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This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act. The legislation, which was introduced in March, offers a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children—collectively known as Dreamers—as well as immigrants under humanitarian protections, known as Temporary Protected Status.

Manufacturers in the United States have long been outspoken supporters of pragmatic, comprehensive immigration policies—and with a proposal for a pathway to citizenship for these immigrant populations under consideration in Congress, manufacturing leaders are pushing again for bipartisan comprehensive reform.

“Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status participants have become an integral part of our society and our workforce,” said 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons in a letter to Congress. “They have the potential to offer so much more to our country if they can continue their pursuit of the American Dream.”

Manufacturers point to the importance of immigrants to the workforce, particularly in the manufacturing sector, which faces a significant skills gap. And they note that inconsistent administrative actions and unpredictable court decisions have created ongoing uncertainty and posed a serious challenge for these immigrants and businesses in need of new employees.

“Our workplaces reach their fullest potential and our communities and country are strongest when our nation’s immigration policy is clear and compassionate, and addresses economic, workforce and security needs,” said Timmons. “But today, our immigration system is failing to achieve those goals.”

In February, the 51�Թ��� released its own immigration and border security proposal. The 16-page document, entitled “A Way Forward,” is a wide-ranging plan that includes border security and a permanent and compassionate solution for populations facing uncertainty, like the Dreamers. The plan includes priorities from both Democrats and Republicans and is designed to be pragmatic, comprehensive and achievable.

“If we act, we will have given those who deserve it a chance to be a productive and contributing part of our country,” said Timmons. “And we will have upheld the values that make this nation of immigrants exceptional: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity.”

Ferroloy, a Kansas-based small business that manufactures ductile and gray iron castings, was once on the verge of bankruptcy. But with the help of tax reform, they have doubled the size of their workforce and are in the process of dramatically expanding their facilities.

Mark Soucie, Ferroloy president and owner, bought the company back in 2017 when it had just 20 employees. The business was struggling to break even due to the collapse of the agricultural market, in which most of their customers were involved. Soucie and his team spent much of 2017 stabilizing Ferroloy. It became quickly evident, however, that the supercharged economy could deliver big gains.

“We could tell in early 2018 that activity was picking up, so we added a second shift and more than doubled our workforce by the end of the year,” Soucie explained.

“Now we are in the early stages of adding over 12,000 square feet to our facilities so that we can de-bottleneck the foundry, increase the size of the company’s machine shop and build an in-house pattern shop, which will allow the company to save money while also adding more jobs to their growing workforce,” Soucie said.

Soucie cited tax reform as a significant driver in allowing Ferroloy’s expansion plans to move faster than they otherwise would. More importantly, tax reform has ushered in the strongest economy in more than a decade, which is impacting Ferroloy by increasing demand for their products.

“To me, tax reform is an opportunity to level the playing field,” Soucie explained. “Large businesses have a significant competitive advantage due to scale and capability relative to smaller businesses. Over 50 percent of our working population is employed in small businesses. If you want small businesses to grow and prosper in this country, we need laws, like tax reform, that can drive economic growth and drive business.”

In Soucie’s eyes, keeping tax reform on the books is a no-brainer.

“I don’t understand why some people in Washington want to roll back something that allows small businesses to compete,” Soucie added. “Maybe it’s me being politically naïve, but economically, tax reform that allows small businesses to compete just makes sense.”

2018 was a record-setting year, as manufacturers reported the highest levels of optimism in the 20-year history of the 51�Թ���’s Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey.

“With tools like tax reform and regulatory certainty, manufacturing is thriving – and manufacturers are paying it forward,” Chris Netram, 51�Թ��� vice president of tax and domestic economic policy, said. “Across the country, manufacturers small and large are hiring new employees, expanding operations, raising wages, improving benefits and more. Tax reform has fueled manufacturing, and the industry is propelling the American economy.”

With more than 100,000 employees in the U.S., PepsiCo makes an impact through sustainability initiatives that reach far beyond the brand’s products. Through its program, PepsiCo offers more than 250 free online resources to students, faculty and school staff members across the country with the goal of increasing recycling rates at schools. Via those resources, Recycle Rally helps schools set recycling goals, track progress toward those goals, earn rewards and compete in contests for cash prizes.

