WASHINGTON — October 23, 2019 — Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced $13 million in U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants to support 11 Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers (TAACs) that help manufacturers affected by imports adjust to increasing global competition and to create jobs. The TAACs, which each service multiple states, are located in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachussetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

“From day one, the Trump administration has fought for a level playing field for American manufacturers, including by securing new trade deals with our partners and confronting unfair trade practices,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This program is one element of an effort to strengthen the U.S. manufacturing sector after years of neglect on the part of the Federal government.”

The 11 grants are:

• $1.9 million to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for the Great Lakes Trade Adjustment Assistance Center;
• $1.1 million to the University of Missouri–Columbia, for the Mid-America Trade Adjustment Assistance Center;
• $1 million to the MidAtlantic Employers’ Association, King of Prussia, Pa., for the Mid-Atlantic Trade Adjustment Assistance Center;
• $963,770 to Applied Strategies International Ltd., Chicago, Ill., for the Midwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center;
• $1 million to the New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center Inc., North Billerica, Mass., for the New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center;
• $889,819 to the Research Foundation of the State University of New York at Binghamton, for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Center Serving New York, New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
• $1.1 million to the Trade Task Group, Seattle, for the Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center;
• $1.2 million to the University of Colorado at Boulder, for the Rocky Mountain Trade Adjustment Assistance Center;
• $1.3 million to the Georgia Tech Research Corp., Atlanta, for the Southeastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center;
• $1.2 million to the University of Texas at San Antonio, for the Southwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; and
• $1.3 million to the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, for the Western Trade Adjustment Assistance Center.

EDA’s Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program funds 11 Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers across the nation. The centers support a wide range of technical, planning, and business recovery projects that help companies and the communities that depend on them adapt to international competition and diversify their economies. The grants announced today are for the second year of a funding cycle running from 2016 to 2021.

Posted October 25, 2019

Source: ‪U.S. Department of Commerce / U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — October 24, 2019 — THE PRINCESS VEST  — Made for women, designed by women.

Unisex radiation protection garments have not only been the standard choice for female providers, they were the only choice. Women in radiology had to settle for either a flat garment that places pressure on the breasts, or a loose garment that can allow harmful radiation to penetrate the sides of the breasts.

Female leaders of Burlington Medical, a product designer who worked in the fashion industry for more than 40 years, and a Registered Nurse with years of experience in interventional radiology, decided that female providers needed a specialized solution. Their creation not only minimizes radiation exposure to the breasts and axilla, but is more ergonomically sound and reduces musculoskeletal strain.

Shaped For The Female Body

Princess Vests are designed exclusively for the female form. The innovative Princess Seam creates a convex shape that molds to the breasts. By eliminating the flat, angular designs of unisex vests, Princess Vests offer greater comfort and easier movement to female providers.

Providing Protection Women Need

Unisex apron designs can leave the sides of the breasts and axilla exposed to scatter radiation. The contoured shape of the Princess Vest more closely fits the breasts, lymph nodes, axilla, and front neck areas, providing better radiation protection to sensitive tissue and organs.

Relieving Musculoskeletal Strain

The close, contoured fit of the Princess Vest eliminates excess overlap, shaving the overall weight of the garment. An integrated elastic band amplifies the ergonomic design allowing a more comfortable fit.

“I joined ProtecX, Burlington Medical’s UK sister facility, after working in fashion, design and fit for 40 years,” said Denise Johnson, Production Manager of ProtecX and inventor of the Princess Vest.

“I started doing some hospital visits to customers and I noticed that a lot of ladies were wearing vests but putting their hands in the armhole pouch as if it were a pocket. When I asked them why they did this, they said, ‘Nothing ever fits around our breasts so we just put our hands in there instead, to fill the gap!’ ”

“So I started considering how we could construct a seam to allow us to shape the protective material over the contours of the breasts whilst still protecting the wearer from scatter radiation through the puncture marks in the seam line.”

“The solution is both the construction and shape of the convex seam, the Princess Seam, which hugs the breast tissue, giving the advantage of better fit and protection. This unique design allows the flat, protective core material to be fit much closer to the shape of the breasts and axillary area whilst giving greater comfort and protection. It also eliminates extra material from the closure systems of unisex vests, greatly reducing the overall weight.”

Posted October 25, 2019

Source: Burlington Medical

WASHINGTON — October 25, 2019 — Today, the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) sent a letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, calling on the agency to conduct an immediate examination of the trade, economic, and health and safety impacts related to imports that seek de minimis waivers.

CBP recently stated in a Federal Register notice on September 13 that it receives 1.8 million de minimis shipments a day but “faces significant challenges in targeting Section 321 shipments.”

