U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) kicked off the Manufacturing Jobs for America campaign on April 29 along with U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) at an event in Washington, D.C.
The MJA campaign began last Congress, when Coons led a coalition of 27 senators to introduce 36 manufacturing bills, half of which were bipartisan. Eight of those 36 bills were enacted into law.
In the new Congress, Baldwin and Coons will help re-introduce more than a dozen of those bills along with new legislation to support American manufacturing under the MJA banner.
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, workers in manufacturing jobs earn 24 percent more in annual pay and benefits than the average worker in other industries. Every new manufacturing job created adds another 1.6 jobs to the local service economy, and for every dollar in manufacturing sales, another $1.34 is added to the economy.
“For decades in Wisconsin, we’ve worked to make things: paper, engines, tools and ships. These manufacturing jobs created shared prosperity for generations and strengthened the economic security of the middle class,” Baldwin said. “That’s why it’s so important that we drive the Manufacturing Jobs for America initiative forward and focus on rebuilding a Made in America manufacturing economy for all.”
Coons added: “If Republicans and Democrats are serious about getting things done and passing legislation to boost our economy, there are more than a dozen manufacturing bills we can pass right now that will put Americans back to work. We saw last Congress that manufacturing isn’t a partisan issue – it’s about supporting good jobs in communities across the country. That’s why we’ll be working with members of both parties, from states all across the country, to pass more MJA bills this Congress.”
The MJA campaign has been endorsed by two dozen organizations, including the National Association of Manufacturers, the Alliance for American Manufacturing and the Association for Manufacturing Technology.
The kickoff event was hosted by Third Way, a centrist think tank based in Washington, D.C.
