24 hundred hours of Obama: President Obama has been in office for more than 100 days. Is the metalcasting industry counting the hours until he leaves?

As executive director of the Ohio Cast Metals Association, Russ Murray heads up what is perennially the largest delegation of metalcasters in Washington for the industry's annual march on Capitol Hill. But Murray has no problem stepping aside from that delegation and offering his own opinion on President Obama's administration.

"The American people may have voted for change last November, but I think the change they are getting is change that's going to disrupt this economy and society in ways we've never seen before," Murray said in a recent interview.

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Murray made it clear that he was not speaking for everyone in the Ohio Cast Metals Association, much less the entire metalcasting industry, but some evidence shows that other metalcasters agree with him. According to the early returns from a MODERN CASTING online poll, more than half of respondents agreed that the first 100 days of the administration have affected the metalcasting industry negatively.

What's more, an industry advocate and Washington insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, agreed that the new administration has reversed many of the policies of the Bush Administration and could be a burden to metalcasters. "The whole picture is depressing if you're trying to run a business," the advocate said.

But the administration has its reasons--and proponents--for the actions and positions that have drawn the ire of metalcasters and other small business owners. Following is a look at a few of those actions and how relevant groups have reacted to them.

Workplace Issues

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Executive Vice President Jay Timmons had high hopes for the Obama Administration. But he has not found his expectations met. One of the first actions NAM objected to was the president's support and signing of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on Jan. 29. The White House touted the act, which ostensibly assures fair pay for all employees regardless of gender, race or age, as one way in which Obama "has been delivering change."

"Ultimately, equal pay isn't just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it's a question of who we are--and whether we're truly living up to our fundamental ideals," Obama was quoted as saying in a press release.

NAM, on the other hand, believes the act represents a change for the worse, as it goes beyond simply establishing fair pair for all individuals.

"[Because the act] removes all statutes of limitation on employment discrimination lawsuits ... the president has made each new hire marginally more expensive, discouraging employers from creating jobs," Timmons said in an open letter to the organization's membership.

Thea Lee, policy director for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), said she believes Timmons' concerns are unfounded. Because the act will affect so few businesses, the increase in costs would be negligible, she said.

A piece of labor legislation still in the works also has caused a stir among metalcasters. The Employee Free Choice Act, for which Obama has indicated at least some support, would change the way in which workers in this country unionize. Where before a secret ballot consensus was required before a union could take hold in a workplace, the potential legislation would require that unions gather enough signatures to indicate a consensus. The bill also would set limits on the amount of time allowed for unions and employers to reach arbitration agreements. At the end of a set period, the government would allow arbitrators to step in and set wages, benefits and other contract terms for a period of two years.

According to industry advocates, the bill would put employers at a disadvantage in negotiations and eliminate the fairest method of determining whether workers want to unionize--a vote.

"The current card check bill, in the face of a rapidly deteriorating and competitive marketplace, is designed to tilt the labor management equation in the favor of labor and would raise costs," said George Boyd Sr., president and CEO of Goldens' Foundry and Machine, Columbus, Ga. "It is not only contrary to good business practices, it is fundamentally misaligned to the fairness of our legal system."

The Obama Administration declined to comment on the industry's stated position, but Lee addressed several of the concerns from the AFL-CIO's perspective. While she agreed the law would essentially make it easier for workers to unionize, she disagreed with the implications.

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"I would argue that strengthening unions builds the middle class, and that's good for business ultimately," she said. "Business should not see unions as an inevitable adversary. If the U.S. is going to be successful in the global economy, we need to devote less energy to battles between labor and management and more resources toward innovation, high productivity and targeted training."

Lee also took issue with the notion that secret elections are more fair than a card check process, as the elections are such that management is able to affect the outcome of the election by approaching the voters with its agenda. The limit on the amount of time that is allowed before government steps in to resolve disputes should be put in place to discourage employers from using delaying tactics until union support dissolves, she said.

Health Care

Obama has made overhauling health care a central goal in his administration. The metalcasting industry is concerned that this could affect the way it does business, again placing additional burdens on small business owners.

Metalcasting industry advocates have expressed specific concern over Obama's indications that he would like to see health care reform that mandates coverage and/or establishes a public insurance option plan (i.e. a government-sponsored plan that would compete with privately available insurance plans). Such plans, the advocates say, would drive private insurance options out of the marketplace and eventually place additional financial burdens on business owners in the form of tax increases and unaffordable, comprehensive insurance plans.

The AFL-CIO, on the other hand, agrees with the Obama Administration that health care reform of some type will be essential to the success of the U.S. economy in emerging from the current recession and beyond.

"The current system is so inefficient and unfair that forcing better behavior from the insurance companies and from the pharmaceutical companies--imposing more competition--can only be healthy," Lee said. "Addressing the uninsured is a crucial part of keeping costs down. It's possible that there might need to be higher costs in the short run, but in the medium and long ran, there's a potential for enormous cost savings."

The metalcasting industry also has expressed concern about a specific piece of legislation already in front of Congress, the Family Leave Insurance Act, as well as other measures to expand the 15-year-old Family Medical Leave Act. Proposed expansions include increasing paid time off, applying the law to more small businesses, and broadening the permissible uses of the paid leave.

Because they say most metalcasters already have sound plans in place, industry advocates oppose any bill that supports additional, unfunded government mandates of paid leave. The Obama Administration declined to respond to repeated requests for comment on the industry's position.

Economy

Because of the deepening economic crisis in the U.S. and abroad, the Obama Administration has broached a number of issues that reflect directly on manufacturing in general and metalcasting specifically.

