Christmas & Holiday Giveaway – DAY 3
in Uncategorized/by MAM TeamWelcome to Day 3 of our Fabulous
12 Days of Christmas & Holiday Giveaway
And too think we are just getting started. There are 9 more giveaways to go. Each day we will be giving away over $500 worth of American made prizes. All prizes have been generously donated by our Made in America Movement Members and Sponsors.
Rules for each day/entry:
(1) Comment at the bottom of this BLOG
(2) Enter via Rafflecopter widget below.
It may seem overwhelming at first, but its really quite easy.
(3) Are you on GOOGLE+? Give us a “+” up on the right hand corner of this blog. Not necessary to enter, but while you’re here… ;-)
It will help us rank higher on GOOGLE!!
(3) SHARE blog link on your wall.
The more you share this link, the better your chances are to win.
Giveaway begins at 3PM EST
Giveaway will run for 24hrs only
One winner will be chosen at random.
Name of winner will be posted at 6pm EST.
Winner will have 24hrs to get in touch with us;
otherwise prize will go to runner up.
Today’s retail value of all prizes is over $540.
That’s $540 worth of potential American Made gifts you won’t have to spend a dime on!
We want to keep our giveaways flexible and allow our readers to enter in whatever ways they are most comfortable. There are a LOT of entry options below, but don’t be overwhelmed. The FACEBOOK likes are required, the Twitter follows are not… however, the more entry options you complete, the more chances you’ll have to win.
This giveaway will close at 3pm EST on 12/11. The winner will be randomly selected, verified for correct entry participation, and notified by email.
Now, let’s have some fun and win some prizes!!!
12 DAYS OF PRIZES
DAY 3
12 Days of Christmas & Holiday Giveaway – DAY 2
in Uncategorized/by MAM TeamWelcome to Day 2 of our Fabulous
12 Days of Christmas & Holiday Giveaway
So…. we had a brief hiccup on our Facebook page. Luckily we are a team that bounces back immediately! Our giveaway will now begin at 3pm EST daily, and winners will be posted at 6pm.EST Rules have changed slightly. But, there are more chances to win!
Rules for each day/entry:
(1) Comment at the bottom of this BLOG
(2) Enter via Rafflecopter widget below.
It may seem overwhelming at first, but its really quite easy.
(3) Are you on GOOGLE+? Give us a “+” up on the right hand corner of this blog. Not necessary to enter, but while you’re here…
It will help us rank higher on GOOGLE!! ;-)
(3) SHARE blog link on your wall.
The more you share this link, the better your chances are to win.
Giveaway begins at 3PM EST
Giveaway will run for 24hrs only
One winner will be chosen at random.
Name of winner will be posted at 6pm EST.
Winner will have 24hrs to get in touch with us;
otherwise prize will go to runner up.
Today’s retail value of all prizes is over $560!
That’s $560 worth of potential American Made gifts you won’t have to spend a dime on!
We want to keep our giveaways flexible and allow our readers to enter in whatever ways they are most comfortable. There are a LOT of entry options below, but don’t be overwhelmed. The FACEBOOK likes required, the Twitter follows, are not… however, the more entry options you complete, the more chances you’ll have to win.
This giveaway will close at 3pm EST on 12/10. The winner will be randomly selected, verified for correct entry participation, and notified by email.
Now, let’s have some fun and win some prizes!!!
Thank you for your patience.
12 DAYS OF PRIZES
DAY 2
Apple's Next Macs Will Be Made in The USA
in Uncategorized/by MAM TeamDecember 06, 2012
“This iPhone … the engine in here is made in America. And not only are the engines in here made in America, engines are made in America and exported,” Cook said. By engine, Cook was referring to the “A5” processors that power the phone, which are manufactured by Samsung in an Austin, Texas, facility.
“Mr. Cook is correct: Corning does produce Gorilla Glass for Apple from our Harrodsburg, Ky., manufacturing plant,” Dan Collins, vice president of communication for Corning, told FoxNews.com in May.
Apple is clearly already well on the way: Some of the latest iMacs from the company carry a sticker labeled “Assembled in America.”
A quick tour of the Apple store in New York’s Grand Central Station Wednesday revealed one new iMac with just such a sticker, brought to the location a week ago, a store employee told FoxNews.com, and likely one of the first produced iMacs. A sticker on a second, identical iMac says “Assembled in China,” however.
