June 28, 2012
Fred D. Mason, President of the Maryland and DC AFL-CIO wrote the following op-ed published in the Prince George’s County Sentinel stressing the importance of 12 years of data exclusivity requirements in the Trans-Pacific Partnership in order to keep America competitive.
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.
February 1, 2012
Gregory S. Babe, President and CEO of Bayer Corp. wrote the following op-ed published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette emphasizing the need for higher education facilities to attract and retain women and minorities to pursue STEM degrees in order to keep America competitive.
Click here to view the full article or read in pdf.
February 2012
Partners in Progress Magazine published the following article highlighting the longstanding partnership between unions and the pharmaceutical industry and the mutual benefits the groups receive by working alongside one another.
September 28, 2011
David Roche, President of Sheet Metal Workers International Organization Local 40, wrote this op-ed following a training facility tour of his union which was attended by Senator Blumenthal.
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.
Click here to learn more about Senator Casey’s tour of Pennsylvania’s SMWIA Local 19 Joint Apprenticeship & Training Center.
September, 2011
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.
Senator Richard Blumenthal toured the training center for the Sheet Metal Workers Local 40 and the Associated Sheet Metal and Roofing Contractors of Connecticut where he discussed how the center creates skilled laborers and helps promote economic growth.
Click here to read more about the tour or view a video.
August 23, 2011
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.
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.
Click here to read more about the tour on the North Branford Patch.
“The pharmaceutical industry – and the innovation and creativity of that industry – can help to drive our economy, but it needs partners like you’re providing here.”
– Senator Blumenthal
June 14, 2011
William Burga, Past President of the Ohio AFL-CIO, wrote the following op-ed published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer urging passage of the 2011 America Invents Act (AIA). “This long-awaited plan to strengthen protections for intellectual property will create jobs without spending taxpayer dollars, and it will help Americans continue to lead in the ongoing global technology revolution,” says Burga.
Click here to read the full article online or in pdf.
