Chicago-based steel pipe and tube manufacturer JMC Steel Group recently hosted former President Bill Clinton, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin for a fundraiser at the Wheatland Tube plant. Hundreds of people including dignitaries, labor and business leaders, local supporters and Wheatland Tube employees gathered to watch President Clinton and Governor Quinn speak about manufacturing and the critical role it plays in driving the country’s economic recovery.
“If we ever get to the point where we don’t make anything in America, we’re toast,” President Clinton said in the press release. “I am thrilled that in the past few years, we have added 700,000 manufacturing jobs in this country. Manufacturing is coming back.
“We want the future to work like (Wheatland Tube) does. If we invest in training, if we compete for manufacturing jobs, if we don’t let other countries take advantage of us in these trade deals, we just make sure everyone has a fair chance and is able to take advantage of the available opportunities. We have to do that together.”