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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
Investing in
Manufacturing to Grow Ohio’s Middle Class
We know that manufacturing jobs are a ticket to the middle class.
They are critical to the economy of our state and our nation, and I
joined President Obama in Cleveland this week to highlight the strength
of Ohio manufacturing, and announce a new $500 million manufacturing
investment.
That investment includes $150 million for a textiles-focused
manufacturing innovation hub. Leading manufacturers, universities, and
non-profits will be able to compete for the $150 million in public and
private funding to form a manufacturing hub specifically dedicated to
fibers and textiles technologies.
In an era of stagnating wages and a shrinking middle class, investing
in manufacturing jobs is more important than ever, particularly in
Ohio. Since 2000, Ohio’s middle class has shrunk by more than five
percentage points — the second-largest drop in the country. While
worker productivity has increased over the past thirty years, wages
have remained stagnant.
But we know that manufacturing jobs can lift families up into our
middle class and help them stay there. It has the strongest multiplier
effect of any industry, with ever $1.00 spent in manufacturing adding
$1.48 to the entire economy.
That’s why I worked to pass into law the Revitalizing American
Manufacturing and Innovation (RAMI) Act, which provides funding for a
National Network of Manufacturing Innovation made up of advanced
manufacturing hubs. These hubs bring together industry, universities
and community colleges, federal agencies, and all levels of government
to leverage resources and spur innovation.
And it’s why I was excited to be in Brooklyn, Ohio last week to
announce that we saved more than 160 jobs in textile manufacturing,
helping broker a deal to save the jobs Hugo Boss plant. Our work to
save this plant — working cooperatively with both companies, with
Workers United and its leaders, and with the local community — can
serve as a model for how we can save and create new manufacturing jobs.
Announcements like this are victories not only for workers and their
families, but for entire communities.
We need a manufacturing policy that invests in our workers and rebuilds
our middle class. Investments like the ones President Obama announced
last week are a down payment on our future, and will help build and
sustain an economy that works for all Ohioans.
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