Assembly-line workers and Michigan communities aren’t the only ones with a stake in a strong U.S. auto manufacturing industry. More than 7.2 million paychecks are tied to U.S. autos, ranging from supply manufacturing to health care, education, service, retail and other jobs.
Even individuals outside the auto industry benefit in communities where middle-class auto and supply chain workers’ income and property taxes fund public services such as teachers, firefighters and police officers.
That’s the message that workers, community leaders, elected officials, labor leaders and others will bring to an 11-state, 36-stop “Keep it Made in America” bus tour the week of May 11.
Bus tour participants will include workers from steel, iron, glass, plastics and rubber, aluminum and auto parts facilities, local auto dealers, community employers, and local leaders. The tour is sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), the Mayors and Municipalities Automotive Coalition, and the United Steelworkers (USW).
On April 30, President Barack Obama said, “If you are considering buying a car, I hope it will be an American car.” Participants in the “Keep it Made in America” tour support the president’s call and recognize the millions of jobs tied to the fate of the U.S. auto parts chain.
Auto parts suppliers drive economic growth in states all over the country. Auto parts suppliers are either the top industrial employer or among the top five industrial employers in 19 states. The “Keep it Made in America” tour will stop at six states where auto parts suppliers are the top industrial employer: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. The tour will also stop in Illinois, Arkansas and Alabama—where auto parts suppliers are among the top five industrial employers—and in Texas and Louisiana.
A website featuring regular updated tour footage, www.madeinamericatour.org, will be launched on May 11.
Steven Capozzola is communications director for the Alliance for American Manufacturing. The alliance is in a partnership with the Institute for America’s Future to promote American manufacturing jobs.
