Proposed Medicare Part D Rebates Will Eliminate Jobs and Increase Drug Costs
May 21, 2013 PILMA Chairman Walter Wise send the following letter to the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee urging protection of Medicare Part D benefits.
Author: IronCore
Changes in Medicare Part D are not an “Easy Fix” to Complex Budget Challenges
Changes in Medicare Part D are not an “Easy Fix” to Complex Budget Challenges
March 7, 2013
PILMA Chairman Walter Wise sent the following letter to Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray urging protection of Medicare Part D benefits.
Urges Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray to Protect Medicare Part D Benefits
Helmets to Hardhats Apprenticeship Program Helps Vets Work After Service
Helmets to Hardhats Apprenticeship Program Helps Vets Work After Service
March 9, 2013
The nonprofit Helmets to Hardhats program is an avenue to help connect National Guard, reserve and transitional active duty members to career opportunities in the construction industry. The union’s three-year program allows apprentices to earn money while they learn and with the majority of their time on the work site, they receive on-the-job training.
Click here to learn more about the program in NWI Times.
No Depression: Pharmaceutical-Labor Alliance Flourishes
No Depression: Pharmaceutical-Labor Alliance Flourishes
The AFL-CIO published the following blog post on their website highlighting the unique and expanding partnership between labor unions and the pharmaceutical industry.
Click here to read the full article.
Protect Property Rights of Biopharmaceutical Firms to Save San Diego Jobs!
Protect Property Rights of Biopharmaceutical Firms to Save San Diego Jobs!
September 5, 2012
Robert Balgenorth, President of the California Building Trades Council, wrote the following op-ed published in the San Diego Union-Tribune outlining the importance of 12 years of data exclusivity in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations for biopharmaceutical innovation and union jobs.
Democratic Lawmakers Ask to be Included in Pacific Trade Talks
Democratic Lawmakers Ask to be Included in Pacific Trade Talks
August 28, 2012
“The letter comes as the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation released a report Tuesday calling on U.S. trade negotiators to insists that the trade deal include ‘the highest levels of intellectual property rights protection, transparency in government procurement practices, removal of non-tariff barriers, comprehensive market access provisions, and stringent enforcement mechanisms.’”
Click here to read the full article on The Hill.
View the letter here:
Click here to view the ITIF report.
Ohio’s ‘Dual Eligible’ Reform Must Focus on Patient Care
Ohio’s ‘Dual Eligible’ Reform Must Focus on Patient Care
July 1, 2012
William Burga, Former President of the Ohio AFL-CIO, wrote the following op-ed published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer advising caution in the Affordable Care Act’s management of services for those who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.
“When it comes to our state’s most vulnerable patients, savings should come from better case management and more closely integrated care — not from benefits cuts.”
Click here to read the full article.
Advancing Industry and Innovation
Advancing Industry and Innovation
July, 2012
Eric J. Martinson, a business manager at Local 66, wrote the following op-ed highlighting a facility tour of the Western Washington Sheet Metal Joint Apprenticeship Training Center in Everett, Washington. The event was attended by Rep. Derek Stanford whose district benefits from pharmaceutical activity.
Tour Of Sheet Metal Workers Local 66 Training Facility In Everett
Washington-Area Industry and Labor Leaders Discuss Job Creation, Training, and Innovation During Tour Of Sheet Metal Workers Local 66 Training Facility In Everett
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.
Alliance Creates New Jobs and Life-Saving Technology
Alliance Creates New Jobs and Life-Saving Technology
June 29, 2012
This article, published in the Courier-Post, highlights the PILMA partnership following a New Jersey iron workers facility tour attended by Sen. Robert Menendez.
Click here to read the full article online or view in pdf.
