Leslie is joined by Roxanne Brown, the International Vice President at Large for the United Steelworkers. For 20 years, she has served USW members from the union’s Legislative Office in Washington, D.C., most recently as Legislative Director.  Brown continues to oversee the union’s public policy and legislative agenda as well as its political work.

The two discuss strengthening American manufacturing. 

Over the last several decades, policy choices led to the offshoring and outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs and weakened our supply chains, leaving us vulnerable especially in times of crisis. This has:

- Hollowed out our capacity as a nation to manufacture essential goods, weakening our industrial supply chains and compromising the safety and security of our nation.

- Given business to countries with weaker emissions reduction goals, undermining goals for climate remediation. Meanwhile, the US has among the cleanest manufacturing standards and processes in the world and a ready workforce to rise to the task of clean production.

- Forced workers and communities to struggle with the loss of good, manufacturing jobs.

One example is the TIMET plant closure last year:

- TIMET’s plant in Henderson, Nevada, was the last remaining titanium sponge plant in the United States.

- Titanium sponge is coral-like material essential for manufacturing warplanes, munitions, satellites, civilian jetliners, ships and even joints for artificial hips.

- Around 420 workers lost jobs.

- This left the nation completely dependent on foreign imports of titanium sponge and further decimated manufacturing supply chains crucial to the nation’s security.

This loss of manufacturing capacity is so dire that last month President Biden signed an executive order instituting a 100-day review of critical supply chains.

There are a number of policies that unions and others have championed for years that can help to shore up production, strengthen clean energy domestic supply chains, and bring good, union jobs back to the communities that need it most. Some of those policies include:

- Massive infrastructure investment that rebuilds our country with American-made materials

- Tax credits to support investment in domestic manufacturing facilities

- Investments in clean energy manufacturing, like carbon capture technologies

- Legislation to help prevent offshoring Keeping Section 232 tariffs in place until we can find a more permanent solution to the dumping and overcapacity that threatens our national security

- Buy America, which can drive production and job growth by setting a preference for domestically-sourced content in government-funded projects

- Buy Clean, promotes products that are made in cleaner, climate-friendly manners for federal spending

Throughout her career, Roxanne Brown has worked with members and allies to advance policies on Capitol Hill and with regulatory agencies to help workers. She has extensive experience in defense procurement policy, environmental regulation, energy, cement, specialty metals and biomass carbon neutrality.
You can follow Roxanne on Twitter, where her handle is @BrownRox.  Follow the USW using the handle @steelworkers, and visit their website at USW.org.

(Image Credit: Getty Images)