June 11, 2014

Tallahassee, Fla. – The Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) this week is participating in the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) 2014 Manufacturing Summit in Washington, D.C.  As the state affiliate of NAM, AIF is on Capitol Hill advocating for tax, energy, environmental regulation, infrastructure, international trade, workforce and labor policies.

“As a partner of the National Association of Manufacturers, we are proud to attend their annual summit in D.C. and support measures that impact a variety of policy areas, including tax, energy, environmental regulation, infrastructure, international trade, workforce and labor,” said AIF President & CEO Tom Feeney.  “This week’s summit has brought together thought leaders and policy experts within the manufacturing industry and business community to deliver a message to Washington that strengthening our global cost competitiveness, modernizing our infrastructure and embracing domestic energy production are all necessary components to sustaining, attracting and growing our economy and workforce.” 

“Key to driving our economy and increasing productivity within the manufacturing industry is addressing the EPA emissions mandate and the EPA’s effort to expand the definition of Waters of the U.S. as federal overage – which will drive up costs and reduce jobs,” continued Feeney.  “Additionally, AIF supports federal and state programs on workforce education that are designed to close the ‘skills gap’ and help fill the more than 600,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs that are available but cannot be filled because of the lack of a skilled workforce.  According to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, manufacturing jobs pay an average salary of $63,853 in Florida, making education and training critical to fill these high-paying Florida jobs.”

“AIF looks forward to the continued dialogue on these important issues facing the manufacturing industry, and is committed to advocating on behalf of the business community in Florida and making every effort to increase competitiveness and further innovation that will lead to job and economic growth in Florida,” concluded Feeney.

In addition to meeting with the members of Florida’s congressional delegation, Feeney joined manufacturing leaders from around the country in hearing addresses from Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. Senator Christopher Coons.

For more information on NAM and its summit, please visit NAM.org.
For more information on AIF, please visit AIF.com and follow @VoiceofFLBiz.