Nearly 6,000 schools have participated in Recycle Rally over the past nine years, collecting more than 320 million plastic bottles and aluminum cans. In 2018, PepsiCo began open-sourcing all of their to the general public which has enabled local communities to take advantage of the Recycle Rally tools, including how to start a green team and host a recycling collection drive. And by encouraging recycling, parents of children in the Recycle Rally program reported not only bringing their containers to the school drop off-site, but also increasing recycling of other materials in their homes.

PepsiCo hasn’t stopped there. In 2018, PepsiCo made a $10 million investment in The Recycling Partnership (TRP) to launch “,” an industry-wide challenge to raise $25 million to improve recycling for 25 million families. By providing curbside carts to single-family homes, creating infrastructure to collect recyclables from multi-family housing and offering recycling education and operations, PepsiCo’s investment helps to simplify recycling and create stronger, cleaner communities. In Iowa City, for example, PepsiCo’s TRP investment will support the delivery of recycling carts to every household served by their recycling program—expanding curbside recycling to 16,000 households—along with a customized public education campaign designed to help residents recycle better.

“Recycling is an essential part of PepsiCo’s long-term approach to sustainable packaging for our food and beverage products,” said David Lapp, PepsiCo Beverages North America chief supply chain officer. “We work to support recycling wherever we do business, and as a U.S.-based company with significant operations, sales and local presence in cities and towns across the country, we have a special responsibility to do our part for U.S. recycling.”

As part of PepsiCo’s sustainability agenda, the company aims to build a world where plastics never need to become waste. In less than a decade, PepsiCo’s recycling efforts—through partnerships, pilots, large-scale programs and packaging innovation—have helped recycle more than 425 million bottles and cans.

“Sustainability is a real priority for the manufacturing industry as a whole,” said Laura Berkey-Ames, the 51�Թ���’ director of energy and resources policy. “Companies like PepsiCo are doing outstanding work and making critical progress that should serve as an example for other industries looking to be proactive on the issue.”

51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons warned today of the grave consequences of the administration’s plan to levy tariffs on Mexico, and ultimately manufacturing workers, to stem migration from Central America.

We share ’s frustration with our broken immigration system. But intertwining difficult trade, tariff and immigration issues creates a Molotov cocktail of policy. Manufacturing workers should not be forced to suffer because of DC’s failure to act on immigration.

— Jay Timmons (@JayTimmons51�Թ���)

These proposed tariffs would have devastating consequences on US manufacturers and consumers. We’ve taken our concerns to the highest levels of the administration and strongly urge them to consider the impact of this action carefully.

— Jay Timmons (@JayTimmons51�Թ���)

Saying that intertwining trade, tariffs and immigration creates a Molotov cocktail of policy, Timmons urged Congress and the administration to work together to find a comprehensive legislative solution on immigration, which manufacturers have offered in A Way Forward.

We’re working hard to secure passage of USMCA…the last thing we want is to put that deal in jeopardy. We’ll keep working on both sides of the aisle for USMCA and our immigration plan but we cannot afford to harm millions with tariffs at the same time.

— Jay Timmons (@JayTimmons51�Թ���)

Click here to read Timmons’ full response.

Since Bosch first established a presence in North America in 1906, the company has been a manufacturing leader in the United States. With 410,000 employees worldwide—and 35,400 in North America—Bosch is keenly aware of their global impact and responsibility. Today, it’s leading on climate action and setting an aggressive target for a bold new initiative: On May 9, Bosch announced that the company will be carbon neutral by 2020.

“Climate action needs to be seen not just as a long-term aspiration—it needs to happen here and now,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “As an innovation leader, we want to deliver technological solutions to ecological problems.”

