Workforce and Education

The NAM is leading a coalition of business groups in advocating against a potential new overtime rule from the Department of Labor.

The background: The current overtime rule, part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, mandates that employees must receive overtime pay of at least time and a half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

• However, it contains certain exemptions for white-collar workers. If an employee makes a minimum amount of money or is classified as an executive, administrator or professional, they are exempt from overtime pay.

The new rule: The new rule is expected to raise the salary threshold from the current $35,568 per year.

• ​​​​​​​The change would potentially cause challenges for employers, as well as for employees who have worked to advance themselves away from hourly jobs and into salaried company positions, as the NAM has long argued.
• In addition, the widespread adoption of hybrid work brought about by the pandemic “makes compliance with potential changes to the white-collar exemptions measurably more difficult,” the coalition pointed out. New regulations may force employers to restrict these work arrangements that many workers value highly.

The last word: As the coalition told the Department of Labor, “Many businesses are not well-positioned to absorb new labor costs associated with changes to the overtime pay regulations, and such changes would only exacerbate the difficulties businesses are currently facing”—including inflation, supply chain disruptions and the aftereffects of the pandemic.

The Creators Wanted Tour, a joint project of the NAM and the Manufacturing Institute, set new records at the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”: the Indianapolis 500.

By the numbers: The tour’s 17th stop, generously sponsored by Snap-on, allowed nearly 1,600 young fans and their families to experience modern manufacturing firsthand.

• In addition, more than 72,000 students and career mentors signed up online to learn more about manufacturing careers.
• So far, more than 10,000 students have taken part in the immersive experience since its launch in October 2021, with 84% of participants reporting an improved view of modern manufacturing careers. Online signups have now surpassed 1.3 million.

What they’re saying: “‘Creators Wanted’ is a critical message to all young people, parents, caregivers and educators across our country,” said Snap-on Chairman and CEO Nick Pinchuk, who is also an NAM Executive Committee member and MI board member.

• “Snap-on is proud to bring the Creators Wanted Tour to the [Indianapolis Motor Speedway] and the Indianapolis 500, showing younger race fans and their families that manufacturing is an exciting place where the opportunities are many, the careers are rewarding and the lives are filled with the pride of being part of something greater than yourself,” he continued.
• NAM President and CEO and MI Chairman of the Board Jay Timmons added, “The world’s largest single day sporting event met the nation’s largest manufacturing campaign—and it revved up enthusiasm about modern manufacturing in a big way with more students and their families.”

Behind the scenes: Alongside the Creators Wanted experience at Fan Midway at the IMS, fans were also treated to a number of other interactive exhibits.

• These included Snap-on’s “Makers and Fixers” tent; Honda’s racing simulator and vehicle fleet; the IMS Kidzone where kids raced on their own track; and FactoryFix’s activities and resources to help people find their path into manufacturing careers, including its work through CreatorsWanted.org.
• “Seeing folks at Indy curious about our Creators Wanted campaign was such a great confirmation of the research and testing we did to arrive at the name for this effort,” said NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter. “When parents and kids asked us about the type of creators we need in manufacturing, it just showed how spot-on our message really is.”
• The NAM video team captured some of the fan sentiment with this video.

The big picture: “These tour stops often serve as the first interaction individuals have with the NAM and the MI, and the impression is powerful,” said NAM Managing Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas.

• “People see us actively promoting manufacturing careers and aiding job seekers, reinforcing our commitment to U.S. competitiveness. These meaningful personal interactions create lasting impressions and underscore the industry’s value.”

What’s next: After a thrilling Indy 500, where more than 300,000 attendees who saw Josef Newgarden secure a dramatic victory, the tour looks forward to its next stop at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, June 20–22.

Implementation of programs and funding from 2021’s historic, bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is now in full swing—and manufacturers are already hard at work.

What’s going on: During discussions at an Infrastructure Week event hosted by United For Infrastructure earlier this month, leaders from Bechtel and Siemens USA discussed the significant social and economic impact of infrastructure investment.

• The Business Roundtable “commissioned a study to look at the economic impact [of] every taxpayer dollar invested in infrastructure, and we concluded that [each dollar] generates $4 in economic growth,” said Bechtel Chairman and CEO Brendan Bechtel, who is also chair of the BRT Infrastructure Committee. “We concluded that a trillion dollars in infrastructure investment over 10 years unlocks, on average, additional household disposable income of $1,800 a year for every family in the United States. Modern infrastructure creates a huge amount of social, environmental and economic benefits.” Bechtel spoke alongside Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and White House Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu on a panel.
• More benefits of the investment in infrastructure are on display in the many projects of industrial technology company Siemens USA, according to the company’s Vice President and Head of U.S. Government Affairs Brie Sachse.
• Sachse discussed the recent opening of Siemens’ second U.S. electric-vehicle charging manufacturing hub in Carrollton, Texas, as well as a partnership with utility ComEd in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. There, Siemens is providing the management software for a first-of-its-kind, utility-owned microgrid cluster. “It will lead to cleaner, more reliable power for a neighborhood in the midst of revitalization,” Sachse said during a lightning round at the event. “We’re enthusiastic about the momentum to electrify America.”

