PILMA In The News
Wise Says Study of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Market Links Proposed Rebates with Diminished Multiemployer Plan Benefits
Ironworkers General President and Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA) Chairman Walter Wise released the following
statement today following the publication of PILMA’s new study Medicaid Drug Rebates in Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy: An Economic Analysis
of the Proposed Policy and its Implications for Multiemployer Plans READ MORE >
PILMA Chairman Walter Wise Sends Letter Urging Protection of Medicare Part D Benefits to Senate Aging Committee
READ MORE>
PILMA Chairman Walter Wise Urges Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray to Protect Medicare Part D Benefits
READ MORE >
Helmets to Hardhats Apprenticeship Program Helps Vets Work After Service
READ MORE >
No Depression: Pharmaceutical-Labor Alliance Flourishes
By Robert Struckman, Reprinted from the AFL-CIO Blog
“I certainly admit going in with an attitude of let’s-see-what-this-is-about,” Johnson & Johnson Vice President Donald Bohn says about cooperating with labor unions. “It turns out we have a lot more in common than you might think.” READ MORE >
Pharmaceutical Companies Donate $125,000 to Helmets to Hardhats Program
The Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA) presented Helmets to Hardhats with a check for $125,000 comprised of donations from pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, and Pfizer during PILMA’s annual meeting on November 15.
READ ON>
Advancing Industry and Innovation
By Eric J. Martinson
Labor and management are often painted as adversaries by talking heads in the national media. But when it comes to building and innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry, that characterization could not be further from the truth. READ ON >
Protect property rights of biopharmaceutical firms to save San Diego jobs
By Robert Balgenorth
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
International trade officials recently wrapped up the latest round of negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at San Diego’s Bayfront Hilton Hotel. The TPP is a historic trade agreement between the United States and eight of the most prominent and dynamic economies in the Asia-Pacific region.
San Diego was the perfect venue for these critical discussions. In 2010 alone, 70 percent of California’s exports – totaling $100 billion – went to the Asia-Pacific region. And the focus of this round of TPP negotiations, the biopharmaceutical sector, is especially important for San Diego. READ ON >
Protect intellectual property and jobs: Finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership
By Vincent, Panvini, former director of government affairs, Sheet Metal Workers' International Association -
08/30/12 05:45 PM ET
The lingering effects of the recession have made job creation a persistent struggle for the American economy. The U.S. economy added just 163,000 jobs in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lawmakers in Washington should be doing everything they can to accelerate economic growth and job creation. READ ON >
From THE HILL
Dem lawmakers ask to be included in Pacific trade talks
By Julian Pecquet - 08/28/12 04:37 PM ET
Eight Democratic House members wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk on Tuesday asking to be included in far-ranging trade talks involving 11 countries in Asia and the Americas.
Joining the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership is the White House's top trade priority, and the administration has said it hopes to have a deal by the end of the year. Critics, however — including many lawmakers — say the talks have been going on behind closed doors and could undermine congressional priorities, including Buy American procurement policies, financial regulations, cheap medicines and safe foods. READ ON >
Link to letter:
http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/globalaffairs/kirktpp.pdf
Link to ITIF Report:
http://itif.org/publications/ensuring-trans-pacific-partnership-becomes-gold-standard-trade-agreement
Ohio's 'dual eligible' reform must focus on patient care: William Burga
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Sunday, July 1, 2012 (click here to download a pdf)
By William Burga
Ohio recently applied to participate in a new federal initiative aimed at revamping health care for some of the state's most vulnerable patients. The program focuses on "dual eligibles," meaning people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. This population is largely low-income and either old or disabled. (download pdf)
Alliance creates new jobs and life-saving technology
Courier-PostOnline.com
Friday June 29, 2012 (Click here to download a pdf)
By Bill Lawson
Too often, vicious partisanship dominates political discourse in New Jersey. Members of both parties dig in their heels, cater to their particular special interest supports, and little to know policy progress is ever made.
There are, however, rare instances of genuine cross-party partnership, in which groups that might normally be seen as political rivals join together for the good of the state.
New Jersey witnessed just such an instance in April. The local biopharmaceutical industry teamed up with building trades unions to host U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., on a tour of an iron workers training facility in Springfield. (download pdf)
A new age in intellectual property
By Fred D. Mason
6/28/2012 Prince George's Sentinel (Lanham, MD) (pdf)
Washington-Area Industry and Labor Leaders Discuss Job Creation, Training, and Innovation
During Tour Of Sheet Metal Workers Local 66 Training Facility In Everett
Friday June 29, 2012
Leaders from Washington’s biopharmaceutical industry, labor unions, and state legislature joined today at the Western Washington Sheet Metal Joint Apprenticeship Training Center in Everett to discuss ways to work together to advance the goals of job creation, worker training and medical innovation. The group toured the state-of-the-art training facility and saw first-hand the role that union apprenticeship and certification programs play in providing the state’s biopharmaceutical industry with a skilled workforce.
