Turnover plaguing manufacturing group

Published: April 10, 2008 at 9:45 AM
Commerce Secretary Guteirrez addresses NAM in Washington

WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI) -- A high turnover rate has cut the effectiveness of a manufacturing lobby group in Washington, former employees and other observers said.

Former Michigan Gov. John Engler took the reigns at the National Association of Manufacturers in October 2004. Since then, 46 percent of its staff have left, The Politico reported.

A new hierarchical style of management and intolerance for diverse opinions have sent employees shopping for other jobs, the paper reported.

In spite of the internal issues, 90 percent of the group's membership believe the National Association of Manufacturers is effective and 92 percent rated Engler favorably in a December survey, the paper said.

"Under John Engler's leadership, the NAM is positioning itself for the future," Executive Vice President Jay Timmons said.

Other lobbyists and former employees questioned the clout of a group that is losing what a former staff member called its "institutional memory."

Legislators have mixed feelings about the group.

"They are a tool of the administration," a senior Democratic House aide told the paper.

But John Gonzalez, chief of staff to Rep. Melissa L. Bean, D-Ill, credited the group with explaining why the Central American Free Trade Agreement would benefit the congresswoman's constituents, the report said.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
NHL: Calgary 2, San Jose 1 (21 min)
COL BKB: Charlotte 87, Louisville 65 (23 min)
NBA: Orlando 126, Golden State 118 (29 min)
COL BKB: Syracuse 101, Maine 55 (34 min)
Transplanted cave spiders going home (43 min)
NBA: Phoenix 115, Sacramento 107
COL BKB: Wake Forest 77, Gonzaga 75
fark
Hookers in Copenhagen offering free sex to anyone who produces a government mailing warning people...
Photoshop this horse drawn carriage
"I don't want to have to kill this man, but I'll kill him graveyard dead ma'am."
Fake toilet concealed drug tunnel linking Mexico with US. Subby thought that smell was paraquat
Hokey Pokey inventor gets body put in, body put out, body put in, not shaken all about
Cambridge University discovers that some condoms on campus contain little pricks