Tag Archives: national association of manufacturers

One in Every Five Central Indiana Jobs is in Manufacturing

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The manufacturing sector is a key economic driver in Indiana. Ninety-five percent of Indiana’s exports are manufactured goods. Total employment in manufacturing in Central Indiana is 106,877. And $69,320 is the average annual compensation of the manufacturing workforce in Indiana.

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The issue: in a 2009 survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers and accounting firm Deloitte & Touche found that 32% of surveyed manufacturers couldn’t find enough qualified workers. And more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs are anticipated to become available each year for the next 10 years.

This is great news for Indiana’s workforce! The important step is that we communicate this to students and parents so they understand where the job demand is and understand what the pathways are. The Indiana Chamber Foundation and Ready Indiana are taking a step to help bridge the knowledge gap. The Chamber Foundation has released a study examining the current landscape of school counseling. Fleck Education conducted the study. This will guide The Chamber’s upcoming efforts to connect K-12 education and workforce needs.

See this infographic with Indiana manufacturing facts.

NLRB Keeps Charging Ahead Blindly

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In the regulatory mess that is Washington today, the leader of the ridiculous pack just might be the National Labor Relations Board.

With union membership continuing to decline to historically low levels, the NLRB has apparently determined it will do whatever it can to help slow the erosion. It has shown no pretense of fairness in its decisions over the past four years with its rulings also often having major impacts on non-union employers.

In January, a U.S. Court of Appeals threw out three of President Obama's NLRB appointees, raising questions about the legality of recent rulings. Those same people have now been renominated by the President, so the drama continues.

The latest partisan action regards union dues expenditures. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) provides this summary:

A case currently before the NLRB could significantly alter the current way in which employees can exercise their Beck rights to object  to union dues’ expenditures.  According to the U.S. Supreme Court, in the Beck decision, employees can object to a portion of union dues’ expenditures if the dues are being used to fund political activity not related to collective bargaining or contract administration.  In a recent case, the United Nurses and Allied Professionals (Kent Hospital) and Jeanette Geary, however, the NLRB decided an employee, who objected to the union’s expenditures, did not deserve to have any verification showing proof how the union was spending its funds.
 
The NLRB proposes to go a step further to give the unions the upper hand by presuming the union is, indeed, spending all the dues correctly.  The effect would be the Board is telling employees they have to prove the union is spending money on lobbying and political activity with no means of independently verifying the union claims.
 
The Board’s new idea would unfairly and unnecessarily stack the deck against employees who have to pay dues, but disagree with the union politically.  Under the proposal, any lobbying activity the union would engage in on Capitol Hill, down to state and local seats of government, would go unchecked.
 

 

Former Michigan Governor a Fan of Indiana Manufacturing

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John Engler, a former governor of Michigan, spent much of his June 3 Economic Club of Indiana presentation doling out praise – for Indiana rather than his home state – when it comes to “getting it right” on manufacturing. Engler, current president of the National Association of Manufacturers, feels that Gov. Daniels and others in Indiana government have helped create an environment in which manufacturing can thrive. 

“As I go around the country and look at (manufacturing) data, Indiana stands out. Indiana is intelligent in manufacturing,” Engler said.

Engler noted business development tax incentives and the commitment to developing a skilled workforce as two areas in which Indiana is leading the way.  
  
Global competition

“In 1982, unemployment was 17%, but we could recover then without competition from a unified Europe or growing China. We have to be more strategic,” Engler explains.

Engler reminded the audience that the U.S. is still the largest manufacturing economy in the world but warns that any economic recovery will lag without a comprehensive manufacturing strategy in place at the federal level.

“It’s no longer governor vs. governor but governor vs. national leader,” Engler offered, adding, “The federal government has a role because states can’t compete when their incentives are dwarfed by the federal cost of taxes and regulations.”

Engler expressed particular disappointment with the recent expiration of a federal research and development tax credit – noting that the U.S. is now the only major economy in the world without a research and development incentive. He also mentioned the new 2.3% federal excise tax on medical device makers – a major part of Indiana’s economy – as an unnecessary burden.

“I don’t know of another country in the world that takes a leading sector (medical device manufacturing) and says, ‘let’s hit them with $20 billion in new taxes.’”

Education leading the way

Regulatory and tax policy changes may improve the U.S. business climate but education, according to Engler, is key to another of his stated goals – for the U.S. to become the best place in the world to conduct research and develop new products. He highlighted the industry’s need for engineers, computer programmers and other highly skilled professionals. Engler complimented Ivy Tech Community College in particular on its efforts to produce an advanced manufacturing workforce for the future.

Engler believes we can dramatically improve education on a national basis by building on currently successful initiatives – no matter how small or regional they may seem.

“We have solved every education problem in America. Every problem has been solved in some area. We are just terrible at replicating successful programs,” Engler explains. 

Engler’s luncheon presentation in Fort Wayne was the first of three stops on the Economic Club’s traveling summer series. The summer series continues with John Norquist, president & CEO of Congress for the New Urbanism, speaking in Evansville on July 15. Learn more.

A Lot of ‘Civic’ Pride in Greensburg

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Last week, Chamber colleague Derek Redelman and I toured the impressive new Honda plant in Greensburg. We were joined by former Michigan governor and current National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler. The year-old, 1.3-million-square-foot facility is a state-of-the-art marvel of what manufacturing has evolved into with quality, efficiency, continuous improvement and worker satisfaction as key goals. The plant produces just under 400 Civics a day, including natural gas powered versions.

We were able to meet with Engler and Honda executives after the tour to discuss several topics. Engler said that Indiana has weathered the economic downturn better than many states and is well-poised to benefit from future manufacturing growth. The market for cars used to be 16 million to 17 million annually; industry leaders are hoping for 10 million this year.

Engler said that nationally there is a workforce skills shortage in many areas. Honda VP Rich Schostek said the company is happy with its workers in Indiana – more than 30,000 applied for 1,000 positions. Honda looks for good reading and math skills, as well as the ability to work in teams and communicate well. These are key abilities the Chamber has been advocating for to elevate the skills of Indiana’s workforce.

It was nice to get the perspective of a national manufacturing leader, as well as see one of Indiana’s more recent success stories.