USA Fair Trade

To: all manufacturing people.


Please take one minute to read this and save your company, your job, and our country.


If we don't organize now, manufacturing will simply become extinct in the United States. Since the enactment of China free trade and "Fast Track" legislation, what was a trickle of jobs lost abroad is today a torrent. You think it's hard now? China is, by a country mile, the worlds largest buyer of the latest technology and production capacity. Then running it with .90 Cent an hour wages, no OSHA, no EPA, no Workman's Compensation, no Health Care, no Medicare, no out of control tort system, no Disabilities ACT or countless other government mandated added costs beyond your control. In addition, since 1994, China has pegged their currency to the dollar giving Chinese goods another huge competitive boost in the USA. China and our other trade partners are not the enemy, it's our trade policy that is at fault.


People speak of a "jobless recovery". Duh! - if I take my product and eliminate the American workers, sell my plant and equipment (or ship the equipment to China) my cost for finished goods drops by what 40%, 50%, 60%. My company makes a big buck. Wall Street is joyous, the stock shoots up..along with unemployment. Gone are the manufacturing jobs; gone is the consumer purchasing power. Gone is your business or your job. At the end of the day a few get rich and for the USA, we spiral downward.

* Our manufacturing capacity is vaporizing before our eyes.

* Our machine tool industry is all but dead.

* Don't believe it? The price of used machinery in the US is in "free fall". A man whose shop was worth $5 million before China free trade will be lucky to fetch $1M today.


· We are rapidly eliminating skilled, high paying manufacturing jobs and converting them to minimum wage dead ends.


* America must have a sensible and fair trade policy. If the government is going to saddle us with unending costs then, we need to employ some fair trade methodology to allow Americans to compete at home and abroad.

* Democrat or Republican it makes no difference, there is plenty of blame on both sides on how we arrived here. Our interest is not partisan, just American!


We are all talking about it, but few of us have time to seriously address these issues while struggling to keep our own business alive.



A Simple Plan:


Each month we will select a government leader to receive our message. We are going to flood this individual with a demand that we will not settle for anything less than FAIR TRADE.


Here's how:


I know it's a pain but we MUST SEND LETTERS. The e-mails and fax numbers that we can get access to for these people won't work for volume required. WE NEED BULK!


If just once a month we use the power of an ordinary letter multiplied by five (or more) business associates or co-workers, and their five and so on, and if we all have the discipline to do this we can deliver our message in literally a ton of mail directly to our politicians door.


Step 1. Simply print, sign and mail the attached WORD.doc


Or


Go to our website <http://www.usafairtrade.com/> www.usafairtrade.com and print the letter


or if you prefer write your own.

Step 2. VERY IMPORTANT:


PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO A MINIMUM OF 5 BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, PARTNERS, CO-WORKERS, OR ANY INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN SAVING OUR USA MANUFACTURING BASE.


OUR CONTACTS COME FROM METALWORKING, IF YOU HAVE MFG. CONTACTS IN OTHER AREAS - USE THEM!


STEP 3. MAKE SURE YOU MAIL BY AUGUST 31, 2003


THIS WON"T WORK AND NEITHER WILL YOU UNLESS YOU MAKE YOURSELF HEARD!


Our government leader for August 2003 is:


Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick


U.S. Trade Representative


600 17th St., NW


Washington DC 20520

* Zoellick is a member of President Bush's cabinet and is his principal trade policy adviser.


* Zoellick clearly does not understand the difference between FREE trade and FAIR trade!




My business, Industrial Machine Tool, Inc. <http://www.industrialmachinetools.com/> www.industrialmachinetools.com is spending our time and our funds to move this along. If you have ideas or wish to help please e-mail me at <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]

Agh, the sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!

Is that supposed to be funny NAMPeters?
I think it is a serious matter.

We have decided that we can no longer be reactive. We are now pro-active.
We are in survival mode. Our state, California, is currently in deep trouble.
We have had to cut our workforce due to the huge increases in workers comp premiums.
I now get to spend most of my time running production instead of doing what I should be doing.
We are actively taking part in political matters. It is no longer good enough to just vote. We have to make our voice heard and lend support to the people we feel can make a difference.

Rather than make fun of somebody trying to make a difference, try supporting them if you share their views.

