Positive response to a documentary featuring American steel industry

Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the premiere of the documentary, Relighting the Flame. Paul also discussed the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary and how reliance on Chinese-made ships is being met with union opposition.

Paul was recently in Cleveland to attend the movie premiere for the documentary Relighting the Flame. In attendance were the President of the United Steelworkers, Dave McCall, and the CEO of Cleveland Cliffs, with all three organizations featured in the movie. Paul talked about the premiere and the feedback on the film from the public since the film was released to stream online. Along with positive feedback, he discussed plans for the film, including another premiere in Indiana and a viewing in Washington, D.C..

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the employment numbers for February, and the manufacturing industry lost 4,000 jobs. Paul talked about the impact of federal legislation, which he believes slowed the creation of new factories in recent months, contributing to some of the loss of jobs. However, a lot of work is coming to the industry, and Paul says workers should be confident there will be a return of worker demand in the industry.

While the demand has been built and established in America, Paul warns that there may be disruptions to American-supplied products by the import of foreign goods. Among the issues is the threat from the Chinese Shipbuilding industry. Paul discussed why the increased capabilities of Chinese-made ships could negatively impact the American Maritime industry by relying too heavily on these foreign-made goods. He then discussed how a coalition of unions created a petition for relief under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. This petition outlines the arguments against the reliance on foreign ships and asks the President’s Administration to establish standards that minimize that reliance and increase production in America.

For more on the state of American Manufacturing from Paul, please listen to the show above.