 Permitting reform and workforce: Both Bechtel and Sachse stressed the critical importance of filling current and future open manufacturing jobs. Bechtel echoed NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons—who spoke on an earlier panel—when he stressed the need for infrastructure-project permitting reform at the congressional level.

• “The shortage of construction workers is real. It’s the current constraint throttling how much work we feel we can responsibly commit to and deliver at once,” Bechtel said. “I think it’s the single most important thing that we can all address besides permitting reform.”
• After the event, Bechtel thanked industry allies and business leaders “for continuing to lead on improving the permitting system so we can move projects through the pipeline more efficiently.” 

The power of apprenticeships: The companies are betting on apprentice programs to help fill jobs.

• Siemens recently launched an apprentice program in Wendell, North Carolina, to “support the growing EV market,” Sachse said, adding that apprenticeships like this one are “opening the door for career pathways that are both well-paying and meaningful.”
• To fill the worker shortage, “we’re doubling down on the things we know that work,” Bechtel said. For example, the company uses apprentice readiness programs, in which people are “learning while they’re earning [and] they’re accessing and accumulating health and retirement benefits that they wouldn’t otherwise.”

When service members leave the military, manufacturers are quick to say: “Come on over!” Military skills are usually a great match for manufacturing careers, which require attention to detail, technical abilities and creative thinking. And there’s no better matchmaker than the Manufacturing Institute’s Heroes MAKE America initiative, which since 2018 has been offering training certification programs and career courses to transitioning service members and veterans.

Today, HMA not only serves service members on military installations across the country but has also expanded its reach via a virtual training program.

Widening the reach: Now in its second year, the virtual training program has allowed HMA to impact service members on a national scale.

• For the first time, members from four branches—Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy—are participating in the same class at the same time.
• Additionally, the geographic range of participants has increased to comprise students located far and wide, including in Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Kansas and Kentucky.
• The program has reached more than 120,000 prospective students through local transition assistance, HMA’s LinkedIn and Facebook presence and the SkillBridge website.

How it works: HMA partnered with Texas State Technical College to create a virtual nine-week training and certification program.

• Participants earn nationally portable, industry-recognized Certified Production Technician certification as well as an OSHA 10 certification.
• Through Heroes Connect, HMA also partners with sponsors like Johnson & Johnson, The Caterpillar Foundation, Amazon, Howmet Aerospace, WestRock, Saint-Gobain, Atlas Copco, Cargill, FUCHS Lubricants Company, C.H. Guenther & Sons, Honda Foundation, Niagara Bottling and the NAFEM, PPI and SEMI Associations to connect program graduates and members of the military community with manufacturers.

What we’re saying: “It’s exciting to see members from four branches of the military all in one virtual classroom together,” said Heroes MAKE America Senior Program Manager Katie Bowerman. “There’s a lot of strength in that kind of diversity.”

Spread the word: Do you have jobs for which HMA students might qualify, or know of a service member who would want to join the program? The HMA virtual program is open to any transitioning service member who is in their last six months of active-duty service, as well as to veteran and active-duty military spouses. For more information, contact [email protected].

When service members leave the military, manufacturers are quick to say: “Come on over!” Military skills are usually a great match for manufacturing careers, which require attention to detail, technical abilities and creative thinking. And there’s no better matchmaker than the Manufacturing Institute’s Heroes MAKE America initiative, which since 2018 has been offering training certification programs and career courses to transitioning service members and veterans.

Today, HMA not only serves service members on military installations across the country but also has expanded its reach via a virtual training program.

Widening the reach: Now in its second year, the virtual training program has allowed HMA to impact service members on a national scale.

• For the first time, members from four branches—Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy—are participating in the same class at the same time.
• Additionally, the geographic range of participants has increased to comprise students located far and wide, including in Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Kansas and Kentucky.
• The program has reached more than 120,000 prospective students through local transition assistance, HMA’s LinkedIn and Facebook presence and the SkillBridge website.

How it works: HMA partnered with Texas State Technical College to create a virtual nine-week training and certification program.

• Participants earn nationally portable, industry-recognized Certified Production Technician certification as well as an OSHA 10 certification.
• Through Heroes Connect, HMA also partners with sponsors like Johnson & Johnson, The Caterpillar Foundation, Amazon, Howmet Aerospace, WestRock, Saint-Gobain, Atlas Copco, Cargill, FUCHS Lubricants Company, C.H. Guenther & Sons, Honda Foundation, Niagara Bottling and the NAFEM, PPI and SEMI associations to connect program graduates and members of the military community with manufacturers.

Read the full story here.

Most people are satisfied with their jobs, according to a Washington Post–Ipsos poll about what workers want, The Washington Post (subscription) reports.

What’s going on: Following the pandemic and the Great Resignation, “about 8 in 10 workers are satisfied with their jobs, even as over 6 in 10 say work is stressful,” according to the survey of 1,148 workers ages 18 to 64.

• “While desire to work from home is a priority for some workers, pay, having a good boss or manager and other aspects of a job rank higher.”

