In a fairly jaw-dropping move, the UAW has decided to deny the use of its parking lot to local Marine reservists who drive a “foreign” car (a quaint notion abandoned by all but the UAW at least 3 decades ago) or who display a bumper sticker supporting President Bush.

In a Detroit News story by Eric Mayne, he reports that apparently the UAW has long allowed a nearby Marine reserve unit to use its parking lot on weekends, but no more. The UAW has notified the head of the Marine unit that as of now, certain Marines will no longer be welcome. This includes those who don’t drive “American-made” cars and those who display pro-Bush bumper stickers. In one sweeping gesture, the UAW has managed to thumb its nose at 21st Century concepts of trade, the First Amendment and the US Marines all at once.

A few questions come to mind:

- Will a Kentucky Toyota be allowed in the lot? An Ohio Honda? A Canadian Chrysler? This could tie the UAW name plate police in knots.

- As for bumper stickers, is it only those that mention “Bush” and “Support” by name? What of those supporting the war, or the troops? Stands identified with the President? Pro-gun? Pro-life?

It’s all just so silly, and so typically heavy-handed and thuggish. Somewhere Samuel Gompers and A. Philip Randolph are turning over in their graves. A labor movement once founded on the support for workers of all races and creeds, that was on the forefront of the struggle for civil rights and tolerance now stares its history right in the face and spits. For the last hundred years, labor fought against those who would ban speech that was unpopular. No more.

How sad that in only a few short decades they’ve turned into what they once fought bravely against. Once again, we see a labor movement gone wildly political, even to the point of intolerance, censorship and suppression of free speech and free expression — principles on which the labor movement was built.

Always wanting to be on the cutting edge, here’s a website, Gizoogle.com that translates search results into Snoop Dogg slang, or “izzle-speak”. (Here’s an even better website, Whudat.com, which will tell you that Snoop Dogg’s real name is Calvin Broadus.)

Gizoogle, featured in an article in the Washington Post this week by Stephen Crockett, has lots of good features, including a translator (“Textilizer”) and some very funny images. WARNING: Not all are suitable for the young ‘uns (“young thugs”).

So what happens if you go and type “National Association of Manufacturers” into Gizoogle’s “Textilizer”? Well, we got “National Association of Bling’n” yesterday (our favorite, since we make the bling bling) and the less attractive “National Association of Posers” today. Ick. “Trial lawyers” translates into “Trial cracka”. Works for us. Give it a spin.

Have a good weekend. We out.

In a study released by Deloitte (in conjunction with the NAM) this past Tuesday, some 65% of manufacturers surveyed plan expansions in the coming year, with 70% of those expansions in the US. This was a survey done of a few hundred manufacturers in every geographical region and sector and of every size. In fact, there were more small and medium manufacturers responding than large ones. Surveyed were C-level execs: Presidents, CEO’s and COO’s. This of course jibes with what we’re hearing from NAM members in surveys and anecdotally this year.

In terms of the top location objectives, the study found (not surprisingly) reducing costs, accessing markets, improving productivity and adding top line revenue.

What do manufacturers look for when locating a new facility? Utility reliability and quality topped the list, followed by access to customers, cost of labor, and ease of doing business. Interestingly, incentives were near the bottom of the list in terms of critical decision factors in deciding where to locate.

Here are the slides from Deloitte Principal Phil Schneider outlining the major findings of the study, and here’s a copy of the Executive Summary.

Of course, the real fun of National Manufacturing Week is just walking the floor, being out there among all the gadgets and technology and general cool stuff. Woe to anyone who stops to talk to one of the proud manufacturers about their product — you might be there all day. They do love to talk about the things they make, and it’s just great to be among them, the best manufacturers in the world. NAM Board Member and NMW stalwart Ron Bullock of Bison Gear was there yet again this year holding court before a pretty constant crowd at his booth. Of course, his big attraction — powered by his world beating gears — is the Aquamassage, a thing that kinda looks like a tanning bed but is really a water-powered body massager. The lines waiting to try that were at times pretty long. Just one of the many attractions this week.

One of the highlights of the annual pilgrimage to National Manufacturing Week is the tour of the Accenture Technology Labs, and this year was no exception. The place really buzzes with innovation and some really cool stuff, like state of the art thinking and experimentation with sensor telemetry and predictive monitoring, the latter telling you about breakdowns long before they occur. There is also the “Intelligent Home Services Lab”, a kind of smart living room loaded with RFID and other technology that would make Buck Rogers proud. Thanks to Dean Teglia, Scott Rose and their team for another great display of the innovation that drives manufacturing.

More later on Nat’l Mfg Week — it was really cool — but in the meantime, here’s the banner that they hung across the street from us here in Washington at the US Department of Commerce.

For those of you who may have missed the release of our National Manufacturing Week survey on Monday, it was largely upbeat in that some two-thirds of respondents expect manufacturing to grow as fast or faster than the overall economy this year. Also, some 65% of respondents are exporters, a good sign. This was a survey of some 3,000 of our members, large and small, in diverse industries and geographical areas.

However, the discouraging news was that 36% have jobs that are going begging because they can’t find qualified workers to fill them. The people applying for these jobs simply don’t have the math, science, technological and “showing up” aptitude that they need to work in modern manufacturing. See the item below on the DC public schools and you’ll know why.

Here’s a link to the full study results.

You know that we are johnny-one-notes here, touting not only the importance of manufacturing but stressing that manufacturers need to be carrying that message. If you’re not doing it, you should be.

Here’s a link to individual state statistics about manufacturing: employment, share of gross state product, average annual pay, etc. Find your state, print it out and send it to your Member of Congress and your two Senators. Let them know how important manufacturing is to your state and let them know what you’re up against in terms of, e.g., escalating health care, energy costs, taxes, legal costs, the whole nine yards.

Manufacturing needs you.

Was up in NYC this past Saturday speaking at a conference sponsored by the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA). They are blessed to have a great leader and advocate for manufacturing in Jim Marquart. Anyway, we promised them we’d post our slides, full of lots of fun facts about manufacturing, so here they are
. Feel free to use ‘em as you see fit.

Alan Greenspan has been Fed Chairman since 1987. In the ensuing 18 years he has earned a reputation as a fiercely independent — not to mention fabulously well-respected — thinker who speaks his mind.

Although first appointed by Ronald Reagan, he often found himself at odds with Republicans. He famously refused to drop interest rates in 1992, hurting incumbent George H.W. Bush and boosting Bill Clinton’s White House bid. He continued to aid Clinton, helping to block GOP-backed tax cuts and supporting Clinton’s efforts to reduce the debt. (Of course he also married NBC News personality and notorious liberal Andrea Mitchell, not earning him any points with the Republicans, either). Though the Democrats cheered and the Republicans groused, it all reinforced the legend of Greenspan as his own man, independent-minded and above reproach. Until now, that is.

Now, after 18 years of offering various opinions on a wide range of issues, Greenspan has incurred the wrath of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid by doing the unthinkable: He supported personal accounts for Social Security and seemed to side with the President in saying that the Social Security mess needed to be fixed, “sooner rather than later.” Heresy!

For his sins, Reid called the long-time voice of God on matters economic, “a political hack.” After all, Greenspan committed the ultimate mortal sin: he agreed with George W’s view of the world. In the process, Reid crossed a line that no one in this town had crossed in 18 years.

Reid no doubt is hearing from his constituents as well as from all the folks in town who have a pretty high tolerance for pain and rhetoric, but for whom even this was beyond the pale. Mark this down as the beginning of the Daschle-ization of Harry Reid.