TECHNOLOGY & MANUFACTURING ASSOCIATION
E-NEWS BULLETIN
MANUFACTURING STRONG !
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UPDATE: BIDEN ADMIN VACCINATION MANDATE - ETS RESOURCES AND BRIEFING
On Friday, December 17th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can now resume implementing this workplace health standard. The ETS establishes requirements to protect employees of large employers (100 or more employees) from the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace.
To account for any uncertainty created by the stay, OSHA is exercising enforcement discretion with respect to the ETS compliance dates. To provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance, OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10 and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard.
The Department of Labor will provide two briefings this week with senior DOL and OSHA officials to discuss recent developments and updated guidance related to the rule. A prerecorded webinar on the content of the ETS is available HERE.
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MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION RISES IN NOVEMBER
Manufacturing production rose 0.7% in November, extending the 1.4% gain seen in October. Output in the sector has improved to the best level since December 2018. Durable and nondurable goods production increased 0.8% and 0.5% for the month, respectively. The chip shortage has challenged the motor vehicles and parts sector significantly year to date, but output has rebounded by 10.1% and 2.2% in October and November, respectively. Even with some recovery in October, motor vehicles and parts production has declined 5.7% since January. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, industrial production increased 0.8% in November, suggesting broad-based gains beyond automobiles.
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MIDWEST SEES NET GAIN IN MANUFACTURING JOBS IN NOVEMBER
Indiana created the most net new manufacturing jobs in November, adding 5,000 workers. Other states with notable employment growth for the month included Florida (up 3,600), Georgia (up 3,400), Illinois (up 2,700) and Wisconsin (up 2,700). Twelve states have notched increased manufacturing employment since February 2020. States with the largest gains post-pandemic include Indiana (up 11,100), Utah (up 9,200), Wisconsin (up 2,300) and Alaska (up 1,700). In contrast, the largest declines over that time occurred in big states, such as California (down 56,900), Michigan (down 34,800), Ohio (down 33,000), Illinois (down 25,000), Washington (down 23,800) and Texas (down 23,300).
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BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RELEASES FALL REGULATORY AGENDA
The Biden administration released its regulatory agenda for fall 2021 — a nearly 2,700-item to-do list that outlines regulatory and deregulatory actions agencies expect to take in the coming months. Similar to Biden’s spring agenda released in June, the current iteration seeks to undo a number of rules from the Trump administration. The Labor Department will seek to update overtime pay regulations to offer more workers time-and-a-half wages and the NLRB plans to propose a new definition for its “joint employer” standard. More HERE.
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CEOs ON RISING CHINA TENSIONS
Polling from a CEO forum hosted by Yale University's Chief Executive Leadership Institute finds that CEOs feel that protecting Taiwan is essential—even if it requires military intervention by the United States. 72% of the CEOs polled said that if China were to deploy forces to militarily occupy Taiwan, the U.S. should intervene on Taiwan’s behalf. 72% also said they supported the U.S. government’s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. 55% said they thought Olympic corporate sponsors should pull out of the event. 70% said business leaders could influence the Chinese government through “collective voice.”
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ILLINOIS COULD OWE $100M IN INTEREST ON LOANS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Illinois and 7 other states are asking the federal government to freeze interest on loans they used to pay unemployment benefits during the pandemic. Illinois owes nearly $4.5B to the federal unemployment trust fund, which has interest accumulating at 2.27% since September. Illinois owes $19.6M in interest right now, and it could grow to more than $100 million if unpaid for a year. Lawmakers were critical of Governor Pritzker for not addressing the deficit in the unemployment trust fund in this year’s budget. They've asked the Governor to use some of the $8.1B in COVID relief funds to replenish the unemployment trust fund, but the Governor has not followed suit. For more information on the unemployment trust fund deficit, click HERE.
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1.11.22 | Operations & Plant Managers Peer Group
Eoin Burke of E-Quantum Consulting, LLC will explain electrical demand charges that appear on both your electric supply bill and the electric utility bill, and how to manage these costs.
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Time: 11:30am-1:30pm
Cost: Free to Members
Location: TMA Schaumburg
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1.25.22 | Digital Marketing for Manufacturers
COVID has forever changed B2B marketing and lead-finding for manufacturers. Join Pam DeLeon and Lisa Kilrea from WSI Digital Group as they help you understand key areas for your 2022 marketing strategy.
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Time: 8:00am-8:30am
Cost: Free to Members
Location: Online
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3.16.22 | IT Peer Group: Evaluating Legacy Systems
Are you using dated processes and applications simply because you’ve always done things that way? Join fellow manufacturers as MXOtech leads a discussion on how to evaluate your outdated legacy systems.
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Time: 11:30am-1:30pm
Cost: Free to Members
Location: TMA Schaumburg
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TMA | MANUFACTURING LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Do you have an employee with leadership potential? Someone you would like to promote into higher-level management? Or someone already in that role that needs additional training or executive coaching?
TMA is proud to announce its new Manufacturing Leadership Program; specifically designed to enhance the knowledge, skills, and abilities of your organization's current managers and supervisors, or those you anticipate will be taking on higher leadership roles within your organization.
Designed by successful manufacturing executives for successful manufacturing executives, the TMA Manufacturing Leadership Program is led by industry professionals with substantial experience in critical areas of manufacturing. This exclusive, ten-month program includes the following sessions.
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Session 1
Progam Objectives
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Session 2
Mfg. Sales/Marketing
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Session 6
Mfg. HR & Legal
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Session 7
Mfg. Leadership
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Session 8
Mfg. Operations
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Session 9
Lean Manufacturing
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Session 10
Capstone Project
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To learn more, or to register for the program, email Leigh McConnell HERE.
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SECURING MANUFACTURING
The challenges of the last 18 months were many – none more dramatic than the disruption to businesses’ operations because of a cyber-attack or global supply chain issues. In their 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon counted 5,272 data breaches, up 33% from 3,950 just a year earlier. Malware incidents grew by over 350%. Meanwhile global shortages of everything continues. What has been amply demonstrated is that protecting supply chains and critical infrastructure have much in common — not only because supply chains are a “key target” for cybercriminals that won’t diminish anytime soon. More HERE.
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