Dear Sir or Madame-
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In this July 14, 2010 Publication:
Chinese Factories Competing Against Each
Other For Workers
Metalcasters Alliance Government Affairs Update
Work continues at Albany plant even after fire
Register Today for the Plant Management Conference
DCE Wants Your Advice: Defects
Chinese Factories Competing Against Each Another For Workers
A front-page article in the New York Times (7/13, A1, Jacobs) titled "Chinese Factories Now Compete To Woo Laborers,"
reported, "In recent months, as the country's export-driven juggernaut has been revived and many migrants
have found jobs closer to home, the balance of power in places like Zhongshan has shifted, forcing employers
to compete for new workers - and to prevent seasoned ones from defecting to sweeter prospects." The Times
explains that "the shortage has emboldened workers and inspired a spate of strikes in and around Zhongshan
that paralyzed Honda's Chinese operations last month. The unrest then spread to the northern city of Tianjin,
where strikers briefly paralyzed production at a Toyota car plant and a Japanese-owned electronics factory."
But while those walkouts were "were quelled with higher salaries," it showed that now "young Chinese factory
workers...are less willing to toil for long hours for appallingly low wages like dutiful automatons."
Metalcasters Alliance Government Affairs Update
It has been a busy summer in Washington, D.C. with a variety of legislative and regulatory initiatives
introduced that could impact the metalcasting industry. When lawmakers return next week from the July 4th
recess, they will be working to push through a series of measures before the November elections, including
but not limited to Financial Services reform, OSHA reform, tax extenders, small business bill, currency
manipulation, manufacturing bill of rights, and an energy bill with a utility-only focus. Most of the
legislation remains tied up in the Senate where the leadership continues to have difficulty finding the 60
votes necessary to overcome a filibuster.
AFS and NADCA weighed-in on the following key issues in June:
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To view the MAGA Superfund Tax Letter to Congress, click here.
Work continues at Albany plant even after fire
The Thursday afternoon fire at Littler Diecast, an aluminum alloy die casting plant, did considerable damage
to the company’s abrasive process building, where polishing, sandblasting and other finishing processes are
done, company owner John Littler said.
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Register Today for the Plant Management Conference
Registration for this year’s Plant Management conference is now open. The conference will be held
September 22-24 in Grand Rapids, MI at the Amway Plaza Hotel. Featuring presentations on Quality and Cost
Improvement through Process Control and Crisis Management and an offsite tour to Die-Tech & Engineering.
To register or for more information please click here!
DCE Wants Your Advice: Defects
In every issue of Die Casting Engineer, readers report on tips they use to improve, implement or sustain a
process. The tips are then compiled into a list and printed in the magazine for the benefit of all the
readers. Here is this month’s question related to Defects: “List the most effective means for reducing gas
porosity.” If you have some insight on this topic, click here to share your advice.
