On Wednesday, U.S. Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA-08) and Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus, introduced the “Manufacturing Partnership Improvement Act” (H.R.3854).
This new legislation aims to reserve a seat for a representative of a labor union apprenticeship program on the National Advisory Board for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program: A public-private partnership with centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico to support small and medium-sized manufacturers grow their businesses and train, hire, and retain a skilled workforce.
“President Biden is spot on: The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class,” Garamendi said in a news release. “Our ‘Manufacturing Partnership Improvement Act’ will give union apprenticeships a seat at the table to help smaller manufacturers train, hire, and retain a skilled workforce and unlock federal financing for small businesses looking to sell American-made products to the world. California is the world’s fifth-largest economy, and the Bay Area’s advanced manufacturers and startups are building the economy of the future. The federal government can help, and that’s exactly what our bill does.”
Under current law, the National Advisory Board’s ten members must include one community college representative, five small business manufacturers, and two staff of the 51 Manufacturing Extension Partnership Centers nationwide.
The legislation would also aim to improve coordination between the national network of federally funded Manufacturing Extension Partnership Centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico with the local offices of the Small Business Administration to help small manufacturers obtain federal financing and the International Trade Administration’s U.S. Export Assistance Centers to support small and medium-sized American manufacturers looking to export.
In February 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration’s White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment recommended that union voices be included in all federal advisory committees like the Advisory Board for the Commerce Department’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program.
“The Manufacturing Extension Partnership has been vital in helping to keep manufacturing jobs in the United States. Giving union members representation on the Advisory Board will ensure workers have a voice in strengthening this important program and building on its success. I’m glad to join Rep. Garamendi in introducing this piece of legislation and look forward to its swift passage,” said U.S. Representative Pocan (D-WI-02), co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus.
Garamendi’s “Manufacturing Partnership Improvement Act” (H.R.3854) currently awaits action by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
![Solano County library kids tuning into Arthur might see a familiar face soon, as Mychal Threets will appear in a video short with the famous cartoon aardvark, Arthur Read. Threets, the award-winning librarian of Tik-Tok fame, worked until recently at the Solano County Library, which he left to prioritize his mental health. He has since gone on to work with PBS Kids as their Resident Librarian. The short, titled “Arthur Meets Mychal the Librarian,” will debut Saturday in celebration of National Library Day and ahead of National Library Week beginning April 7. In the video, Arthur stresses out over losing […]](https://www.timesheraldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/image001.jpg?w=620 "Solano County library kids tuning into Arthur might see a familiar face soon, as Mychal Threets will appear in a video short with the famous cartoon aardvark, Arthur Read. Threets, the award-winning librarian of Tik-Tok fame, worked until recently at the Solano County Library, which he left to prioritize his mental health. He has since gone on to work with PBS Kids as their Resident Librarian. The short, titled “Arthur Meets Mychal the Librarian,” will debut Saturday in celebration of National Library Day and ahead of National Library Week beginning April 7. In the video, Arthur stresses out over losing […]")