Les

Mr. vortech:

You are posting from Oxnard, CA- Your Business has a Cecilton Maryland P.O.Box address and your warehouses are in Phila. Rochester and in Kent, WA out on the west coast 3,000 miles away from the others.

And those aren't Hobbyist Machines you are selling.

Before I get behind any scheme that involves my senator or congressman (who I have to live with) I would like a better Idea of What Your Business is Up To.

Some disclosure, Please.

Looks to me that Mr vortech is a machine liquidator. That he probably has plenty of machines to sell...but few DOMESTIC buyers. If things go on as they appear to be going there soon will be no buyers. And he will have to move his business overseas. Sounds like he is in the same boat all of us are in and he is doing something about it.

I commend him for stepping forward to do something about it rather than just complain. This might not solve the problem directly, but it is a start.



[This message has been edited by morsetaper2 (edited 08-13-2003).]

Take it any way you want. The fact is our economy is dynamic and is always in a state of flux. Things come and things go so why get in a big panic over it. Getting government to "solve" our problems is the wrong approach. Learn to adapt, to change and quit the whining.

Learn to adapt, to change and quit the whining.

Click to expand...

We have learned to adapt and change. That is why we are still in business.

As for whining, I didn't know that trying to make your voice heard and pushing for change is whining. Are you suggesting that we just remain quiet and let manufacturing continue to slide?

Let's take this a step further.
I can say the heck with it and contract to have the parts we manufacture made overseas.
Who will that affect?
All the tool houses will lose our orders.
I will no longer need to buy hundreds of pounds of tool steel every year.
I will no longer need to buy hundreds of tons of various types of steel every year.
No more need for lubricating oil, cutting oil, coolant and grease.
I won't need that industrial electrician.
I can cancel the uniform service.
We won't need the scrap man anymore.
No propane deliveries needed.
No parts sent out for galvanizing or plating.
No need to purchase new machine tools.
No more expensive permits to the city and county for hazardous materials, compressors, waste, etc.
No need for workers comp and unemployment insurance.

Every manufacturing business that closes it doors has a big effect and impact on many others.
Another big impact would be on our customers who will lose out on quality and quick delivery.

I refuse to sit idly by while the downward spiral continues.

Les

Then take Les's list above and translate that out to all the vendors/ services and apply the same list for each one. Industry drives the economy the way I see it, not the other way around.

JimK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know where you got your information but it is way off. Check out our website www.vortechsuperchargers.com We manufacture all of our products in-house. Our manufacturing, Engineering, assembly, Warehouse, Accounting and Marketing departments are based right here in So Cal Oxnard. I won't take your comments as an insult, yet. Before you blast a good ol American company get your facts straight!
Jeff.

The post under the vortech name said "My Business, Industrial Machine Tools, Inc" and had the link www.industrialmachinetools.com.

That is what I hit, not www.vortechsuperchargers.com.

The Post had your name on it and I thought that business was yours from the way the above sentence started.

Maybe you should have said that you got the letter and were passing it on or put quotes around the whole thing.

Frankly I am glad that you replied, When I got a look at the link in the post, a lot of alarms went off for me. That looks like a big money brokerage and as I said, I dont want to get involved with those High Rollers and Politicians.

From at least one of the replies, it looks ike I am not the only who made the mistake.

Thank you for posting your vortech link.

Nice Stuff!

Glad to find out that Vortech is a Real manufacturer!

Sorry for being crusty by mistake.

This is a problem that will not go away with a tarrif. If we try and put import duties on everything that is imported from China, we will just prolong the suffering. Duties just make the domestic sales look better, but do nothing for exports.

IMHO forget the import duties and do the following:

1. Manufacturing needs to improve with "lean" concepts and higher quality. Some US manufacturers are very efficient, but most need help. Think "continous improvement".

2. A public education program needs to be started. This could be funded by the government, manufacturing groups, unions, machine tool builders, etc. We need to educate the American public about buying foreign goods. The public also should be shown the improvements in quality that the US manufacturers are making. Show the people that buying American is the smart thing to do.

3. Tort reform would be the biggest money saver that any American business could have (except for a law firm). Liability and medical insurance costs have skyrocked. Do like Florida is trying to do and limit punative damages.

