SCHAUMBURG – Over the past year, the Technology & Manufacturing Association’s Advocacy Team has been pursuing legislative and media efforts to stir interest in the industry and the public’s dependency on robust manufacturing and a strong supply chain.
The 2020-2021 worldwide pandemic created a sudden new awareness of America’s dependency on how items they use every day are produced, multiplied, and made accessible to the culture.
The new industry interest proved an excellent opportunity to step up efforts to share with lawmakers and the public the urgency U.S. manufacturers face, such as intense global competition, skilled personnel shortages, material challenges, energy demands, government regulations, growing lawsuit threats, and much more.
Rather than simply fretting and complaining, the TMA leadership began engaging more with public policymakers and attempting to attract the public’s attention to an industry that the public commonly overlooks and under-appreciates—until an emergency shines a spotlight on a weakness.
With that in mind, TMA leadership developed a multi-faceted approach and will continue to adapt to the ever-changing needs as they become evident.
Currently, the Technology & Manufacturing Association’s Advocacy Team, under the direction of TMA’s Vice President and Chief of Staff Dennis LaComb, consists of four persons:
• David Curtin, TMA State Capitol Lobbyist
• Fran Eaton, TMA Advocacy Team Communications Consultant
• Rich Carter, TMA Government Relations Consultant
• Lane Davis, TMA Public Relations Consultant
TMA’s Advocacy Team works on behalf of its members to establish and expand influence with politicians, government agencies, and decision-makers to enact changes or to maintain policies that benefit small and mid-size manufacturing.
The “A-Team” coordinates and implements the following aspects of TMA’s expanding services for its members:
TMA LEGISLATIVE CONNECT VISITS
The Team organizes and implements “Legislative Connect Visits,” which consist of on-site discussions and tours at TMA members’ facilities with elected officials at federal, state, and local levels.
TMA ONLINE LEGISLATIVE BRIEFINGS
TMA’s Advocacy Team implements and coordinates periodic online discussions with key lawmakers and political association representatives with whom TMA cooperates on current topics important to small and mid-sized manufacturers.
TMA LOBBYING
TMA’s Advocacy Team enables members to affect public policy through robust issue advocacy and lobbying at the state, county, and municipal levels. TMA depends upon Curtin Consulting to represent the Association at the State Capitol, with the assistance of the TMA Advocacy Team and TMA members.
To amplify TMA’s lobbyist efforts, TMA requests members express their opinions on urgent matters via direct contact with lawmakers and online committee hearing witness slips.
TMA’s SaMM CAUCUS (SMALL and MID-SIZE MANUFACTURING CAUCUS)
TMA is growing its efforts in the state legislature by informing and encouraging lawmakers to consider TMA members’ perspectives while deciding lawmakers’ positions on key legislation. In 2023, TMA’s Advocacy Team began enlisting members of the Illinois General Assembly to form TMA’s SaMM Caucus at the State Capitol to give a voice to small and mid-size manufacturers in the state legislature.
TMA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
TMA offers members a Political Action Committee through which they can multiply the impact of their political investments by collectively leveraging financial donations with their colleagues. In TMA’s joint PAC effort, members amplify small and mid-size manufacturers’ influence and strengthen state and local candidates’ and elected officials’ accountability.
TMA CANDIDATE SURVEYS
Before every election, TMA issues surveys to candidates in TMA members’ districts to determine candidates’ positions on matters of importance to TMA members. The Advocacy Team then reports the candidates’ responses via the Association’s news website: www.tmanews.com/vote.
TMA SCORECARDS & POLICY REPORTS
TMA provides members with annual Legislative Scorecards, regular public policy updates, and briefings to educate lawmakers and the manufacturing community about industry-related legislation and incumbent legislators’ voting records.
TMA PUBLIC & MEDIA RELATIONS
TMA advances members and the industry in state legislatures and town halls, in high schools and colleges, to the media and through industry forums, to opinion and thought leaders. TMA works to advocate manufacturing through traditional and new media.
TMA MEMBER & INDUSTRY PROMOTION
TMA enhances members’ public image by promoting their brands to other members and the public through profiles, news bulletins, email, social media, and advertising. TMA’s media kit provides various options for sharing stories and informing potential clients about TMA members’ skills and capabilities.
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WHAT IS TMA’s PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA?
Laws, regulations, and policies passed in the halls of the State Capitol and local municipality chambers impact every small and mid-size Illinois manufacturer.
The Technology & Manufacturing Association works on behalf of its members to educate policymakers about manufacturing issues and alert members to legislative risks and opportunities.
TMA’s public policy agenda focuses on three main areas, Taxation, Education, and Regulation:
Taxation
In a global economy where job-creating manufacturers compete against state, national, and international competition, the taxes a business pays affect project-winning bids and risk good-paying jobs and the economic benefits successful Illinois manufacturers create.
TMA seeks to:
• Encourage a state budget that is healthy and balanced, which encourages businesses’ growth and expansion.
• Restrain the growth of property taxes with the goal of Illinois’ rates being at least average in the U.S.
• Reduce cumulative taxation (e.g., income, sales, utilities, unemployment, etc.), negatively impacting competitiveness.
Education
Illinois operates an extensive and expensive public education system funded by some of the highest property taxes in the nation. Despite this investment, job-creating manufacturers report significant frustration with the lack of readiness graduating students display to meet essential job requirements.
Additionally, many school leaders need a more realistic understanding of the state’s job market and the importance of manufacturing to the region. The expanding “skills gap” in manufacturing is one of the most critical threats to our country’s economic future.
TMA strives to:
• Engage, encourage, and elect officials to advocate for manufacturing in education circles.
• Hold educators accountable for their students’ job readiness and competency.
• Tie future education funding – at all levels – to demonstrate progress toward goals that provide students with a high-quality and valuable education.
• Encourage education leaders to meet with manufacturers to understand their needs and perspectives.
• Advocate for more manufacturing skills education in high schools, vocational schools, and colleges.
Regulation
The regulatory burden imposed on job-creating manufacturers results in outlays that TMA members incorporate into the cost of production. Regulations on the employee/employer relationship result in less employment and laid-off or unhired employees/citizens.
Similarly, zoning or code requirements that obligate manufacturers to adhere to property standards that relate better to residential neighborhoods increase costs that can cause them to lose competitive bids.
TMA proposes to:
• Repeal overbearing and burdensome government regulations of the employee/employer relationship.
• Require independent review and publication of the cost of new state and local regulations.
• Implement simple appeal and bypass procedures for existing regulations.
• Encourage local governments to confer with local manufacturers and other employers.
“Every TMA member benefits from the TMA Advocacy Team’s efforts, and the Association is keenly aware of its responsibility to our members to do all we can to not only maintain, but increase Illinois’ appreciation for the small and midsize manufacturers within its borders,” said TMA Executive Vice President Dennis G. LaComb.
“The more our members find time within their busy schedules to share their business rewards and challenges with elected officials, the more the policymakers will be conscious of the effects their votes make. With TMA members’ support and activity, we can turn a corner towards an even bigger and better manufacturing community statewide.”
For more information on how to get involved, write info@tmaillinois.org or visit the TMA website at www.tmaillinois.org.
TMA 2023 Legislative Scorecard is included in the July/August 2024 News Bulletin and online at https://tmanews.com/tmas-2023-legislative-scorecard/ .
First published in TMA’s July/August 2024 News Bulletin
