This article appeared in the October 2020 issue of MiMfg Magazine. Read the full issue and find past issues online.

Elections elicit strong feelings from many Americans. While some relish the entertainment of the vitriolic scrum over political philosophies, others turn away in disgust at the partisan bickering. No matter your personal feelings or political affiliation, elections matter and stand to fundamentally shift the future of your business, your industry and the communities in which you work and live.

Participating in electoral politics is a necessary business strategy for manufacturers. To execute that strategy successfully, it is important to view politics from the context of your business operations, stay informed about the issues and the individuals on the ballot on 11/3/20 and be a leader in electing pro-manufacturing officials.

Elections Impact Your Day-to-Day Operations

With hundreds of new government orders, financial relief opportunities appearing and disappearing in a flash and rapidly changing regulations, never before has the impact of decisions made by state and federal officials been in a greater spotlight than throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Executive Order 2020-21 issued on 3/23/20 abruptly shut down many manufacturing operations not clearly identified as “critical infrastructure,” shattering the business cycle, interrupting the ebb and flow of industry supply and demand and interrupting decisions made about the allocation of resources. With enormous capital investments and large raw material costs, manufacturers are not designed to stop and start operations and most suffered with serious cash flow issues.

To address the cash flow crunch, many manufacturers were forced into difficult decisions about their workforce. While changes to unemployment — a joint state/federal program funded entirely with employer tax dollars — initially helped employers smooth over the production disruption, manufacturers have reported that extended unemployment benefits and enhanced federal unemployment payments have created challenges to getting workers back on the job.

Further exacerbating ongoing workforce disruption, a patchwork of local policies relating to virtual schooling have challenged remote work and prevented many working parents from resuming in-person work.

While new regulations and orders piled up, companies facing the very real threat of frivolous lawsuits have been offered no clear legal protections, even when they took action to support health care workers and first responders who were desperate for personal protective equipment (PPE).

When these threats and vulnerabilities are viewed in the context of the supply chain, the risks to the Michigan economy become very real. If any part of a supply chain fails; whether caused by liquidity challenges, inability to bring workers back or frivolous lawsuits, the whole supply chain fails. Since manufacturing relies on supply chain viability — and manufacturing is the largest sector of the Michigan economy — Michigan’s future truly depends on legislative and regulatory decisions that recognize the realities of modern-day manufacturing and on the decision-making of pro-manufacturing lawmakers.

What’s at Stake

In contrast to the challenges of 2020, the last decade has brought significant legislative and regulatory success for manufacturers, thanks to the leadership of pro-manufacturing elected officials. Elections have consequences and MMA’s list of accomplishments reveals clear examples of the influence of pro-manufacturing lawmakers. The elimination of the personal property tax for manufacturers saves $576 million annually, totaling $2.8 billion since 2016. The historic rewrite of Michigan’s workers’ compensation laws has saved employers more than a half a billion dollars since 2011. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been injected into manufacturing training programs, like the Going PRO Talent Fund. More than 2,300 onerous regulations and guidelines were eliminated from state law, ensuring a more predictable and competitive business climate. Countless costly proposals have been blocked; local governments have been preempted from imposing another layer of employment law and companies continue to have the power to dispute the property tax valuation of manufacturing facilities.

Manufacturing success requires both offensive and defensive work. Of the more than 3,000 lobbyists registered in the State of Michigan, most are working to elect candidates with interests counter to manufacturers’ interests. These groups advocate for tax increases and greater spending, with manufacturers as the recurrent target for greater revenue. Some groups seek to impose government mandates and burdensome regulations on manufacturers, often in excess of regulations imposed in other states.

A single issue can create a barrier or blaze a path to competitiveness for Michigan manufacturers. Whether the issue is talent development, a new tax burden, threats to the employer-funded unemployment insurance trust fund, incentives to manufacturing investment or protections from frivolous lawsuits, pro-manufacturing officials are critical to growing and protecting a business climate in which Michigan manufacturers can compete and thrive.

What’s on the Ballot

It will come as no surprise that 2020 is a presidential election year. Additionally, seats in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House are up for grabs.

At the state level, in addition to the governing bodies of several universities and a non-partisan slate of judicial candidates, members of the Michigan House of Representatives are up for election. Currently, Republicans hold a majority in both the House and the Senate and control of the House is the focus in 2020. Despite the established two-party system, MMA’s goal is to elect pro-manufacturing candidates of either party. This year, MMA endorsed both Democrats and Republicans who support the pro-manufacturing agenda.

Identifying Pro-Manufacturing Champions

MMA utilizes two primary data sources in endorsing candidates. For incumbents, our review of their voting record provides an insight into actions taken that support Michigan manufacturers. While almost every candidate will tell you they support manufacturers, the chasm between talk and action is expansive. For new candidates in open seats, we utilize a candidate survey mechanism. This year’s survey asked all House candidates nine questions covering the spectrum of our priorities, including economic development incentives, opposition to the expansion of unemployment benefits, support for achieving the lowest effective tax rate for manufacturers compared nationally and internationally, support for career and technical education, opposition to healthcare mandates, blocking regulations that exceed federal standards, increased legislative oversight of the regulatory process, increased liability protections during the COVID-19 crisis and exempting PPE from sales and use tax.

This year MMA is endorsing 66 candidates: 57 Republicans and 9 Democrats, which includes 51 incumbents and 14 candidates in open seats, have received the MFG-Endorsed seal (see page 19 for more detail).

The Bottom Line

Elections have consequences and the continued viability of your business it is at stake. We must be able to count on the state as a partner in our global competitiveness and pro-manufacturing officials can ensure that partnership. In the face of ongoing obstacles posed by the global pandemic, this election means more than most and you can help ensure a government that understands the needs of the 21st century global manufacturing industry. MMA has developed a number of resources to help you learn about the manufacturing issues that matter, find important election details and identify and support pro-manufacturing candidates.

Contact Mike Johnston

Vice President of Government Affairs
Call 517-487-8554
E-mail johnston@mimfg.org