4. Tax law changes for businesses would also help. Give faster depreciation or tax credits for machines or products that have an 80% or higher domestic content. This would help the machine tool makers (that are left), die and mold builders, and even the big 3 auto makers.

5. Special tax brackets for manufacturing segments that are competing with foreign markets. Reduce or drop the corporate tax rate for manufacturing companies that are being challenged by foriegn competision. Equal the playing field.

6. Local & state governments also need to help. If they want to keep the manufacturing in their city or state along with the good jobs that it provides, they must contribute.

Just my ideas

JR

JimK,
You are correct I was passing the message on. If I choose to post a topic that I am passing on I will follow your advise.
Jeff.

JRIowa

I was just in Israel, a country that's always wondering what countries will do buisness with them. Over the past 50 years it has undergone so many different trade embargoes and basically doesn't know who its friends will be. One day the Europeans support them, one day they turn on them.

There the government, and its citizens have taken on an attitude of a we can't trust anyone but ourselves. The government places a high tax on imports enough to allow the domestic company to compete. There domestically produced goods are relitively cheaper. It is the only country in the world I've really heard of where I'd say %60 percent or more of their clothing is made domestically all the time with an average income of $40,000 a year. Now when the economy sucks and they have a war to deal with many of their people are still employed. Go into any hardware store clothing store, the shirts, fans, outlets, small appliances, airconditioners their al made locally. While they don't export as much as countries place retalitory tarrifs, they don't import as much either which means less exporting of money and jobs. Also inticing to buisnesses is that theres little to no suing, and the government has a socialized medical system.

I think theres a problem here where after surgery my physical theapy was costing my insurance company $180 a half hour to have a 23 year old girl (no complaints about the attractive blonde part) massage my knee and tell me to run and supervising me lifting weitghts. With these costs no wonder why insurance is so high.

My dad's old company Agilent technology laid off almost its entire work force, the Singaporians give them huge intrest free loans and tax breaks, and at the same time they pay their degreed engineers a few dollars an hour with little to no medical care. Quite a deal if you ask me.

I think that the US needs to fix the medical system, and enact a fair trade act allowing american companies to compete with those countries who pay their employees $1 a day and a bowl of rice. Enact a bill placing taxes on goods made in countries where the average wage is less then $35,000. Use that tax to offer long term loans to build up American factory equiptment, and offer American companies tax breaks. This is by the way similar to what the companies in the far east do. Lastly fix the stupid suing, and overpriced medical system.

Maybe I am stupid, maybe I am young and optimistic, yet is there a problem when America is becomming a leading exporter of jobs. I just don't think the mentality is here do you want to pay $300 for a TV or $100. I don't know but as one who is young and got a whole life to live, I don't think a society of doctors lawyers stock brokers and burger flippers is going to cut it. Who knows maybe I'm over reacting or does anyone feel similar?

I think tariffs are one of the many tools that need to be used very carefully. No, they won't solve the problems of competing with a low or no wage country like china. But what about their currency? They keep it pegged to the US dollar keeping the prices of their goods artificially low.

That is not "free trade".

We need to get tough with them, or do what it takes to get them to "float" their currency. And if they don't do that then I think tariffs need to be looked into with a bit more scrutiny.

Am I off base here? I'm no economist.

[This message has been edited by morsetaper2 (edited 08-15-2003).]

was told by my boss manufacturers in USA don't want quality tooling. They want just what it takes to make a run on any specific job. My question to all who back this way of thinking is, why are all the big shots driving expensive cars? wouldn't a ford focus or volkswagen be a cheaper alternative? You care for the best and your customers should get the best. I'll take a kurt vise over a chinese model anyday. You get what you pay for and sometimes you don't get that. good day.

