I Make America Campaign Marks First Anniversary With Virtual March on Washington

Campaign is 13K Strong and Growing; Virtual March Pushes for Much Needed Infrastructure Investment

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the I Make America campaign announce the campaign's first anniversary and thank supporters from around the country and the entire equipment manufacturing industry for their support and tireless advocacy. To mark the occasion, I Make America is holding a Virtual March on Washington this week, and has called on its supporters to send letters, sign a petition, and call their elected officials in Congress to demand they take a stand for American jobs by passing a comprehensive, well-funded highway bill.

On September 29, 2010 in Washington, D.C., AEM – along with Mike Rowe of Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs –  launched I Make America, a national grassroots campaign to promote manufacturing jobs through infrastructure investment and export agreements as proven ways to create and sustain jobs for American workers. The campaign has enlisted the support of more than 13,000 people nationwide so far, AEM's 850+ member companies, and industry organizations.

"I thank the entire equipment manufacturing industry, our member companies and partners, and our I Make America supporters for your efforts to demonstrate to Congress the human face of their continued inaction on infrastructure investment," said Dennis Slater, president of AEM. "Our work is far from over."  

I Make America will continue to demand Congress takes action and passes a well-funded, multi-year highway bill. Their inaction is hampering American workers and manufacturers' efforts to get back to work rebuilding and modernizing our roads, bridges and highways. America's stagnant economy, high unemployment and the declining resources in our communities demand a sense of urgency from our political leaders in D.C.

"This week we are encouraging everyone to contact their representatives via our Virtual March on Washington to turn up the heat on Congress and demand action," continued Slater. "We need leadership, not partisan bickering, to ensure our nation's competitiveness—here and abroad, now and in the future—is not threatened."

Find out more about the Virtual March on Washington by clicking here. Join I Make America and send a letter to your members of Congress here.

To learn more about I Make America, visit us at www.IMakeAmerica.com. View short videos of employees and small business owners around the country telling the real life stories of how manufacturing impacts the national economy at www.ADayinAmericanLife.com.

Keep up-to-date on the latest I Make America campaign news on Twitter @IMakeAmerica and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/IMakeAmerica.

About I Make America
I Make America is supported by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and its 850+ member companies representing 200-plus product lines in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility sectors worldwide.  We are joined by the memberships of like-minded associations, American business owners, and citizens and local elected officials across the nation.

About the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) - www.aem.org

AEM is the North American-based international trade group providing innovative business development resources to advance the off-road equipment manufacturing industry in the global marketplace. AEM membership comprises more than 850 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility sectors worldwide. AEM is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with offices in the capitals of Washington, D.C., Ottawa, Beijing and a European presence in Brussels.

SOURCE Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)