Regional Roundup: Insourcing American Jobs

Yesterday, the White House hosted the “Insourcing American Jobs” forum with business leaders from across the country to discuss one topic: bringing jobs back to the United States.  For too long factories have closed their doors and companies have shipped jobs overseas, where workers were cheaper. It’s damaged the economy and hurt middle class families all across the nation.  The President believes we can change that. 

Right now, we have a great opportunity for those jobs to come back – and the business leaders that joined President Obama yesterday understand that.  We’re seeing an increasing trend of insourcing, where companies are bringing jobs back and making additional investments in America. Over the past two years American manufacturers have now added 334,000 jobs. Manufacturing production has increased by 5.7 percent. That’s a good thing, but we need to do more. That’s why the President called on companies to follow this trend and invest in America.  

The President is working to restore the economic security for the middle class and those trying to reach it. He’ll continue to build an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. He knows this is a make or break moment for the middle class, and he’ll continue to do everything he can to give folks a fair shot and a chance to succeed.  

He knows that America shouldn’t be a nation known for financial speculation and outsourcing. As he said yesterday, America should be known for making products and selling them all over the world stamped with three proud words: “Made in America.”  

The next generation of manufacturing jobs shouldn’t take root in countries like China or Germany – they should take root in cities across America. Some companies are already leading the way. Let’s take a look at news coverage of yesterday’s event from across the country: 

McClatchy/Charlotte Observer/Miami Herald - Rebuilding a business, bringing jobs back

WASHINGTON – North Carolina has lost tens of thousands of furniture-making jobs over the past decade. 

But Bruce Cochrane, who worked as a consultant in China and Vietnam after his family sold their furniture business in 1996, says rising Chinese wages and an increase in shipping costs have created an opportunity for him back home. 

Cochrane has invested $5 million and is hiring 130 workers to build middle- to higher-priced solid-wood furniture in the same sprawling Lincolnton, N.C., warehouse that his family once ran. He even moved into his dad’s old office. 

Now, President Barack Obama wants to know what Cochrane saw and why he’s taking such a chance in a region and industry battered by outsourced jobs. Cochrane stood Wednesday in the East Room of the White House as Obama said the Lincolnton man was proof that you don’t have to be a big manufacturer to make a difference. 

Detroit Free Press – Obama invites Ford to forum on bringing jobs back to U.S.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Rolls-Royce, Ford and more than a dozen other companies invited to the White House Wednesday are ahead of the curve in creating jobs in the United States instead of overseas. 

”These are CEOs who take pride in hiring people here in America, not just because it’s increasingly the right thing to do for their bottom line, but also because it’s the right thing to do for their workers and for our communities and for our country,” Obama said as the business leaders, including Rolls-Royce North America CEO James M. Guyette, stood behind him. ”I’m proud of that, as an American. But as president, I also want to make sure they get some credit for it.” 

Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed meets with President Obama in D.C.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was among a group of elected officials, business leaders and union executives who met with President Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday to discuss how to bring jobs back to the United States. 

The White House hosted a forum focused on companies that choose to "in-source" jobs and make new investments in the United States. 

The forum with Obama and vice President Joe Biden included executives from Ford, Intel, DuPont, Siemens and Rolls-Royce North America, along with leaders of the United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers. Reed and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber were among the people in attendance, along with academic experts and top White House officials. 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Master Lock hailed by Obama for 'insourcing'

The White House Wednesday hailed Master Lock Co. as a forerunner in the movement to bring off-shored jobs back to the United States and compete against China from its flagship factory in Milwaukee's inner city. 

"When Master Lock looked at their numbers, they saw that union workers in America could do the same job at competitive costs as nonunion workers in China," President Barack Obama told a forum meant to highlight a small but growing movement to shift production back to the U.S. 

Indianapolis Star – Rolls-Royce is lauded for creating jobs

Obama said he will be proposing new tax incentives to bring jobs to the United States and will try to eliminate tax breaks for companies moving jobs overseas.

"I don't want the next generation of manufacturing jobs taking root in countries like China or Germany," Obama said. "I want them taking root in places like Michigan and Ohio and Virginia and North Carolina."

Baltimore Sun – Md. company part of White House 'insourcing' forum

Officials at a Rockville-based candle maker that is bringing some manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. from Asia will join more than a dozen companies Wednesday at a White House forum on job creation. 

Chesapeake Bay Candle president Mei Xu, who started the company with her husband in the basement of their Annapolis home in 1994, opened a manufacturing plant in Glen Burnie this year that is expected to bring 100 jobs to the area. 

Oregonian – Portland-based Keen Footwear talks up domestic manufacturing at White House

WASHINGTON -- With his beard and unruly hair, James Curleigh of Portland was easy to spot Wednesday among a group of close-cropped business leaders who assembled at the White House to talk to President Obama about keeping -- and expanding -- jobs in America rather than shipping them overseas. 

But while he looked different, Curleigh's message Wednesday was in sync with the others and the White House. The message was that there's no longer the need to automatically send jobs overseas in order to compete globally. 

Milwaukee Business Journal – Master Lock CEO participates in White House forum

Master Lock’s president and CEO John Heppner was among a select group of business leaders to participate in the “Insourcing American Jobs” forum hosted by President Barack Obama Wednesday at the White House. 

The forum focused on the increasing trend of companies choosing to grow their business in the United States. Since mid-2010, Master Lock has brought back about 100 jobs to its factory in Milwaukee’s central city. 

San Francisco Chronicle – White House promotes job “insourcing”

The White House today is rolling out a new campaign theme/policy they are calling job “insourcing,” as opposed to outsourcing, at a forum featuring Silicon Valley multinational Intel Corp. 

The State (SC) – SC hailed for returning jobs to United States

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama praised companies that are bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States from abroad at a White House conference Wednesday where he met with leaders of firms investing in South Carolina and other states. 

Obama said the 2012 budget proposal he’ll send to Congress in a few weeks will include tax credits for businesses that repatriate overseas jobs and will eliminate subsidies for companies that ship them abroad. 

Portland Business Journal – Manufacturing locally takes KEEN to the White House

KEEN Inc.’s decision to open a manufacturing operation in its hometown of Portland has drawn the attention of President Obama. 

KEEN CEO James Curleigh joined the president and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber during an event Wednesday at the White House celebrating the trend of “insourcing,” or companies choosing to manufacture domestically rather than overseas. 

“Insourcing jobs is a smart strategy right now,” Obama said during the event this morning. “We’re at this point in time where factors like incredibly rising American productivity and increasingly competitive costs mean the case to invest in America and bring jobs back here is strong and getting stronger.” 

KTVZ (Oregon) – Gov. Kitzhaber at White House for Jobs Forum

WASHINGTON -- Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber joined President Obama Wednesday at the White House to call on companies across the nation to invest in America at an “Insourcing American Jobs” forum. 

The forum focused on the increasing trend of insourcing – where companies are bringing jobs back to the United States and making additional investments here in America.