PLASTICS, NAM Push for Extension to 'Essential' Companies Definition
Trade groups push for more companies in the manufacturing supply chain to receive “essential” designation.
Two trade associations are offering to help manufacturers get their companies designated as “essential,” which would allow them to stay open during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) has written a template letter for members to request that their business be identified as "essential." In an email to its members, it is advising that they update the letter with information specific to their business. “It is our position that our entire supply chain is critical,” PLASTICS CEO and President Tony Radoszewski said in this email. “Whether you are supplying material or machinery, we believe you are an essential business and should be treated as such by the various governmental jurisdictions.”
Meantime, Jay Timmons, the president of the National Association of Manufacturers, last week petitioned the Chair of the National Governor's Association, the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the President of the National League of Cities and the President of the National Association of Counties to urge support for "designating, in our states and localities, all manufacturing facilities, supply chains and their employees as 'essential infrastructure' and 'essential businesses' to assure clear, consistent and more uniformly aligned guidance to businesses as our nation responds to the COVID19 pandemic."
Click here for NAM’s letter in its entirety.
This petition follows a recent NAM announcement of an updated Policy Action Plan including a $1.4 trillion "Manufactures Resiliency Fund" and a federal designation that "deems the manufacturing supply chain 'essential' to help mitigate any interruptions in providing the supplies that are critical to the health and safety of America."