As one of the largest privately-held companies and automotive suppliers in the world, Bosch is well-positioned to make an impact, both through its actions and as a model to other companies. With 400 locations across the globe, Bosch intends to achieve its carbon neutral goal through a four-pronged approach: increasing energy efficiency, expanding proportion of renewables, buying more green power and offsetting carbon emissions. By reaching this goal, Bosch will prevent 3.3 million tons of carbon emissions by 2020—and will be the first major industrial company to reach the carbon-neutral benchmark.

“Our commitment to reducing carbon emissions and climate action is not guided by short-term financial considerations,” said Prof. Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, CFO and deputy chairman of the Bosch board of management, “but takes a much longer-term view.”

As an engineering company, Bosch sees its work in terms of long-range objectives and seeks to understand how even small changes, taken together, can have a significant effect over time. This focus on long-range planning makes it easier to weather fluctuations in the economy and day-to-day business challenges with an eye on achieving larger objectives.

Bosch’s work uses tools that include low pollutant power train technology and artificial intelligence that predictively controls exhaust gas treatment. While most Americans are aware of Bosch through its leadership in consumer goods—from dishwashers to power tools—the company is also a force in sectors like mobility solutions, building technology and industrial equipment. And it is implementing a sustainable model across the board.

“Companies across the manufacturing sector are taking proactive steps to reduce emissions, improve the environment and address climate change,” said Laura Berkey-Ames, 51�Թ���’ director of energy and resources policy. “Bosch’s work is an exciting part of that effort and will help inspire companies in other industries to do their part.”

As the North America Deliver Operations Lead at Johnson & Johnson, Elaine Thibodeau’s work helps ensure quality, continuity, preparedness and resiliency across the supply chain. She also serves as an advocate for women in the manufacturing industry and a voice of encouragement for millions of young women and girls who might enter the industry one day.

“I think we need to keep fighting the myth that a manufacturing career doesn’t marry well with having a family,” Thibodeau said. “We need to find opportunities to bring young women into our factories and give them early, positive experiences with the industry.”

Her 30 years of experience at Johnson & Johnson includes time in orthopedics, diagnostics, pharmaceutical manufacturing and consumer medical devices – roles that have come with all sorts of challenges. Earlier in her career, Thibodeau led a team that was tasked with taking over a third-party plant to continue producing an oncology medication that was on the FDAs drug shortage list. By making a deal with a supplier to take over a section of their plant, she kept production running.

Doctors in an advocacy group told Thibodeau how essential the medication was for their patients and how shortages caused them to make difficult decisions. “That always stuck with me – it motivated me every day to do my job well,” she said.

At times, Thibodeau faced immense challenges. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, she worked to get manufacturing up and running, bringing jobs back to the community that was deeply affected and providing vital products to enable employees to take care of themselves.

“Day-to-day life was just physically difficult,” she said. “We had to take care of the people first, making sure they had what they needed to be safe, whether that was a generator or medicines or water or diapers.” In collaboration with site leaders and other businesses in the area, she helped to rebuild the industry and begin the process of renewal.

Thibodeau’s interest in manufacturing began at a young age. As a young girl, she built furniture for her dolls with raisin boxes and pieces of wood she found in her family’s garage. When her father, an electrician, went to work, she would tag along, learning how to trouble shoot, which is a skill that has proven valuable.

“I had building blocks and I liked to sew,” Elaine remembered. “I was always interested in putting things together.” An enthusiasm for math and some encouraging teachers led her to an engineering degree, and after a few years, she was offered her first role at Johnson & Johnson – beginning an exciting career that continues to draw her out of her comfort zone.

“If the new job or the new project doesn’t scare you a little bit,” she said, “you’re probably going to be bored in six months.”

Elaine Thibodeau won a 2019 Award. This profile was adapted from an original interview for the Input, the 51�Թ���’s members-only e-newsletter.

The 51�Թ��� (51�Թ���) sent a to Congress Thursday signed by dozens of manufacturing leaders across the country urging a bipartisan overhaul of the current immigration system and requesting Congress assure a safe future for Dreamers and participants in the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee completed a markup of legislation to address two immigration populations currently facing uncertainty. One bill would provide permanent relief from deportation for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals as well as a conditional permanent resident status and another for TPS recipients that includes a path forward to legally remain in the United States.