“Every year, building and construction trades unions spend over $800 million in training across the country – all of it from private funding,” Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local Union 66 Business Manager Eric Martinson said. “New discoveries and new cures create the need for new facilities here in Washington, and we want to make sure that our members are ready to go to work and meet the exacting standards of the biopharmaceutical industry.”
Before the tour, Washington State Representative Derek Stanford shared his commitment to keeping Washington’s biopharmaceutical industry competitive in the global market. “Washington’s biotech industry supports 77,000 jobs, while its goods and services contribute more than $11 billion to the state’s economy,” Stanford said. “I commend the unions and companies in this important industry for finding a way to work together, and I am committed to doing what I can to support this partnership in ways that will help create jobs, save lives and boost the economy here in Washington.”
Jeff Gombosky, Washington State PhRMA representative, spoke to the industry’s unsurpassed workforce. “No matter what role they play, the men and women who work in the biopharmaceutical sector are bound by their dedication to keeping this industry at the cutting edge of innovation,” Gombosky said. “Whether it’s the scientist who toils in the lab to discover the next cure or the trade unionist who builds, renovates and maintains our facilities, these workers make real contributions every day to advancing our state’s economy and our nation’s public health.”
The event was coordinated by the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA) and We Work for Health. PILMA is a coalition of companies and unions in the biopharmaceutical industry that promotes policies to create jobs, keep the industry competitive and advance medical innovation. We Work for Health is an organization that works at the state and national level to educate the public about the everyday contributions of employees in the biopharmaceutical industry.
PILMA Applauds Senate's Passage of S.3187
May 24, 2012 – The member companies and unions of the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor Management Association (PILMA) applaud the Senate’s 96 to 1 vote today in favor of passage of S. 3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. Over the past 20 years, prescription drug user fees have been a key component in ensuring that the United States efficiently and safely brings new medicines to market, and extending the user-fees program will keep America at the forefront of new drug innovation and development well into the future. We congratulate Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi for their hard work in developing this measure and their effort in seeing it through the process in a way that protects the integrity of the underlying legislation. PILMA will to continue to support this legislation as it moves to the House, and we urge members on both sides of the aisle to support the integrity of this bill in order to ensure its swift consideration and final approval.
Partners In Progress
America Invents Act Will Spur New Cures
The Pharmaceutical Industry Labor Management Association (PILMA) applauds the passage of the America Invents Act and encourages President Barack Obama to sign the bill into law.
In a demonstration that Republicans and Democrats can come together in the name of jobs, the Senate voted 89 to 9 on September 8th in favor of a historic overhaul of our nation’s patent system. For industries such as the life science sector, which supports over 9 million jobs in the U.S., innovation is the key to staying globally competitive. This bill will help protect American pharmaceutical patents, spurring research to discover additional life saving cures and putting union members to work.
The member companies and unions of PILMA see this as an important step in the broader effort to strengthen intellectual property protections. We are committed to working with our allies in Congress from both sides of the aisle to continue moving this agenda forward.
Keep America competitive: stem the innovation gap
Barriers at top American universities confront female and minority students wishing to go into science, technology, engineering and math
Opinion piece in the post-gazette.com 2/1/2012
By Gregory S. Babe, President and CEO of Bayer Corp.
With the new year comes a sobering report that shows a number of Asian countries are creeping ever closer in their efforts to close the innovation gap with the United States.
A National Science Foundation study this month reports China, India, South Korea and others are experiencing tremendous growth in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), while here at home STEM education, research and development, and manufacturing are either flat or decreasing.