Sources within the FTC told FoxNews.com they had heard that Apple was “in the process of getting approval to set up a plant in California in connection with these products,” but could not confirm the information.
Members of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce did not return FoxNews.com phone calls.
Cook did not provide any additional details about where the manufacturing facility would be located, how many jobs it would create. But in an interview with Businessweek, Cook said the company would invest more than $100 million in the new project.
“We wanted to do something more substantial. So we’ll literally invest over $100 million. This doesn’t mean that Apple will do it ourselves, but we’ll be working with people, and we’ll be investing our money.”
Not all of the company’s plans for America will be in California, however. Eve Richter, economic development and emerging technologies coordinator for the Austin, Texas, Chamber of Commerce, told FoxNews.com the company is planning to expand a facility in that city, known for its high tech and manufacturing industries.
“Apple is building an office, an ‘Americas Operations Center,’” Richter told FoxNews.com. While that plant will create more than 3,600 jobs, she said, it is not a manufacturing facility.
“This project that I’ve talked about, where we’ll do a Mac in the United States next year, this is a really good ‘nother step for us,” Cook told Williams. When asked whether manufacturing in the U.S. will add to the cost of products, Cook deferred the question, instead arguing that the real issue was about the labor pool.
It’s not so much about the price as it is about the skills, etc. Over time, there are skills associated with manufacturing that have left the U.S.,” Cook said.
“It’s not a matter of bringing it back, it’s a matter of starting it here,” Cook said.
Policymakers Must Support the Mantra 'American Made'
in Uncategorized/by MAM TeamGeneral Vice President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
First, policymakers must a make a deal that saves the country from the “fiscal cliff.” It’s estimated that falling over the cliff would lead to 9.1 percent unemployment — and potentially send the country back into recession.
The threat of political inaction on the fiscal cliff has paralyzed U.S. industry, causing businesses to put plans to hire and expand on hold. If nothing happens, the Department of Defense would have its budget slashed nearly $500 billion over the next decade under sequestration. This would not only threaten our national security at a time of continuing global uncertainty, but it would also cost good U.S. jobs and stifle innovation.
We cannot allow this to happen — and most reasonable lawmakers agree. But whether or not our leaders in Washington will actually take the action needed to avert the sequester is an open question.
One segment of our economy that could be hit if sequestration occurs is the aerospace industry. A strong aerospace sector is critical to our national security and domestic manufacturing base. U.S. aerospace companies directly employ more than 600,000 Americans including highly-skilled engineers and well-trained mechanics. And, according to the Commerce Department, aerospace supports more U.S. jobs through exports than any other industry, leading to $85 billion in export sales in 2010.
While we all would like to believe the rosy predictions that project the industry continuing to grow and flourish, many see danger ahead.
Washington Senator Patty Murray warned her colleagues and the nation that, “[w]ithout a clear national strategy, [aerospace] companies risk being stagnant just as their foreign competition flies ahead, and we cannot let that happen.”
That absence of a clear strategy has caused marquee American aerospace companies to make tough decisions. Wichita, Kan. alone, frequently referred to as the “Air Capital” of the world, has lost between 13,000 and 14,000 aviation jobs since 2008. The impact of a lack of a national strategy will also be felt beyond Wichita by companies like Lockheed Martin in Texas, the Boeing Company in Missouri and the state of Washington, as well as thousands of suppliers across the U.S.
Leaders in this country must place the needs of Americans first. We need to create jobs and boost our own economy. And there may be legislative opportunities to do just that. Senators Bob Casey and Sherrod Brown, for instance, introduced the Invest in American Jobs Act that would give American manufacturers priority when competing for taxpayer-funded contracts.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that others in Congress or leaders in the Defense Department understand what’s at stake.
The first indicator is the current debate about slashing the defense budget. High-skilled, high-paying manufacturing jobs are at risk, jobs that reach into the small business supply chains in communities all over the country. Estimates have this budget cut affecting more than one million jobs across the nation.
