Ironworkers International Joins Historic Cross-Industry Partnership to Spur an American Manufacturing Renaissance

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(PRWEB) November 21, 2013

The American Shale & Manufacturing Partnership (ASMP) is a multi-stakeholder effort focused on shale development as a major driver of the supply chain of U.S. manufacturing and production industries. The International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental & Reinforcing Iron Workers is joined in the partnership by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering; the National Association of Manufacturers; the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, Inc., (SOCMA), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy.

Walter Wise, General President of the 120,000 member Ironworkers association, joined representatives from the new partnership at a press briefing on Tuesday.

The coalition’s goal is to initiate a "national-level discussion" on streamlining processes between state and federal agencies that have policy, regulatory and economic oversight over manufacturing in America.

While shale natural gas production represents the front-end of the manufacturing pipeline across industries, Ironworkers and other sectors of building trades play a central role in two essential segments of manufacturing:

The construction and maintenance of the nation’s critical infrastructure, including bridges, ports-systems, and heavy construction, said General President Wise.

Supporting the call-to-action issued by the newly-formed ASMP aligns with the Ironworkers long-standing commitment to providing training and jobs for its members. "Our work depends on successful industries," Wise said. "One of the side benefits that we are focused on is the fact that industries need good, solid infrastructure, including reliable roads and bridges, to get products to market. This is why we strongly support such partnerships; it’s why we also collaborate with communities at several levels, including high schools, and community colleges."

The apprenticeship program at Ironworkers, Wise added, is available at no cost to participants, creating a ready workforce pipeline for the construction and manufacturing industries.

To learn more about Ironworker International’s alliance with the American Shale & Manufacturing Partnership, visit http://www.afpm.org.

Founded in 1896, the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union, AFL-CIO, is a proud trade association which represents more than 120,000 members throughout the United States and Canada. The men and women of our union have worked on nearly every major construction project you can think of—the Golden Gate Bridge, the Sears Tower, the St. Louis Arch, the World Trade Center and now the Freedom Tower. We represent trained, highly skilled and safe Ironworkers who specialize in structural steel, ornamental, architectural, miscellaneous metals, industrial maintenance, welding, rebar and who work in shop locals. Our mission is to work closely with our members and the construction community to double our market share by 2020, to continue to provide superior construction expertise throughout North America.

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