For the United States to remain the global innovation leader we must develop creative solutions, including learning how to harness all the STEM talent this country has to offer. It's a huge task, considering we have done a poor job attracting and retaining women, African-Americans, Hispanics and American Indians to the nation's STEM fields.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12032/1207203-109-0.stm or download a pdf
Building Trades and Pharmaceutical Companies:
The Right Medicine
By Steve Grieco
Biopharmaceutical companies perform high-risk, highreward research at a very high level, requiring exacting standards. Their building and system requirements involve working with volatile compounds and biologic formulations
that must be rigidly controlled. Read the article from Partners in Progress Magazine >
Industry, labor team up
(The following op-ed, written by SMWIA Local 40 President Dave Roche, appeared in the Sept. 28, 2011 Journal Inquirer.) (download the pdf)
This summer, many members of Congress held district meetings that were dominated by disagreement and confrontation. Here in Connecticut, however, Sen. Richard Blumenthal participated in an event that showed what we can accomplish when two important constituencies focus on working together. keep reading >
PILMA Vows to ‘Redouble’ Support
for Increased Protections Against Intellectual Property Theft
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Labor and management in the biopharmaceutical industry will “redouble efforts at the federal level to support increased protections to fight intellectual property theft, counterfeiting and piracy, along with real enforcement measures to implement those protections.”
In a resolution unanimously adopted by the trustees of the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA), the group applauds the ongoing efforts by labor and industry to erect strong intellectual property protections and to enforce those standards vigorously. The resolution points out that the pharmaceutical sector is “one of the few manufacturing industries that still maintains a significant employment footprint domestically, supporting more than 3.2 million American jobs.”
As part of this commitment to intellectual property rights, PILMA has been advocating for years in support meaningful reform of the United States’ patent system. PILMA commended Congress’ recent passage of the America Invents Act as an important step in the right direction. Looking forward, PILMA will increase its advocacy efforts on behalf of the PROTECT IP Act, a bill that will strengthen enforcement against rogue websites that sell counterfeit products, including unsafe medications.
“PILMA will join ongoing collaborative efforts—both within the business community and the trade union movement—to protect our knowledge-based economy, innovation industries and affected U.S. workers by fighting intellectual property theft, counterfeiting and piracy at every level,” the resolution declares.
Chaired by Michael Sullivan, former President of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, PILMA is composed of unions and employers in the pharmaceutical industry working together to promote industry employment, innovation and legislation affecting working families.
Senator Blumenthal Tours Sheet Metal Workers Local 40 Training Center
(from the North Branford Patch)
The Sheet Metal Workers Local 40 and the Associated Sheet Metal and Roofing Contractors of Connecticut provided Sen. Richard Blumenthal with a tour of their training center on Old Forge Road Monday afternoon.
The center helps provide training for skilled craftsmen to improve air quality and reduce wasteful energy in heating, ventilation and air conditioning, the company press release said. The facility is also focused on creating more green jobs.
Patent Reform
Keep America inventing:
William Burga
Published: Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 3:00 AM cleveland.com
View this article online at cleveland.com or download a pdf version (pdf)
Americans are famous as innovators. From the light bulb to Lipitor and from the first PC to the iPhone4, our inventions have made us the global leader in information technology, entertainment, biomedicine, and countless other growth industries.
Good patents protect jobs
All politicians should support the patent-reform bill
Thursday, April 07, 2011
By William George
download a pdf of the this oped (pdf) or click the link below to read the post online.
All eyes have been on Wisconsin lately, as union members and the governor's office have battled very publicly over the conditions of employment in the state. Some political observers have speculated the fight might come to Pennsylvania next.
Read More >
March 8, 2011--The Pharmaceutical Industry Labor Management Association applauds tonight’s decisive action by the Senate in passing the 2011 Patent Protection Act. The strong 95 to 5 vote is a solid indication that the bill meets the concerns from both sides of the aisle. This measure will unlock U.S. innovation and support good jobs. It provides the framework for simplifying the patent protection process while enhancing U.S. competitiveness. We congratulate Chairman Leahy for his work in developing this legislation and his determination in seeing it through to passage. PILMA will continue to support this bill as it moves to the House, working with our friends on both sides of the aisle to make sure that it is not weakened as it goes through the legislative process.
A strong patent system is crucial to American competitiveness as the country focuses on job growth and rebuilding. Read More >
PILMA Resolution on Patent Reform (or download the pdf)
Comments from Senator Patrick Leahy on Floor Schedule for Patent Reform Act
The America Invents Act: One Page Summary (pdf)
Why the Patent Process Should Be Overhauled (editorial from the Washington Post 2/25/2011)
or download a copy of this editorial in pdf format (pdf)
Union workers play role in bioscience future--Feb. 22, 2011, Letter to the editor, Indy Star--In his State of the Union address last month, President Barack Obama shared his thoughts for how America can return to its previous strength: “We need to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world,” he said. (download in pdf format)
Reaction to the President's State of the Union Message from Michael J. Sullivan, PILMA Chair
“As we saw tonight, the momentum exists to advance a national innovation agenda, one that stands to benefit millions of union members. But now comes the hard part: what can the administration and Members of Congress specifically do to translate this into new jobs and a higher quality of life for working Americans? The president did a great job of selling the need for a greater focus on innovation and competitiveness, but to do so we must identify which specific sectors and policy areas stand to have the greatest short and long-term impact here at home. In other words, where do America’s working families have the most to gain? How can we continue to bring business and labor together?
