Published 8/1/2003

Growing Strong

Many things have happened to the SAM movement in the past month that have made the SAM National Chairman more enthusiastic than ever.

Edited by: MMT Editorial Team

SAM (Save American Manufacturing) is less than five months old and already there are affiliate chapters in fourteen states, six pending chapters, the SAM name is now known on Capitol Hill and we are receiving press on SAM in various trade publications and newspapers, which you can find at www.SAMnow.org. We owe all of this to the hard work and dedication of our SAM national committee members and state directors! Following are just some of SAM's recent accomplishments:

In May our National Coordinator, Cyndi Petrucci and several of our national board members met and talked with Grant Aldonas, the Undersecretary of Trade to the President, at a roundtable discussion on manufacturing held in Rockford, IL. Alan Petrucci, Cyndi's father and owner of B A Die Mold, Inc., in Aurora, IL, was a panelist. Not only does Aldonas now know what the SAM movement is all about, so does the President of the U.S. Aldonas was presented with more than 1,600 heartfelt letters that were collected throughout the past several months from all over the country.
Cyndi then went to Washington, D.C. for a legislative day that was arranged by the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI). She met with many congressmen and senators and really impressed the SAM name on Capitol Hill. She said that Congressman Don Manzullo of Illinois spoke at one meeting and mentioned that there was "a grassroots movement called Save American Manufacturing that started up in Illinois and everyone should keep an eye on it." He stated that these people are in manufacturing and emphasized that they are voters ... mad voters. By the way, Congressman Manzullo is one of the biggest supporters of manufacturing in our government today.
Later that same week our Milwaukee Chapter had a huge SAM rally that an estimated one thousand people attended. Two hours prior to their rally, one Wisconsin congressman had a messenger deliver a letter stating that he had just endorsed an important bill that would greatly support manufacturing. In addition, a lobbyist flew in from Washington D.C. to speak to the group and they had senate and congressional representatives there along with a full compliment of news coverage.
On the same day as the Wisconsin rally, May 21st, I was invited to speak at the EASTEC trade show in Massachusetts where our MA chapter had a SAM booth to help raise awareness about SAM. Later that afternoon I went to the new and gigantic Basketball Hall of Fame where my speech took place. There was a large crowd and the reception to my speech and SAM was overwhelming. As a consequence of being there, we will be opening a new SAM chapter in Vermont. Many online registrations and letters have also resulted. This was the most exciting day of my professional life and a day that I will never forget.
Last, but not least, SAM has launched a NEW, improved national website: www.SAM-USA.org. This site is more user-friendly and projects the national scope of SAM better than the old site. In addition, SAM Wisconsin has left the fold of SAM National to pursue the cause in its own way, and we wish them luck. SAM National continues to grow and make its voice heard on behalf of all sectors of manufacturing. Please visit the new website soon!

In closing, I would once again like to thank all of our SAM Champions for their hard work and dedication. I feel blessed to have all of these people on the SAM team and I assure everyone that SAM will make a difference in keeping our American manufacturing jobs alive.

Thank you all for supporting SAM.
Bill Cermak, SAM National Chairman
MMT