The notice goes on to state the agency does not “receive adequate advance information in order to effectively and efficiently assess the security risk” of those shipments each day.

“We share these fundamental concerns on what is a staggering amount of trade, about which we have virtually no information,” the NCTO letter states.

There has been an explosion in the amount of trade in the current de minimis structure and NCTO believes it is important that CBP release a publicly available analysis outlining the underlying impacts on U.S. manufacturing and our free trade agreement partners.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers.

• U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 594,147 in 2018.
• The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76.8 billion in 2018.
• U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $30.1 billion in 2018.
• Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.0 billion in 2017, the last year for which data is available.

Posted October 25, 2019

Source: The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)

ROCKFORD, Mich. — October 23, 2019 — Millions of skilled trades jobs currently sit empty, in large part because of low awareness and misconceptions. At the same time, 72-percent of the next-generation workforce says they don’t want a desk job. The insight was uncovered as part of the second annual survey1 commissioned by Wolverine, the Michigan-based footwear and apparel company, to quantify year-over-year trends and perceptions of the skilled trades.

Wolverine’s purpose is to support people who forge their own path and the brand is on a mission to bring awareness to the skilled trades by proving that a job in the trades can be anyone’s dream job. Roles in the trades offer the qualities ranked as most important for young people in their future jobs:

• Doing something I’m passionate about (94%);
• Being able to get a job quickly after school/training (90%);
• Doing something that will have a lasting impact (88%); and
• Having opportunities to be creative (83%).

“Not knowing enough about the skilled trades is a large barrier for why people aren’t choosing this career path,” said Andrew Shripka, vice president of marketing for Wolverine. “But the reality is that these jobs offer exactly what today’s young people are looking for. They can get out from behind a desk and find success where the work they are doing is making a lasting, meaningful impact.”

However, 65 percent still worry they’ll need to choose between following their passions and making a living. That’s why Wolverine’s Project Bootstrap enters its fifth year focused on eliminating stereotypes and showing how things you’re passionate about can be found in trades careers.

In partnership with Manhattan’s soon-to-open Torch & Crown Brewing Company, Wolverine is proving how trade jobs are dream jobs with its newest Team Wolverine members, announced last night at a sneak peek of Torch & Crown:

• Mike Betros, Tinton Falls, N.J.: Betros took the skills he learned in automotive trade school and went on to follow his passion crafting a rewarding career in brewing. From brewing beer to installing vats to managing the brewery’s entire flow — for Betros, there’s never a dull moment.
• Michelle Gooding, Parma, Idaho: Gooding ditched her 9-to-5 behind a desk and returned to her family farm to reconnect with the physical and mental work she loves. Together with her sisters, she’s taken their hops farming business to new heights.
• Shane McConnell, Sommerville, Mass.: The trades led McConnell down many different roads. But it’s his job as draft technician installing tap systems at Modern Draught that allows him to pour his heart into every restaurant and bar, establishing him as one of the coolest draft techs around.

As the new faces of the Wolverine brand, each Team Wolverine member was also surprised with $15,000 during the signing event, to put toward facilitating their success at work.

“Mike, Michelle and Shane are pursuing their dreams through their jobs, and each has found the flexibility and opportunity to create the life they wanted through the trades,” said Shripka. “At Wolverine, we believe this crew can tackle anything with their hard work and tenacious spirit. We’re honored to call them Team Wolverine, as they take the same pride in their work that we do in supporting them.”

In addition to providing the inspiration to follow their dreams, Wolverine is also helping facilitate Gen Z’s entry into the trades. Wolverine partnered with Torch & Crown to create Lace ‘Em Up Lager, a beer to support the skilled trades. Wolverine is matching the collaboration beer sales with a donation of $50,000 to the mikeroweWORKS scholarship foundation to encourage the next generation of skilled trades workers. The Lace ‘Em Up Lager is available now in cans where Torch & Crown is sold and will be available on tap at the brewery when it opens later this fall.

Founded in 2014, Wolverine’s Project Bootstrap celebrates and supports the women and men who keep our country running through their expert skills and strong work ethic. While some of the root causes of the skills gap are low awareness of and misconceptions about the trades, there has been positive movement on key measures according to this year’s survey, including:

In 2018, 69 percent of those surveyed indicated they were not familiar with careers in the skilled trades; in 2019, that figure dropped to 66%. Although not significant, it suggests a downward trend.

When asked why members of the next-gen workforce have not considered the trades more strongly, 39 percent said they just do not know enough about it compared to 45 percent in 2018 — a significant difference.

Posted October 23, 2019

Source: Wolverine