We believe the answer lies in a strong medical innovation agenda that takes advantage of our greatest resource: the American worker.”
Michael J. Sullivan is General President of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, AFL-CIO, and serves as Chair of the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association.
Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association Applauds Senator Casey (D-PA) For Biopharmaceutical Job Creation Efforts
The Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA) today applauded Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey’s record of leadership on the issue of creating high-quality jobs in the life sciences sector. This afternoon the senator will be joined by Dave Holveck, CEO of Endo Pharmaceuticals, to advance the discussion of promoting innovation in the industry that leads to job growth.
Senator Casey knows first-hand the critical link between public policies that enable the U.S. pharmaceutical industry to remain globally competitive and putting people to work in good-paying, high-quality jobs. This past fall Senator Casey toured Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 Training Center in Philadelphia, joined by union and company representatives to identify ways of working together to spur jobs and innovation in the industry. Today he is taking that hands-on experience and translating it to an important discussion about the role that Congress can play in supporting the men and women who make a living in the pharmaceutical industry.
PILMA recently released an in-depth report on the very subject of today’s event, “Jobs Today: Cures Tomorrow—Innovation and the Biopharmaceutical Industry”. In our report, we note that the United States has “the opportunity to create jobs and strengthen U.S. global competitiveness by both promoting and expanding biopharmaceutical industry investment in R&D.”
The ultimate goal, of course is better patient outcomes. Across the country, working men and women are utilizing the latest innovations to build and maintain facilities, research and find cures to diseases and enhance and sustain the lives of all Americans.
We look forward to working with Senator Casey and members of both parties to advance a pro-innovation, pro-jobs agenda based on creating a business environment that enables the life sciences sector to continue to thrive here in the United States.
For a copy of “Jobs Today: Cures Tomorrow—Innovation and the Biopharmaceutical Industry” or more information about PILMA, log on to www.pilma.org.
Building Trades Seek Meaningful Debate on Puerto Rico Tax Increase Legislation
Puerto Rico Law 154 is yet another example of misguided tax policy that will cost Building and Construction Trades union members jobs. For the skilled men and women in Puerto Rico construction trades unions, this could lead to a decrease in local jobs and infrastructure investment.
Our member unions have invested millions of dollars in training union workers to provide the latest in innovative building and construction techniques in highly technical areas. Our workers are the best trained, safest, and the most efficient and productive building and construction workers in the world. If companies are forced to relocate because of misguided tax policy, our investments cannot be effectively put to work to train Puerto Rico’s skilled labor force.
Union workers deserve policies that affect their livelihood to be debated fully and in the open, and a chance to prove themselves on the job site without having to worry about a tax policy that will drive their jobs off-shore.
Click here to download a copy of SMWIA President Michael Sullivan's Letter to the Governor of Puerto Rico (PDF)
Maryland's Coming Bioscience Revolution--By Fred Mason (The Bowie Star 9-16-10 pdf)
Bioscience Offers Jobs of the Future--By William Burga (Cincinnati Enquirer 9-14-2010 pdf)
Life Sciences Need Cultivation--By Sam Lathem (Delaware News Journal 8-9-2010 pdf)
The Promise of Science: Pennsylvania Must Support the Biosciences to Create Cures and Jobs--By William George Pittsburgh Post-Gazette June 17, 2010 Editorial (Post-Gazette link) View article (pdf format)
Pharmaceutical Companies Among the Leaders in Keeping Construction Industry Humming--11-17-2009--America's Pharmaceutical companies are doing their share to keep the construction industry working as the U.S. emerges from recession. According to Engineering News Record, a McGraw-Hill publication that tracks construction spending, eight pharmaceutical companies have more than $1.3 billion worth of construction projects in the works. Read More >
What working families need to know about counterfeit medicines--In today's global environment, it doesn't matter where you live--U.S., Canada, Kenya or India--everyone is at risk from unsafe drugs. Everyday, millions of unsuspecting patients across the globe are exposed to counterfeit drugs manufactured by criminals that deny them of the medical treatment they need. Read More >
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Jobs Nationwide--Number of manufacturing jobs nationwide sorted by state Read More >