The full House is expected to vote on this legislation in June.

“Dreamers, including participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, and participants in the Temporary Protected Status program continue to face uncertainty under our broken immigration system,” the letter from the 51�Թ��� reads. “Congress needs to send a strong signal that we welcome their talents, contributions of hard work, desire for education, and if serving, support their willingness to wear the uniform of the armed forces.”

Earlier this year, the 51�Թ��� released “A Way Forward,” a plan for comprehensive immigration reform that bolsters border security while strengthening the economy and providing certainty for those immigrants who are anxious about their future.

“Manufacturers are in the business of building solutions, and ‘A Way Forward’ is manufacturers’ commitment to fix our immigration system once and for all—one we believe can bridge the partisan divide on long-lasting immigration issues, as well as time-sensitive challenges that continue to arise,” 51�Թ��� Vice President of Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Resources Robyn Boerstling said. “Our plan proposes seven core areas of action for Congress and the administration to take that will bolster national security, show compassion to those seeking a better life and strengthen the American workforce.”

The solution to the challenges facing our immigration system won’t come easily, but the path toward it is clear: Congress must come together and pass a comprehensive, bipartisan immigration overhaul. ‘A Way Forward’ provides a roadmap for how to accomplish that goal.

“America is indeed a nation of immigrants, but America has also become a nation with a broken immigration system,” 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons said in a letter earlier this year. “Manufacturers believe our leaders not only have an obligation to fix this system but also a historic opportunity to do so at a moment when Americans’ attention is focused on the issue like almost none other.

A new report from – the workforce and education partner of the 51�Թ��� – and PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests that increased automation in manufacturing may come with significant opportunities for workers in the industry.

The report – “” – examines the ways that systemic changes are impacting the manufacturing industry, from the expansion of robotics to an increased interest in developing connected products. While manufacturers recognize the potential value of advanced technologies – including robotics, the Industrial Internet of Things, cloud computing, advanced analytics, 3D printing, and virtual and augmented reality – the prospect of integrating these new innovations with existing processes has raised questions.

The new report suggests automation may have a significant positive impact for people interested in the manufacturing industry – an increased need for talent to manage in a more automated, flexible production environment and new jobs for workers who can engineer robotics and their operating systems, to name a few opportunities. Rather than taking jobs away from workers, the report’s survey finds that most manufacturers see automation as reinforcing the need for distinctly human abilities.

“This technological shift is moving manufacturers rapidly toward jobs that require irreplaceable human skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, design, innovation, engineering and finance,” said Chad Moutray, Director of The Manufacturing Institute’s Center for Manufacturing Research. “Machines need workers to program, operate and maintain them, and today automation often works alongside workers, especially in the performance of monotonous tasks, which helps free workers to shift their focus to more interesting ones.”

Some of that work will come from existing employees. In fact, the report suggests that most manufacturers are planning to upskill and reskill their current employees on using and managing new technologies. In addition, manufacturers see a need to expand their workforce to include new employees – in part, by identifying and recruiting talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students, and by providing outside training at community colleges and through technology vendors in order to prepare potential new workers for roles in modern manufacturing.

“According to the World Economic Forum, we could create 133 million jobs by 2022 if workers are given significant reskilling and the next generation of workers is trained properly,” said Moutray. “Technological change can be a plus for manufacturing workers if we undertake the right approach now.”

All told, about 70 percent of manufacturers say the biggest impact of robotics on the workforce over the next five years will be the increased need for talent to manage in a more automated environment, and for new workers fill important jobs. The Manufacturing Institute has become the leading industry voice in Washington calling for workforce and education policies that bridge the skills gap, and it has a number of programs aimed toward supporting the manufacturing workforce of today and growing the manufacturing workforce of tomorrow.

“Technology isn’t a threat – technology is an enabler,” said Moutray. “It’s actually helping us do our jobs, helping us get to where we need to go, and then enabling that next generation.”

Last week, across the country more than 500 organizations participated in the 7th annual Infrastructure Week to call for a national infrastructure investment. The timing couldn’t be better, as President Trump and congressional leaders meet for their second round of talks Wednesday at the White House.

