Manufacturing Advocacy Day In Albany
Randy Wolken, President & CEO

On Wednesday, February 28th, MACNY and our Manufacturers Alliance partners will travel to Albany to advocate for critical policies to grow manufacturing in New York State. So much has changed in our state and nation. Supply chains have been turned upside down, available skilled workers have decreased (even as the need has grown), and rapid inflation has severely impacted manufacturers. We need supportive policies and appropriate investments to expand manufacturing.

While in Albany, we will hold dozens of meetings with key legislators and members of the Governor’s team on the issues of tax policy, labor and HR issues, continued investment in Workforce Development efforts like MACNY’s Manufacturers Intermediary Apprenticeship Program (MIAP), and the impact of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and New York Cap-and-Invest (NYCI) on manufacturing. As in the past, our trip to Albany to meet with legislators and their staff increases our ability to influence key policy and legislative outcomes. This annual event demonstrates that manufacturers care deeply about our state’s direction regarding investing in manufacturing.

Manufacturing and business leaders must not sit on the sidelines. MACNY continues to organize efforts to advocate for you. And we continue to need you to help us and lend your voice to our efforts. Our elected and appointed government officials want to hear directly from you. You tell them best how their policies, laws, and administrative actions affect your business, profitability, and ability to hire and retain workers. We can facilitate this through days like Manufacturing Advocacy Day.

We need you to continue to come to our in-person and virtual meetings with legislators and advocate for what you need from them. Virtual events provide a convenient way to participate from your desk and return to work when you are done. We also encourage you to come with us and our legislators to in-person meetings at manufacturing facilities here in our community. When you join us, you tell your own stories and remind elected and appointed officials just how important your business is and what they can do to be more helpful.

As MACNY’s Director of Government Relations, Matt Geitner coordinates all forms of advocacy on your behalf. And, in my roles as President & CEO and Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) Co-chair, I am working daily to help put forward a pro-manufacturing and pro-business agenda within our region. If you are not already involved, get involved! You can do so by reaching out to me at [email protected] or Matt at [email protected].

We need you to stay involved. We need your voice and efforts to educate and advocate for your interests. Our representatives need to know that your businesses that employ New Yorkers need to be supported. We need policies that encourage growth. As we all know, manufacturing and business growth are essential to economic prosperity for New York State.