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Building a strong manufacturing grassroots network Developing a pro-jobs legislative agenda
CMTA, along with other associations and employers, just completed nine Regional Manufacturing Summits where manufacturers testified about what needs to be done to improve the business climate in California and keep manufacturing jobs here. It started last May when San Diego County Supervisor Diane Jacobs convened the first Summit with the Industrial Environmental Association. CMTA got involved and quickly realized that more regional summits were needed to inform local representatives and media about the plight of the state's manufacturers and, more importantly, what needs to be done about it. From there, CMTA worked with many groups to complete eight more regional summits in front of Boards of Supervisors as far north as Contra Costa County and as far south as Orange County. The issues varied a bit but each region had the same theme: California-based manufacturing is not competitive because it costs too much to do business in the state. Among the many testimonials and presentations, the most revealing comment about the state's business climate came from Fresno County. Alan Feld, President and CEO of Sportsmobile, a company specializing in the design and manufacture of two- and four-wheel drive vans, said, "the state makes more money off of his company's profits than the actual company does." Testimony like his made the Summits very effective with both the media and elected officials. CMTA also wanted to make sure the Summits highlighted the importance of manufacturing jobs. Lisa Wilson from HASA Chemical in Contra Costa County spoke of one employee who started with the company 20 years ago without a high school diploma and now manages HASA plant, owns a house and two cars and puts three children through college. Kellie Johnson of Ace Clearwater also commented about manufacturing's importance by quoting one of her employees who stated why he worked in manufacturing, "I have only a high school diploma, I make $72,000 a year and I design and make things that are on Mars." These are just a small sample of quotes from testimonials heard across the state before nine county boards of supervisors who are now voting on resolutions (Stanislaus Co. draft) to send to Sacramento asking the Legislature to make a concerted effort to lower the costs on manufacturers. In reaction to the Summits, the media published several articles about the severity of the problem and broadened their coverage of the issue.
While the Legislature and the Governor recently worked out an important legislative solution to the state's broken workers' compensation system, there is still much to be done to increase the state's competitiveness. We hope this document and audio links will help spread the word and contribute to the ongoing solutions being proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger. To the right of this document is a database of links to audio clips of key quotes by County Supervisors, participants and employers. You'll also find links to download informative presentations from the Summits. Another goal of the Summits was to grow the CMTA grassroots database to prepare an army of letter-writing manufacturers to compliment our legislative efforts on upcoming issues important to employers in Californa. It is important for real employers to feed the legislature with anecdotes and information imparting the real effects of high costs on their ability to compete and stay in business. Now that CMTA has completed the first round of regional Summits, we intend to proceed with a statewide event to present all of the information to the Legislature and the Governor. We hope we can count on the entire manufacturing community to be a part of this important Statewide Summit. To receive more information and an invitation to the June 23 Statewide Summit please fill out this form. Los Angeles | Contra Costa | Orange County Stanislaus | Merced | Fresno Santa Clara | Alameda County hit hard by job losses - Andrew Blazier in the Long Beach Press Telegram Jan. 28, 2004 Businesses air gripes with state - Todd Milbourn in the Modesto Bee Dec. 10, 2003 Costs drive out factories, group says - Joan Obra in the Fresno Bee Oct. 30, 2003 Businesses seek resolution of support from Merced board - Mike Conway in the Modesto Bee Oct. 30, 2003 Manufacturers air concerns with government leaders - Jacob Fenton in the Merced Sun-Star |
Selected audio clips Linda Best Executive Director, Contra Costa Council Dennis Bolt Western Region Director, Western States Petroleum Association Paul Calvert Temple-Inland Bill Collopy Vice President, Southern California Operations, Boeing Chris Conklin Vice President, USS POSCO Jim Cunneen President, San Jose Chamber of Commerce Mario DiGiovanni Martinez Facility Manager, Monsanto Tim Flathers President, Beach Manufacturing Norma Fox Executive Director, California Films Extrusion and Converters Association Don Freitas Mayor, City of Antioch Harold Igdaloff President, Sungrow Chemical Therese Ivancovich Regional Manager, National Association Manufacturers Kellie Johnson President, Ace Clearwater Don Knabe Chairman and Supervisor, Los Angeles County Vera Knowles Manufacturing Leader, Dow Chemical Larry Kosmont CEO, Kosmont Companies Paul Krutko San Jose Economic Development Department Jack Kyser Chief Economist, Los Angeles Economic Development Council Tom Martin Chair, Government Relations, Small Manufacturers Association of California Lee Mason Vice President, Clarke Gear Company Peter McGaw Councilmember, Contra Costa Council Irv Miller Group Vice President, Corporate Communications, Toyota Michael Ramsay Senior Vice President for Manufacturing, Cell Genesys Ray Rossi Director of External Tax Affairs, Intel Patricia Salas-Pineda Vice President of Human Resources, NUMMI Bob Sternfels McKinsey and Company Jack Stewart President, CMTA Deryl Sturdevant General Manager of Engineering and Executive Director of Environmental Management, NUMMI John Sweat Senior Manager, Lockheed Martin Steve Trousdale Business Editor, Contra Costa Times Lisa Wilson Facility Manager, HASA Chemical *Fresno Summit audio still to come Presentations Linda Best Executive Director, Contra Costa Council » Contra Costa Summit - CC County job performance index Powerpoint presentation, 1.3 mb Chris Conklin Vice President, USS POSCO » Contra Costa Summit - USS POSSCO's economic and job impacts from the rising cost of doing business in California Powerpoint presentation, 6.5 mb Larry Kosmont CEO, Kosmont Companies » Manufacturing in California: Executive summary of study to understand the role of manufacturing in California's economy Powerpoint presentation, 2.8 mb Jack Kyser Chief Economist, Los Angeles Economic Development Council » Los Angeles Summit - California employment trends Powerpoint presentation, 140 kb Peter McGaw Councilmember, Contra Costa Council » Contra Costa Summit - Regulatory Pressures Affecting Manufacturing in CC County Powerpoint presentation, 1 mb Jack Stewart President, CMTA » Economic Crisis: Overview of the importance of manufacturing to California and its hostile business climate. Powerpoint presentation, 2.8 mb Dave Withycombe Sr. Vice President, Western Manufacturing, Del Monte Foods » Del Monte Foods' business challenges in California Powerpoint presentation, 4.5 mb Studies mentioned Therese Ivancovich Regional Manager, National Association Manufacturers » How Structural Costs Imposed on U.S. Manufacturers Harm Workers and Threaten Competitiveness PDF, 603 kb Larry Kosmont CEO, Kosmont Companies » Manufacturing in California PDF, 365 kb Jack Stewart President, CMTA » Empowering Manufacturers to Lead the Way in California PDF, 820 kb » Manufacturing Matters - a study by the Milken Institute on the cost of manufacturing in California and the importance of manufacturing jobs PDF, 776 kb » Bain Report's California Competitiveness Project PDF, 236 kb » Manufacturing in America: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers PDF, 2103 kb |