������ throughout the week business leaders made their case for the urgent need to update our nation’s infrastructure, beginning with a national kickoff hosted in Washington, D.C. that featured dozens of manufacturing leaders, including 51�Թ��� board members Barbara Humpton, Siemens CEO, and Jason Andringa, Vermeer president and CEO.

Humpton and Andringa both appeared on a panel discussing upgrading America’s infrastructure to meet 21st century demands.

“Digital has brought an entirely new world to a huge segment of our lives,” Humpton said during a panel by the 51�Թ���. “My prediction is we’re at the front end of bringing that kind of digitalization to infrastructure.”

“Broadband infrastructure is incredibly important,” Andringa said. “As you think about all the transportation assets that will be increasingly connected and communicating with each other, that’s also a very serious aspect.”

Andringa also pointed to the 51�Թ���’s landmark infrastructure investment plan “” as a blueprint for policymakers.

Later in the week, 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons headlined an event on Friday in Houston.

“The broad consensus around the urgent need to modernize our nation’s infrastructure is why this event is able to bring together uncommon allies: business and labor, think tanks and coalitions, leaders from the left, right and center,” Timmons said.

Timmons also penned an op-ed in with Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston, noting the “status quo is failing” and calling for a bipartisan infrastructure deal.

Manufacturers are hoping the same will be true for policymakers in Washington. Leaders on both sides of the aisle in Washington have begun discussing a potential infrastructure investment package and means of funding it. Wednesday’s much-anticipated meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders is expected to center around funding mechanisms for potential bipartisan infrastructure legislation.

“Manufacturers are calling on Congress to act. Everything from our roads and bridges, ports and waterways, broadband and 5G technologies and more need a robust investment,” said Catie Kawchak, Director, Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Resources Policy at the 51�Թ���. “Across the country the message from Infrastructure Week is simple: The infrastructure choices we make today will shape America’s future. Our blueprint “Building to Win” calls for a one trillion dollar investment, but we are more than happy to have that number doubled as President Trump and congressional leaders have suggested. We’re hopeful that this week’s talks continue in good faith and that they agree on an actionable solution.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, more details about the 51�Թ���’s blueprint “Building to Win” can be found here.

Last year, leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States came together to modernize the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. The result was the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA – a broad update that was agreed to in November 2018. Yet more than six months later the USMCA is still pending approval in Congress. Comprehensive new state-level data from the 51�Թ��� shows the USMCA’s positive impact, and manufacturers are voicing their support for this deal.

“The USMCA is about restoring certainty, improving the rule of law and expanding our partnerships with our most significant trade partners,” Linda Dempsey, 51�Թ��� vice president of international economic affairs, said. “Not only will its ratification grant manufacturers the certainty they need to continue growing and creating jobs into the future, but it will also expand U.S. manufacturing access to Canada and Mexico and help level the playing field for American workers.”

As manufacturers’ most critical partners, Canada and Mexico purchase one-fifth of the total value of U.S. manufacturing output – more than the next 11 countries combined. These exports support about 2 million American manufacturing jobs and 40,000 small- and medium-sized businesses.

“Passage of this agreement is critical for U.S. manufacturing sector,” said Dempsey. “Canada and Mexico are manufacturers’ most important partners.”

The agreement promises stronger intellectual property rules to protect manufacturing inventions, setting new and improved standards for the digital economy. It expands U.S. manufacturing’s ability to export products abroad, ensuring manufacturers can sell their products duty free and eliminating red tape at the border that often hinders small- and medium-sized businesses seeking to sell their products in both Canada and Mexico. The USMCA also levels the playing field for U.S. manufacturers in critical ways by raising standards, improving transparency and prohibiting anti-U.S. discrimination from foreign governments. The benefits would extend to every state, offering communities across the country opportunities for growth.

, manufacturers are asking Congress to ratify this agreement that improves trade relationships, strengthens the manufacturing sector and benefits the 12 million employees who work in the manufacturing industry.

“Without movement,” Dempsey said, “American manufacturing workers and communities are at risk.”