August 11, 2011

UMA OPPOSES NLRB’S “QUICK SNAP” ELECTION RULE

In a letter today to Lester A. Heltzer, Executive Secretary to the National Labor Relations Board UMA President Tom Bingham registered strong opposition to the proposed election rules currently being considered. The text of the letter follows:

I am writing on behalf of the nearly 1,000 member companies in the Utah Manufactures Association to oppose the proposed rule on Representation Case Procedures or what I see as proposed 'Quick-Snap' election rules.

The Quick-Snap elections rules would give employers like our member companies as few as 10 days to communicate with their employees between the time they learn that a union is trying to organize the workforce and the election. With the rules in place, unions could begin organizing a workforce secretly and then ambush an employer once enough signatures are collected. This is unfair and unwarranted and UMA urges you to oppose this proposed rule.

The NLRB's current election processes allow for healthy and adequate debate between unions and employers. The median number of days for union elections in 2010 was very prompt, taking only about 38 days. Shortening the timeline would deny employers an opportunity to express their views, leaving employees with only the union's side of the issue to consider before they cast their ballot. Employees need to hear from all sides when making the important decision whether or not they should join a labor union. Employees also deserve enough time to consider any decision that has such a huge impact on them and their families. Shortening the election period will also impose a significant burden on business owners, giving them only a few days to respond to the claims being made by union organizers.

Through these proposed regulations, the NLRB is attempting to fix a problem that simply does not exist and would be implementing the most dramatic changes to labor election rules in 75 years. Again, this is unfair and unwarranted and we urge you to oppose this proposed rule.

As an association of manufacturers, we strongly oppose this proposed rule. In this struggling economy, we should be focused on job creation, not killing jobs.

Sincerely,
Mr. Thomas E. Bingham
President
Utah Manufacturers Association


U.S. JUNE TRADE GAP BIGGEST SINCE 2008
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The sectors hardest hit by falling demand for U.S. goods were: industrial supplies and materials, capital goods, and foods, feeds and beverages. Click to continue

RON BLOOM STEPPING DOWN AS OBAMA'S MANUFACTURING ADVISER
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Steel organization calls for quick replacement. Click to continue

EMOTION: THE ECONOMY'S WORST ENEMY
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Freight shipments declined 3.7% in July from the previous month, a sign the sluggish economy is slipping, according to Cass Information Systems. Click to continue

CHINA'S SURPLUS LEAPS AS JULY EXPORTS HIT NEW HIGH
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July's surplus is $31.85 billion. Click to continue

UMA JOINS OTHER STATE ASSOCIATIONS IN LETTER TO OBAMA OPPOSIING NEW OZONE STANDARDS

The following letter, generated by the National Association of Manufacturers was countersigned by UMA along with most state manufacturers associations registering strong opposition to President Obama’s proposed National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone.

President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, DC 20050
Re: Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone

Dear Mr. President:

The undersigned manufacturing associations are strongly concerned with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) efforts to further tighten the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. This action will derail industry’s efforts to recover from the most severe recession since the 1930s and will place most of the country in non-attainment. For these reasons, we urge the EPA not to move forward with its proposal to lower the existing standard below 75 parts per billion (ppb).

The EPA’s proposal to lower the ozone NAAQS will cause unnecessary and severe economic harm. Large swaths of the United States will be designated as non-compliant with the new rule and will be unable to comply any time in the near future, if ever. Lowering the existing 75 ppb standard to the lower end of the proposed range of 60 ppb will almost triple the number of counties designated as being in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA). This designation will lead to new mandates and costs under the CAA, discouraging new businesses from locating in non-attainment areas and restricting the growth of existing businesses.

Now is not the time to hurt local economies with costly regulations when the United States is struggling to emerge from the recession and bring back the 2.1 million manufacturing jobs that were lost. A study from the Manufacturers Alliance concluded that lowering the ozone standard from 75 ppb to 60 ppb would result in the loss of 7.3 million jobs by 2020 and add $1 trillion in new regulatory costs per year between 2020 and 2030. Even the EPA’s own estimates suggest that the new standard could add $90 billion per year to already high operating costs faced by manufacturers and other sectors. Our nation simply cannot afford this discretionary new ozone standard which puts U.S. jobs and economic recovery at risk.


