National Association of Manufacturers

Association of manufacturers founded in 1895 and based in Washington, D.C. It brings the manufacturing industry's views on national and international problems to government, and reviews current and proposed legislation, administrative rulings, judicial decisions, and legal matters affecting industry.

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1895. Most fundamentally, the organization sought to give business an authoritative voice in the determination of governmental policy. More particularly, born in the midst of the serious depression of the mid-1890s, the NAM was dedicated initially to the protection of the home market via the tariff and to the expansion of foreign trade by such means as reform of the counselor service, the construction of an isthmian canal, and a revamping of the U.S. merchant marine. In the wake of the anthracite coal strike of 1902–1903, the association increasingly turned its attention to combating the rise of organized labor. During the 1920s, the NAM became a national leader in the business drive for the open shop. The Great Depression hit the organization hard, however, and its membership and revenues dropped precipitously.

The NAM retrenched and reasserted itself in the mid-1930s as the chief business opponent of New Deal liberal activism. Its shrill nay-saying failed to stop the torrent of reform legislation, but the organization gained an enduring reputation for ideological rigor in its denunciation of government regulation and the emergent welfare state.

In the postwar era the NAM played a significant role in the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which placed new limits on organized labor. Thereafter, the association remained one of the nation's most prominent business lobbies, usually taking a harder, more ideological line than such accommodationist, big-business groups as the Business Roundtable. In 1974 the NAM moved its national headquarters from New York City to Washington, D.C. At the end of the twentieth century the organization had 14,000 member firms, including 10,000 small and midsize companies, and 350 member associations.

Bibliography

Collins, Robert M. The Business Response to Keynes, 1929–1964. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981.

Steigerwalt, Albert K. The National Association of Manufacturers, 1895–1914: A Study in Business Leadership. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1964.

Vogel, David. Fluctuating Fortunes: The Political Power of Business in America. New York: Basic Books, 1989.

National Association of Manufacturers

Type	Advocacy Group
Founded	1895
Headquarters	Washington D.C.
Staff	John Engler President
Area served	United States
Focus	Business advocacy
Method	Political lobbying
Website	National Association of Manufacturers Official Website

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is a lobbying group founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1895. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with 11 additional offices across the country. It is the nation’s largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states.^{[citation needed]}

The NAM’s stated mission is to enhance the competitiveness of manufacturers by shaping a legislative and regulatory environment conducive to U.S. economic growth and to increase understanding among policymakers, the media and the general public about what it considers the vital role of manufacturing to America’s economic future and living standards.^[1]

NAM's Board of Directors includes John Engler, NAM President and CEO; Charles E. Bunch, Chairman and CEO, PPG Industries Inc; and Michael E. Campbell, Chairman, President and CEO, Arch Chemicals, Inc.

Contents 1 History 2 Affiliates 3 References 4 External links

History

This section requires expansion.

In 1903, David M. Parry^[2] delivered a speech at the annual convention of the National Association of Manufacturers that was focused on organized labor. He argued that unions' goals would result in "despotism, tyranny, and slavery." Parry advocated the establishment of a great national anti-union federation under the control of the NAM, and the NAM responded by initiating such an effort.^[3] The NAM encouraged the creation and propagation of a network of local anti-union organizations, many of which took the name Citizens' Alliance.^[4] The national Citizens' Alliance entity came to be called the Citizens' Industrial Alliance.

According to Adam Curtis's documentary "The Century of the Self", NAM used Edward Bernays in the 1930s to combat the policies of President Roosevelt.^{[citation needed]} NAM made efforts to undermine organized labor in the United States before the New Deal.^[5]

Affiliates

This section requires expansion.

NAM has at least one affiliate, the American Justice Partnership. According to its website, [1] the American Justice Partnership was founded by NAM on January 26, 2005, and "is a national nonprofit coalition of leading corporations, think tanks, foundations, trade associations, individuals and organizations advocating for legal reform at the state level."

According to its website, AJP's leadership comprises Steven B. Hantler, Chairman (a retired Chrysler legal counsel); Dan Pero, President (a Republican political consultant); Steve Nowlan, Vice President, Communications (also Managing Partner, Emerging Trends Consulting Group); and Kristyn Shayon, Director, Communications Services (also affiliated with Emerging Trends Consulting Group).

References

1. ^ National Association of Manufacturers - About Us
2. ^ For more on Parry and his views, see The Scarlet Empire.
3. ^ Colorado's War on Militant Unionism, James H. Peabody and the Western Federation of Miners, George G. Suggs, Jr., 1972, page 66-67.
4. ^ Colorado's War on Militant Unionism, James H. Peabody and the Western Federation of Miners, George G. Suggs, Jr., 1972, page 67-68.
5. ^ LJ Griffin, ME Wallace, and BA Rubin. 1986. "Capitalist Resistance to the Organization of Labor Before the New Deal: Why? How? Success?" American Sociological Review. 51:2:147-67.

External links

• Official Website
• American Justice Partnership Website
• Emerging Trends Consulting Group Website

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)