I believe that there is another factor that goes hand in glove with this thread. We here in the United States are losing our asset of Technically trained people. Every time an older craftsman retires or dies without having had a group of younger people to pass his knowledge on to, that knowledge is gone. A large number of years ago when I was in the Marine Corps, we were discussing what would happen if the US got into a war with the Soviets. We beat that subject for hours but finally an old First Sergeant settled it when he said that his money was on the US. He went on to say that when he was a Drill Instructor, even more years before, he knew when he got a load of new recruits off of a bus, that if the bus had a flat tire about 95% of the occupants would be able to fix it. This was indicative of the US's technical prowess. It meant our people were head and shoulders above an adversary in the ability to learn and then use our technology. This translates easily over into civilian applications. Ever wonder how Germany and Japan were able to rebuild so quickly? They had a resource, called technical know how, resident in the heads of a huge number of their people. These were the rebuilders. We are losing this resource every time a company goes broke, and whatever it does dies or goes overseas. Somehow we have failed to grasp how vital it is that we continue to train our younger people in things technical.
I swear if I was President I'd get a room in the basement of the Whitehouse and have it made into a shop. Once a week or so I'd invite some craftsmen in and some Union types and some reporters and I'd get people interested in metal and woodworking and I'd get support started for rebuilding America's industries and Technical know how.
I'd venture that it takes a nation about five generations to build a credible industrial infrastructure. I'd also opine that a nation can loose this infrastructure in one generation if we are not careful.
Think about this the next time you see an Action Movie that ends up with a chase scene in one of the zillions of abandoned factories all over our country. My .02. Bob

Many manufacturers don't care about "high quality" tooling because designs and products change so rapidly now.

Some manufacturers invest in the best tools possible, as their core product is competitive because it is an intrinsically superior designg and may need only superficial changes to appear modern in the market.

Either case benefits the Machine Trades. Skilled Designers and Machinists are making tooling and machines regardless of quality.

We are the casualties, sometimes unseen and un counted, when so called low skilled and semi-skilled manufacturing is moved out of the country.

Bob Ityre is correct, Our cuntry is loosing it's Technically, and might I add, Practically Trained people.

He is also correct in his statement that it takes about 5 generations to
build a credible inustrial infra structure. In Human terms I think that means a History of Industry amongst a country's population.

Our Media, in their incessant compettion for our attention, overload us with bland enterainment which blocks out the teaching of ideas of Work and Reward. Any mention of work is a sad news story of another factory closing or else played in a drama as a form of degradation to some Archie Bunker Type.

How many movies have you seen where the Woman is Smart and the Kids Save The Day? In all of Steven Spielberg's movies, the Father is Absent or at best an incomepetant dolt.

Homer Simpson today is the media's paragon of the American Working Man!

Looking at this I can see why the young people see the moving of manufacturing out of the USA as a liberation. Every one of them are sure that they will take their place in the ever expanding Hi-Tech World.

The truth comes down hard. they only find out after they are stuck at Wally World or Mickey Dee's and there isn't anywhere else to go.

Problem is, that while the younger generation is just now catching on to the value of American Manufacturing, Our Leaders in Industry and Government are tearing out manufacturing's remaining foundation stones.

Adamil1,

I spent a lot of time in Brazil and they are doing about the same as Isreal. They have a sliding scale for import duties based on the items final domestic content (see my item #4 in earlier response).

JimK,

I have said before that the reason the young people don't go into manufacturing is that it's not "cool". When was the last TV show with a factory worker (or any blue collar job). If you don't remember, it was "All in the Family". What a role model for manufacturing, Archie Bunker. If you go back to the really old shows, at least Ward Cleaver knew how to fix things around the house.

If you look for shows on manufacturing now, about the only programs that look into how things are made are "This old house" and "Home again".

Like I said earlier, there is no one "fix" for this problem. Either we get government, industry groups and the trades together working on this, or we loose manufacturing in the US.

I don't want to sell frys!!

JR

I have said before that the reason the young people don't go into manufacturing is that it's not "cool". When was the last TV show with a factory worker (or any blue collar job). If you don't remember, it was "All in the Family". What a role model for manufacturing, Archie Bunker. If you go back to the really old shows, at least Ward Cleaver knew how to fix things around the house

Click to expand...

But, but...what about Junkyard Wars, Orange County Choppers, and that show with Jesse James where he does really usefull stuff like convert a minivan to automatic garbage collector ?

OK D.

Go to one of those shows and ask them to make 100 things for you. By the way, tell them that you want a quote, they all have to be the same, and to print. You might also want to mention that there is a delivery date, they get paid 45 days after they submit the invoice, any fixtures or patents that are derived from making these parts are also your property.

Explaining all of that to them would be a 1/2 hour show in itself.

JR