September 13, 2011

IS IT THE GOVERNMENT'S ROLE TO FIX THE ECONOMY?

Today in Manufacturing
Is it the federal government's responsibility to address what ails the nation, in this case the economy? And if so, to what degree? What is the right balance? ... continue

EIGHT STEPS FOR REVITALIZING THE U.S. ECONOMY
Quick Manufacturing News
First on economist's list: Kill the health care reform law. Click to continue

OBAMA'S JOBS PLAN GARNERS MIXED RESPONSE FROM MANUFACTURING GROUPS
Quick Manufacturing News
Passing free-trade agreements, approving Keystone XL pipeline should be top priorities, NAM says. Click to continue

PUBLIC LOVES MANUFACTURING, BUT NOT MANUFACTURING JOBS
Quick Manufacturing News
Manufacturing is important, survey shows, but public still not enthused about manufacturing careers. Click to continue

MANUFACTURERS HAVE THEIR HOUSES IN ORDER
Quick Manufacturing News
However, external factors such as political gridlock, rising raw-material costs and the ongoing shortage of skilled workers continue to keep them up at night. Click to continue

REVISED I-9 HANDBOOK FOR EMPLOYERS
The Employers Council
USCIS recently issued a new revision (the second this year!) of its Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing Form I-9 [Form M-274 (Rev. 06/01/11) N]. The new revision (www.uscis.gov/files/form/m-274.pdf) contains additional guidance and clarification, including:

• How to record multiple family and given names, hyphenated names, and middle initials [page 4];
• How to record the automatic extension of an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) for an existing employee who is in Temporary Protected Status (TPS) [page 11];
• A previously completed Form I-9 may be relied on, in certain circumstances, only if the employee is rehired within three years of the date the previous Form I-9 was completed (which may not be the employee's original hire date) [page 19];
• Reverification (as opposed to updating) must be done on a new Form I-9 if the version of the form used for the previous verification is no longer valid [page 19];
• Forms I-9 must be stored for three years after the date an employee is hired, or one year after employment ends [not "is terminated"], whichever is later [page 24];
• How to complete Section 1 for asylees and refugees [page 46, Q. 50]; and
• Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) umbrella permit, Category 240P, as employment authorization documenation [page 49, Q. 60].

The revision also added legend information for, and another example of, EADs (Employment Authorization Documents); an example of a Form I-94 with an F-1 notation; and an example of a passport from the Republic of the Marshall Islands [pages 56 and 58].

The revision removed:

• All references to Form I-797C (Notice of Action) [pages 18 and 41]; and
• Q-1 from the list of employees eligible for the automatic 240-day extension (Q-1 nomimmigrants were erroneously included on the prior list) [page 18].

The most recent edition of Form I-9 is still 08/07/09, but the 02/02/09 edition is also valid. For useful guidance, download our free I-9 Administration Toolkit on the Members Only page on our website.

IBOPE ZOGBY POLL: JOBS SPEECH IMPROVES OBAMA APPROVAL OUTLOOK ON NATIONAL DIRECTION ALSO LESS NEGATIVE

UTICA, NY--President Barack Obama's address to Congress on job creation seems to have helped his job approval (up three points to 42%) and the percentage of voters saying he deserves re-election (up six points to 39%), a new IBOPE Zogby poll finds.

The percentage of voters who say the nation is on the wrong track dropped to 70% this week after hitting a record high of Obamas term last week at 75%. The survey, conducted from Sept. 9-12, found proposals in Obamas jobs speech do not get high marks, but he does better with both Democrats and independents than he did a week ago on both job approval and his re-election.

Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website:

http://www.ibopezogby.com/news/2011/09/12/ibope-zogby-poll-jobs-speech-improves-obama-approval/

For more information contact the Communications Dept - 202-429-0022

BILL WOULD BLOCK CASE AGAINST BOEING
Today in Manufacturing
House Republicans taking up a bill that would prohibit NLRB from ordering any company to close plants or relocate workers, even if a company flouts labor laws ... continue

TRANSPORATION A MIXED LOAD FOR REMAINDER OF 2011
Quick Manufacturing News
Consistent with a cooling economy and more difficult prior-year comparisons, several trucking demand metrics are showing a slowing rate of growth, reports the BMO Capital Markets Freight Monitor. The Cass Freight Index was up 4.4% y/y in August (+9.8% YTD) but has moderated from the 13.8% high reported in March. The ATA Tonnage Index rose 4.0% y/y in July (5.3% YTD) but continues to soften since peaking at 7.6% in January. Click to continue

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY ORDERS EXCEED FORECAST
Quick Manufacturing News
2011 is up 102.9% compared with 2010. Click to continue

MANUFACTURING INSTITUTE AND DELOITTE RELEASE PUBLIC PULSE ON AMERICAN MANUFACTURING
Americans maintain remarkably consistent views on the importance of manufacturing despite year after year of economic turbulence, according to a new survey from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, with 86 percent of respondents believing that America's manufacturing base is "important" or "very important" to their standard of living.

The "Public Viewpoint on Manufacturing" survey, now in its third year, polled a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Americans in August across all 50 states. With a margin of error for the entire sample of +/- three percentage points, the survey confirms Americans clearly value a strong manufacturing sector.

Most notably, when respondents were asked if they could create 1,000 new jobs in their community with any new facility, they ranked manufacturing at the top of the list - ahead of energy production facilities, technology development centers, retail centers, banks or financial institutions and a host of others. Moreover, 79 percent of survey respondents say a strong manufacturing base should be a national priority.

"There is an unfortunate disconnect, however, between respondents wanting manufacturing jobs in their community and pursuing those very job opportunities for themselves," said Emily Stover DeRocco, president, The Manufacturing Institute. "Survey results reveal that only one-third of parents would encourage their child to go into manufacturing, which translates into a major workforce pipeline issue. This, in turn, becomes a U.S. manufacturing competitiveness issue because we know that an educated and skilled 21st century workforce is the most important factor behind innovation and business success. As the industry faces major 'boomer' retirements, a shortage in the supply of new talent will directly impact a company's ability to thrive and expand in the global economy."

Read the full report here.