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President's Letter - June 06

The Manufacturers Alliance of New York

In the coming year, MACNY will continue to take the lead in Albany and Washington in order to advance the manufacturing and business agenda. This coming year we will even go a step further in advancing the manufacturing agenda and serving manufacturers in New York State. At our Annual Dinner, we announced our intention to partner with the Council of Industry of Southeastern New York and create the Manufacturers Alliance of New York. The Manufacturers Alliance will be an organization of organizations which, as of today, will include members in 26 counties and over 450 manufacturers and businesses who serve manufacturers. We also expect to add other organizations to the Manufacturers Alliance who will advocate for real change in Albany and Washington and who want to offer our manufacturing-specific services to their members. MACNY looks forward to our partnership with the Council of Industry as we create the Manufacturers Alliance of New York.

Our New Website at macny.org

We have completely updated and redesigned our website to better serve our members. Our site has been changed to facilitate key MACNY Business Processes, allowing members to more easily take advantage of our services. On our website you will be able to 1) learn about and sign up for services, 2) participate in surveys online, 3) get answers to key questions, 4) post member information and news on the MACNY site for review by other visitors, 5) review and sign up for our council events and open enrollment training events and 6) review important developments related to manufacturing in New York

I hope that each of you will take this opportunity to learn more about MACNY and our services.

Editorial Excerpt on Nuclear Energy from NAM President John Engler

Published online at The Detroit News/detnews.com on May
31, 2006. For full text, go to http://www.nam.org/s_nam/doc1.asp?CID=201416&DID=237011

….Soaring energy prices are one of the biggest challenges  facing manufacturing and the economy. A study supported by the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Council on Capital Formation concluded that manufacturers will pay 148 percent more for natural gas and 115 percent more for electricity by 2020.…….

To maintain our global competitiveness and help create more American jobs, we must modernize the nuclear energy infrastructure. This will not only relieve the pressure on natural gas prices by freeing up supply, but will also provide the energy security that is essential for a robust economy. Environmentalists have opposed the development  of nuclear power, but that position is crumbling before mounting evidence that nuclear power is safe, affordable and reliable.

....The Chinese plan to double the world’s nuclear output by themselves, and India seeks to increase its nuclear power production 100-fold by 2050. If we ignore the nuclear option and continue to be shellacked by the fluctuating prices of foreign energy sources, it will undermine our ability to compete in the global marketplace....

....Locally, nuclear energy boosts economic growth and supports high-paying jobs. Every dollar spent by a plant generates about $1.13 in the local economy. Each new plant will create more than 1,000 construction jobs and add nearly 500 positions with salaries about 40 percent higher than the average earnings in the communities surrounding the plants....

....A growing number of enlightened environmentalists are joining the call for this emission-free source of power. As energy prices continue to drain everyone’s pocketbooks, there will be  a growing consensus among consumers for a new commitment to nuclear power.The time has come to move forward on an aggressive national commitment to nuclear power. This can and must be an urgent national priority.