Key takeaways: The poll had several notable findings, including the following:

• People prize remote work: Four in 10 respondents said their jobs can be done remotely. “Desire to work outside the office is high among remote-capable workers, with about 7 in 10 saying they’d choose to work from home “all of the time” (37 percent) or “most of the time” (35 percent).”
• Pay and bosses matter: “When asked to rank the most important factors in a job, 45 percent put pay in the top slot. Having a good boss comes in second, with 14 percent of workers ranking it as the most important.”
• The Gen Z difference: Gen Z and younger millennial workers prize promotion and advancement opportunities more highly than do their older counterparts.
• Friends at work: Some 55% of respondents said they have “close friendships” with coworkers.

The stress factor: “Stress varies sharply by age, with Gen Z workers the least likely to say their jobs are stressful (43 percent), compared to 61 percent of younger millennials 27-to-34 years old, 67 percent of 35-to-49-year-olds and 66 percent of workers 50-to-64 years old.”

Immigrants helped fill worker shortages last year, providing 60% of workforce growth according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, reports Bloomberg Government (subscription).

The data: “Roughly 1.8 million foreign-born workers joined the labor force in 2022, compared with 1.3 million native-born ones, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published Thursday.”

• “The nation’s nearly 31 million immigrant workers now make up 18.5% of the labor force, close to a record-high share and above pre-Covid levels.”

Filling the gap: Immigrants are taking more roles in industries experiencing labor shortages, as compared to before the pandemic.

• “Almost 10% of immigrant workers had jobs in construction last year, up from 9.1% in 2019, according to the BLS. The share of foreign-born workers in health-care support occupations also increased.”

The NAM says: “With over 800,000 job openings in manufacturing over the past 12 months, manufacturers know immigration is an essential part of the workforce solution to build a stronger, more competitive America, and that’s why the NAM is unrelenting in leveraging every opportunity to advance our immigration plan ‘A Way Forward’ with key Hill and administration leaders and the press,” said NAM Director of Human Resources and Innovation Policy Julia Bogue.

A record number of employee drug tests are showing positive results for marijuana, The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports, as legalization becomes more prevalent.

The numbers: “Of the more than 6 million general workforce tests that Quest screened for marijuana in 2022, 4.3% came back positive, up from 3.9% the prior year. That is the largest marijuana positivity rate since 1997.”

More alarming: As many tests can pick up marijuana use from days or weeks prior, a positive test doesn’t necessarily indicate impairment on the job. However…

• “The percentage of employees that tested positive for marijuana following an on-the-job accident rose to 7.3% in 2022, an increase of 9% compared with the prior year.”
• “From 2012 to 2022, post-accident marijuana positive test rates tripled, tracking with widening legalization.”

On the positive side: “Positivity rates last year for certain classes of opioids and barbiturates declined.”

The legal tangle: Differing marijuana regulations across the U.S. have created a headache for employers trying to enact workplace policies.

• That’s why the NAM’s Legal Center hosted a panel on marijuana policy at its first Manufacturing Legal Summit back in November.

Interested in learning more? The next NAM summit, which convenes in-house counsel from manufacturing companies as well as outside experts, will be Nov. 6–7 in Washington, D.C. Registration has just opened, and you can sign up here.

Convention halls are filling back up again following the pandemic, restoring a critical type of “economic fuel” that had been cut off for three years, The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports.

What’s going on: Attendance at in-person business conferences is on the rise across the U.S., supporting local jobs and wages that had suffered since 2020—particularly in tourist- and conference-heavy cities such as Las Vegas.

• “Economists said that travelers provide an economic and tax boost to cities without using services, like schools. ‘They come, spend and leave,’ said Angelos Angelou, president of an economic-impact research firm that has produced reports for events and conferences like South by Southwest and Lollapalooza. ‘It’s the kind of economic bonanza that any type of city would love to have.’”

​​​​​​​Betting big: Some municipalities are so sure the recovery is permanent that they’ve invested in new conference facilities.

• Seattle recently opened a $2 billion addition to its convention center, and last November, Dallas voters approved their own convention-center expansion—with a price tag of $4 billion—to be funded through hotel taxes.

More small businesses are pulling back on hiring, The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports.

What’s going on: “The portion of small-business owners who expect to expand their workforce over the next year was below 50% for the second month in a row in May, hitting the lowest level since June 2020, during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent survey conducted for The Wall Street Journal.”

• Even as the economy shows signs of a slowdown, applicant pay expectations remain high—but small-business owners are “less willing to pay up for talent” as they respond to belt tightening by their customers.

The data: In March, U.S. job openings fell to their lowest level in almost two years, and the number of layoffs increased.

• However, employers added 253,000 jobs in April, mostly on the strength of service-sector gains.

What it means: “‘There is no question that CEOs are downshifting into a slowing economy,’ said Vistage chief research officer Joe Galvin. Despite caution about adding additional workers, ‘no one is willing to shed the hard-earned and expensive employees they hired,’ Mr. Galvin said. Entrepreneurs often still struggle to fill openings when workers leave, he added.”