September 7, 2020 – LABOR DAY, USA

Dear members and friends of TMTA:

We, your Tooling, Manufacturing & Technologies Association, are fighting the battle of our lives FOR YOU in the halls of United States Congress and the highest levels of State and Federal government. It is not too late.

For far too long, our U.S. manufacturing and technology companies have been under assault from low -cost country wage pressure and the simple lust for quarterly profits by U.S. multinational corporations.  The squeeze on the manufacturing supply chain is relentless. Delayed payment schemes are disastrous for our companies and their employees. Endless bankruptcies of the “little man” have resulted in losses to communities that will never return. This collapse of American manufacturing and technology capability must stop immediately.

Currently, there is no long-term strategy to protect our manufacturing base, manage our future businesses, and defend the American way of life.  This must change!  Unfortunately, this crisis hardly registers with our fellow citizens in a rabid “consumption focused” environment.

Consumerism from low cost imported goods, regardless of quality and reliability, has become an epidemic. The drive to the bottom for the lowest price is disorienting. To the lowest cost producer go the spoils. Our U.S. manufacturers are not winning and hardly competing in this global shift in manufacturing and technology.

A long-term strategy is needed, and very quickly! 

These are the messages we are advocating in Washington, DC, on your behalf:

  • The USA must create a new Cabinet post: Secretary of Manufacturing and Technology. This department will have the focus and the ability to span beyond the four-year election cycle.  We need to be taking the long view on this because our competitors certainly are doing so.
  • The USA must address our trade agreements to ensure they are beneficial to USA entities and reciprocal in operation. President Trump is making progress in this area.
  • The USA must attack the rampant currency manipulation, where foreign countries manipulate the strength of the U.S. dollar by their investment strategies. They still achieve their beneficial results while not “manipulating” their own currencies.
  • Our U.S. citizens need to clearly understand how their IRA and 401K funds invested in “emerging markets” are often financing advanced Chinese military weapon systems directed at the USA.
  • Even though regulation is not the first choice, the government may need to intervene on behalf of U.S. companies to end the delayed payment strategies that favor, particularly, Chinese competitors and strangle the cash flow of U.S. companies. Hopefully, U.S. companies can grow and modernize to become competitive worldwide. The next-generation workforce needs us.

Friends, this is a turning point election year. Our representatives are anxious to hear from us and understand our struggles.  Therefore, we desperately need your support!  Please consider donating to the TMTA if you are a member. If not a member, please join now – we need you, your country needs you. It boils down to economic warfare in the manufacturing and technology areas. We are the front line. We are in the most critical fight for the survival of our manufacturing and technology capabilities.

Thank you for your support,

Joe Padula

President & CEO