A second warning came when the Department of Defense (DoD) disqualified American company Hawker Beechcraft from the Light Air Support (LAS) aircraft contract competition. If successful, Hawker’s bid would have created more than 1,400 U.S. jobs, with 600 in Wichita alone. But, their still unexplained disqualification left the Brazilian company Embraer as the winner of the $336 million U.S. taxpayer-funded award, essentially by default. And while this contract would have been a boon to the Brazilian economy, it would have resulted in only 50 new U.S. jobs.
The disqualification is especially troubling considering Hawker Beechcraft’s long history of manufacturing high quality military aircraft for the United States. Hawker Beechcraft’s T-6 trainer has been flown by every current US Air Force a U.S. Navy fixed-wing pilot. This general sense of familiarity surrounding the T-6 makes the new attack version very popular among those who would fly and service it. The Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 is the first propeller aircraft to employ laser guided rockets, further evidence that the AT-6 is the more capable choice for the Light Air Support contract. Additionally, the LAS award will become a template for similar foreign military sales across the globe and the winner will have a significant advantage in those competitions.
Fortunately, after an internal investigation into the award, the Defense Department threw out the initial award to the Brazilians and reopened the bidding process allowing Hawker Beechcraft to again compete. A decision on who will build the aircraft is expected in February 2013. One can only hope that the DoD will recognize the critical nature of the work to U.S. security and to the U.S. economy and award the contract to a U.S. company.
In a speech at the Brookings Institution, the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka said, “Revive American manufacturing and stop exporting good jobs overseas.” Later he explained that Americans “can’t afford to replace trickle-down economics with trickle-out economics.”
We must invest in the American workforce and continue to fund research to stay ahead of our competitors — and our enemies. Our leaders must look at the big picture when making contracting decisions between American and foreign companies. The only way America will continue to lead in the aerospace industry is if we continue to stay ahead of our global competitors.
Bodacious Cases 100% Made in America iPhone case to be on ABC World News
in News/by MAM TeamOwner/Inventor at Bodacious Cases
ABC World News says that if each American spends just $64 on American Made gifts this Holiday and Christmas season that we can create 200,000 jobs! Lets wrap a new job this holiday season and buy AMERICAN MADE!
Follow them on social media:
For information on how to become a member, drop us an line! info@themadeinamericamovement.com
The Insourcing Boom
in Reshoring/by MAM TeamRead more
Education and an Economic Future for America are Linked Together
in Uncategorized/by MAM TeamDecember 3, 2012
In the Colonial period American education followed the European – particularly British – model, with education reserved for the elite: the hereditary gentry and the higher echelons of the merchant and military establishments.
Its purpose was not limited to instilling the knowledge needed by the sons of the ruling elite to be competent leaders. It was also teaching them the essence of the culture and social order, so as to assure national stability. This was done through study; shared discipline; and close acquaintance and friendship resulting from participation in common activities. The product was a networked group with a shared concept of national destiny and an implied duty to perpetuate the status quo.
Early American education was patterned on this model, which still lives within the circle loosely defined as the “Ivy League”. Eastern elite universities still perform the function of training the networked elite prominent in finance, law and government.
The other pole of our system could be defined as “mass education”, and is a typically American invention. Immigrants to the United States were well aware of the value of education – in their home countries accessible only to the privileged few. A different system was thus created by popular demand and local initiative, growing in stages reflecting national economic life.
The first phase was the village schoolhouse, providing the basic knowledge a farmer, shopkeeper or craftsman needed to attain prosperity. Such schools were unknown in Europe at the time.
The second phase, covering most of the 1800’s, was the creation of urban high schools, which catered to the needs of merchants and professionals. Funded by local tax levies or church donations, open to all, high schools and village schoolhouses made America the most literate nation in the world. General literacy allowed for the ubiquitous development of newspapers and pamphlets which fed our political life.
The following phase was the foundation of land-grant colleges. These “Agricultural and Mechanical” schools provided the mass of technical personnel – surveyors, pharmacists, veterinarians, engineers, attorneys – required by industrialization and Western settlement. “A&M’s” were the educational foundation of America’s rise to industrial power, spurring growth, innovation and the building of world-class corporations.
The last educational wave grew out of the unique advances generated by the WWII industrial build-up. In the war years our economy made huge strides in applied science, technology, management and productivity. A vast expansion of higher education – initially fueled by the G.I. Bill – was the foundation on which the post-war boom was built.