US TRADE DEFICIT WIDENS TO $53.1 BILLION
Today in Manufacturing
American producers sold fewer industrial engines and electric generators to the rest of the world, pushing the trade deficit to the highest level since 2008 ... continue

UNEMPLOYMENT AID APPLICATIONS DIP TO 4-MONTH LOW
Today in Manufacturing
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week below 400,000 for the first time in four months, a sign that the job market may be improving slowly ... continue

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS ASSEMBLE “SUPER COMMITTEE”
NAM Capital Briefing
All four Senate and House leaders have appointed members to the “Super Committee” set up under the Budget Control Act of 2011 (S. 365). The Budget Control Act approved August 2 raises the debt ceiling, prevents the nation from defaulting on its financial obligations and clears the path for additional deficit reduction. The members selected by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) are Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Max Baucus (D-MT) and John Kerry (D-MA). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) named Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Rob Portman (R-OH). On the House side, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) named Reps. Jeb Henserling (R-TX), Dave Camp (R-MI) and Fred Upton (R-MI). House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) named Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), James Clyburn (D-SC) and Xavier Becerra (D-CA). Sen. Murray and Rep. Henserling will co-chair the Committee, which is charged with developing legislation to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

In reviewing the federal budget, the NAM is encouraging lawmakers to put forth pro-growth policies. NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons stated, “Policymakers need to evaluate every line item in the federal budget. If the expenditure is not directly related to growth, it needs to be seriously reviewed to determine if the program needs to be modified, reduced or eliminated. Too often, Presidents and Congresses have enacted expensive programs that are politically popular, with little or no regard for future economic impact. Now is the time for difficult decisions and priority setting to take place in Washington.” The Committee’s recommendations are due by November 23.

SIGN THE NAM’S LETTER TO DELAY EPA’S OVERREACHING BOILER MACT REGULATIONS
NAM Capital Briefing
This July, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 (H.R.2250/S. 1392) was introduced in the House and Senate. The bill would give the EPA the certainty and direction it needs to rewrite the Boiler MACT rules in a way that protects both jobs and the environment. Introduced in the House by Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), and in the Senate by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), along with Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patrick Toomey (R-PA), the bill would: 1) stay the Boiler MACT rules; 2) give the EPA at least 15 months to revise the rules; 3) provide at least five years for facilities to comply; 4) direct the EPA to adopt the 2000 commercial and industrial solid waste incineration (CISWI) definitions; and 5) set MACT limits based on what boilers can actually achieve across a range of conditions. The NAM and several other trade associations signed a letter of support for the bill and will actively promote passage in the House and Senate. Please click here to sign onto this letter of support for H.R. 2250 and S. 1392. For more information, visit www.NoNewRegs.org.

A BITTERSWEET 30TH ANNIVERSARY FOR THE R&D TAX CREDIT
NAM Capital Briefing
August 13 marks a bittersweet 30th anniversary year for the research and development (R&D) credit. The credit was the best R&D incentive in the world in the mid-1980s; today it is one of the weakest. Since its original enactment, the credit has expired 14 times, including a one-year lapse in the mid-1990s that was never reversed. The uncertainty caused by these stop-and-go credit extensions has a negative impact on companies’ future R&D budgets because companies cannot rely on the credit to exist for the duration of a research project, typically five to 10 years for manufacturers. At the same time, other countries are courting manufacturers by offering better R&D incentives. As a result, there has been a steady increase in the migration of domestic research offshore as more nations have entered the race to attract R&D dollars, as evidenced by the decline in the U.S. share of global R&D from 39 to 33 percent in less than a decade. The NAM has gained 45 cosponsors on bipartisan bill H.R. 942 that would strengthen the Alternative Simplified Credit (ASC) rate to 20 percent and make it permanent. To watch the NAM’s video advocating the R&D credit, click here.