United We Surf

This month’s column from Chris Koepfer about the Washington “fly-in” examines recent efforts to focus government on the real plight of U.S. manufacturing in relation to current trade practices. The following sites are resources on the Web to support Chris’ coverage.

American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) (www. amtacdc.org)—The AMTAC is a grassroots lobbying group dedicated to the positive influence of trade policies that protect and grow U.S. manufacturing. This site is an excellent source for contacts and information related to to the cause.

MAD In USA (www.madinusa.org)—This organization is another grassroots group. It is a collection of individuals, companies and associations, mainly in the Northeast and Midwest, that are committed to preserving manufacturing in the United States.

Save American Manufacturing (www.sam-usa.org)—This non-profit was founded by manufacturers for manufacturers in 2002 to address trade practices that are detrimental to U.S. manufacturing. SAM has chapters around the United States that participate locally to act nationally. There are currently 23 chapters in North America. The SAM site offers one of the best resources of this nature on the Web, and its Links page is the most comprehensive to similar sites you’re likely to find anywhere.

We’ll always have to acknowledge and sustain the technical elements within our industry. That’s our nature—we make chips. But the diminishing numbers of operators and machining professionals isn’t going to get any better—not in this economy, and not in this shifting manufacturing base. Failure to acknowledge the legislative and trade-based influences on the current manufacturing blight will ensure that other competitive nations move forward while we fall behind.