The popularly-dubbed stimulus package was designed to stop the economic crisis by putting people to work building the nation's infrastructure. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by the president on Feb. 17, will cost $787 billion over 10 years in tax relief and spending. It will focus on infrastructure modernization, promoting clean, efficient energy, helping Americans hurt by the economy, supporting education and training, and advancing science and technology. The package also includes a series of small business tax breaks and a call to buy American goods.

However, the effects of this spending bill still are unknown, as the allocation of the funds has been delegated to the state and local levels, and the number of metal castings that will be needed to complete all of the slated projects has yet to be determined.

The president's budget also has caused some concern, as some in the metalcasting industry believe it essentially tries to spend the country out of the current economic crisis.

"The administration and Congress are taking advantage of an economic crisis to put into place the liberal political agenda that they've been trying to convince the public of for the last 20 years," Murray said. "It's scary."

Other actions the president has taken that the administration believes will address the economic crises and may have an effect on metalcasters are his housing plan, an overhaul of government contracting policies, a bipartisan effort to reform defense procurement, a plan to boost lending to small businesses, and the financial stability plan.

International Trade

Two topics continually come up when talking to metalcasters about the current administration's dealings in international trade--currency reform and the imbalance of trade. According to Lee, they're the same issue, and the AFL-CIO takes the same side as metalcasting industry advocates.

"This is where business and labor need to work together," she said. According to Lee, trade with China is one of two considerations that have placed the U.S. at a considerable trade deficit, the other being the country's reliance on oil. While the latter has to some extent been addressed, she believes the administration should do more to address the China question.

"There needs to be recognition that $700 billion trade deficits are unsustainable and cannot be a foundation for going forward," she said. "A clear message of [the administration's] overall economic strategy is needed."

Early indications were that Obama might move the conversation on addressing international currency manipulation beyond where the previous administration had left it. During his campaign, Obama supported placing sanctions on the Chinese specifically that would force the country to raise the value of its currency to what many believed it is truly worth. However, the U.S. Department of Treasury's most recent report on the matter did not cite the Chinese for artificial currency manipulation, leaving it for future consideration.

"Over the last year and half, we believe we have lost about $4 million in business to China," Boyd said. "We feel like over the last 15 years, our industry has been attacked vigorously by offshore competitors who we believe receive subsidies ranging from debt relief to currency manipulation in amounts that have caused significant volume to move from the U.S. to foreign suppliers."

The metalcasting industry has supported all bills that would force China to increase the value of its currency. The current administration declined to address requests for information regarding the growing imbalance of trade between the U.S. and foreign importers.

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Energy and the Environment

According to our industry advocate and Washington

insider, other than health care reform, energy and environmental issues will be the focus of the Obama Administration's efforts over the next couple of months. And it's these same issues that have elicited the most emotional response from metalcasters around the country.

Through the stimulus bill and the president's budget, the administration has made it clear that increasing the country's reliance on renewable energy sources and reducing reliance on fossil fuels are main concerns. The president also has supported legislation that would limit the amount of carbon dioxide, or greenhouse gases, U.S. manufacturers are allowed to emit, including the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a "cap-and-trade" bill that recently has gained some momentum in House committees. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and passed and referred to a number of other committees by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would cap the amount of carbon dioxide manufacturers can release into the atmosphere while allowing businesses that stay under the cap to trade off their remaining balance of allowed emissions.

Some metalcasters are skeptical about the country's ability to move from reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

"There's no demonstrable evidence that this economy could ever run on renewable energy," Murray said. "Global warming has a lot more to do with just the natural climate change that we've faced over thousands of years. Our ability to change that is slim to none, so bankrupting us through these policies is crazy."

Nevertheless, the ball has at least already begun rolling. On April 17, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made a formal proclamation citing greenhouse gases as harmful to the environment, which will open the emissions up to regulation.

"One thing to keep in mind is that EPA doesn't have the authority to regulate until legislation gives it to them," said Jeff Hannapel, vice president of The Policy Group, Washington D.C. "So, one of two things will happen. [There will be] legislation that spells it all out, or EPA hears the legislation and passes regulations to implement it."

Hannapel said EPA already has proposed a mandatory reporting rule, which will require manufacturers that emit a given amount of carbon dioxide to collect and record their emissions numbers.

"Fifteen to 20% of the [metalcasting] industry will be subject to the rule," he said. "It's going to be an administrative burden, a cost to doing business."

But Hannapel said that while some of the Obama Administration's policies have been objectionable to the metalcasting industry, the working relationship with the team has been good. He commended the president for his quality appointments, particularly at the second tier level, and while his group has found the administration to be more thorough in scrutinizing regulations than previous executive branches, it's not necessarily a bad thing.

"They want to be science and data driven," he said. "Our approach is get the data to show how things operate, where controls are needed and let science and data make those decisions. We're looking forward to a continued cooperative relationship, but there is going to be greater scrutiny on things that are contentious."

Steps Along the Way

President Barack Obama's administration has broached a number of issues that reflect directly on manufacturing in general and metalcasting specifically. Here are a few of the most significant dates in the administration s first 100 days:

January 29--President Obama signs the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

February 17--President Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

February 18--President Obama launched the Making Homes Affordable Plan

March 4--President Obama overhauls government contracting policies

March 16--President Obama boosts lending to small business

March 23--President Obama rolls out his financial bailout plan

April 17--EPA calls greenhouse gases dangerous

Visit www.metalcastinggov.com for more information on the issues affected the metalcasting industry and www.whitehouse.gov for the administration's reasoning behind many of its positions.

Shea Gibbs, Senior Editor