While our two educational concepts – elite and mass – tend in practice to blend into a continuous spectrum, they are different in concept and operation. “Elite” education looks at the present through the lens of the past, seeking to preserve an existing order. The “mass” system sees the present through the lens of the (perceived) future, to build is seen as the next wave. One is limited to a selected few. The other invites everybody in.
Historically the mass educational system has responded to demand born of economic advances. It works best when a future can be discerned. In a time of economic stagnation or decline it will be the first to suffer.
Such is its situation today. Our once stellar educational establishment is not failing because students are lazy, or teachers incompetent. It is declining primarily because we see no economic future.Excellence is being lost because there is no demand – no visible field to deploy talent and initiative, and thereby reward those who excel.
We should ask not why our schools are losing ground, but why we are, as a nation going backwards economically. The two are intimately linked. America educates best when the promise of the future is at hand.
'Made in America' Tech Not An Impossible Dream
in Uncategorized/by MAM TeamConventional wisdom is an ass.
Matt Burns at TechCrunch reports that the backs of some new ultrathin iMacs identify the machines as assembled in the United States. Apple has yet to comment on the findings, but there’s no denying the cost of labor in China is soaring.
Business Insider just published a graph that shows hourly manufacturing costs in China are up 23 percent this year compared to last year, and The Economist quotes an American contract manufacturing expert in China as saying, “Labor costs have surged by 20 percent a year for the past four years.” In fact, the price of labor is increasing so quickly that many Chinese firms are experimenting with production facilities outside of China to take advantage of lower labor costs.
Michael Kan at PC World reported in February, “For workers in Shenzhen, a major manufacturing base for Foxconn, the increase raises monthly salaries to between 2200 yuan ($350) and 2500 yuan.” (Foxconn, based in Taiwan, is the largest electronics assembly company in the world, with a client list that includes Apple, Microsoft, HP, Nokia, Sony, and many other household names.) Extrapolating at the current rate, by early next year a typical Foxconn worker in Shenzhen, China, will be making $420 a month or more. Granted that’s substantially less than a typical worker in the West, but the gap’s narrowing quickly. Transportation costs are rising. Long supply chains mean stores run out of stock more readily. Manufacturing in the United States has a host of advantages, not all of which are economic.
If the iMac was truly assembled in the United States — and FTC rules are strict about making that claim — it begs the question, where? TechCrunch cites a 50 percent workforce increase at the Apple campus in Elk Grove, just south of Sacramento, Calif., as being the possible location of a secret Apple assembly plant.
Google’s ill-fated Nexus Q, the wireless home media player that couldn’t quite decide what it should do, was manufactured in Silicon Valley. The Huffington Post quotes a Google senior director as saying, “We wanted to innovate fast… We wanted to see if we could do fast [design iterations] rather than having our engineers fly across the world.”
The TechCrunch article concludes that “there has to be a way to show Apple that Americans prefer computers assembled by Americans.”
What they forgot to mention is that people outside America frequently prefer devices assembled in the United States. “Made in the USA” is a strong drawing card, worldwide. Perhaps the world is changing once again.
The New iMac: Designed By Apple In California, Assembled In USA
in Uncategorized/by MAM TeamDecember 3, 2012
The publication noted that Apple’s American assembly has been a topic on the company’s Support Communities forum since 2006, with most threads concluding the markings are limited to the addition of extra components in an original order, or for refurbished products. However, the most recent post regarding the matter shows a standard iMac SKU purchased from authorized reseller B&H Photo bearing the “Assembled in USA” marking.
A new iMac purchased by a Fortune reader from the San Jose, Calif., Apple Store as well as the unit torn down by repair firm iFixit have identical labels.
As part of its duties, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission regulates manufacturers’ “Made in USA” and “Assembled in USA” assertions, pointing out that that latter cannot be a simple “screwdriver” assembly where parts made overseas are bolted onto a near-finalized product.
From the FTC regarding the “Made in USA” standard (emphasis of example added):
As for Apple’s future plans with domestic assembly, Cook said at the D10: All Things Digital conference in May that he wanted more American-made Apple products, but noted workforce limitations when compared to China.
“We will do as many of these things [in America] as we can do,” Cook said, “and you can bet that we’ll use the whole of our influence to do this.”