Rep. María Elvira Salazar convened a roundtable with Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, and leading job creators from across the country on April 16 in Washington, D.C., to address workforce shortages in American manufacturing and support for the DIGNITY Act (H.R. 4393).
The meeting focused on how fixing America’s immigration system is seen as essential for economic growth and stability within the manufacturing sector. The event followed the recent endorsement of the DIGNITY Act by the National Association of Manufacturers.
“Manufacturers keep America building, innovating, and competing and they are telling us clearly that our current immigration system is broken,” said Rep. Salazar. “The DIGNITY Act empowers U.S. manufacturing, brings stability to our workforce, and accountability to our system to ensure our industries can grow and create jobs here at home. With the support of the nation’s leading manufacturers, we are moving past the rhetoric and delivering a serious, bipartisan solution for American workers and businesses.”
Jay Timmons highlighted ongoing labor challenges: “We have more work than people available to do it. We have more than 400,000 open jobs on our shop floors—and if we do not act, that number will grow to nearly two million by 2033,” he said. He continued: “this is a fundamental economic need. This is not about ideology. Manufacturers don’t have time for ideology. We have factories to run, investments to make and facilities to expand.”
Participants at the roundtable pointed out that persistent labor shortages are affecting production capacity as well as supply chains nationwide; they called for legislative action through measures like the DIGNITY Act as a means of restoring order while addressing immediate workforce needs.
Supporters say manufacturing accounts for about ten percent of U.S gross domestic product (GDP) while driving over half of all private-sector research development efforts; stable employment levels are therefore viewed as critical for sustaining innovation across American industry.
The list backing this legislation includes more than forty Members of Congress along with over ninety national organizations spanning employers’ groups, faith leaders, educators, business coalitions such as A-1 Global Holdings or U.S Chamber of Commerce among others—all calling immigration reform both urgent and achievable.
Salazar continues her efforts in Congress advocating practical solutions intended to help stabilize industry employment levels while protecting workers’ interests.
