If there was ever a time to push Made in America products, the 2012 Summer Olympics is certainly it. However, according to an ABC News report, Team U.S.A. will be wearing Ralph Lauren uniforms Made in China when they compete in London this summer.

As CEO at Bain Capital, Mitt Romney earned “jaw-dropping profits” by closing U.S. factories, laying off hundreds of workers, sending those jobs overseas and stashing money in offshore tax havens.

Union members and the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council (SDICLC) dropped off a stack of petitions (almost 90,000 signatures) to Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront on Monday, calling for a fair trade deal that works for Americans. U.S. Trade Representative Carol Guthrie accepted the petitions on behalf of the negotiators. TPP should promote job creation, respect labor and human rights, protect the sovereign right of nations to make public interest policy and preserves the ability to Buy American. 

If anyone thinks U.S. manufacturing isn’t relevant to our lives today, they should consider this report from the Alliance for American Manufacturers pointing to the battle against raging wildfires in the western states:

The Associated Press is reporting that the sole U.S. manufacturer of a device to spray airborne fire retardant is no longer in business. This means that while Air National Guard units currently possess Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS), new MAFFS systems are no longer being made. This has led to concerns that future efforts to fight wildfires in the western U.S. may be hampered.

Meanwhile, says House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.):

Our overseas competitors are doubling down on investments in their workforces, in innovation, and in providing the tools that nurture manufacturing growth. Not only are other countries surging ahead in the number of engineers and scientists they graduate, but they are pouring money into basic research and technology development.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, sounds like a friendly little cooperative endeavor, doesn't it?  Or maybe a new kind of bathroom tissue?   Well, it's neither of those things.  It's a proposed "free trade agreement," like NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), but with 11 countries instead of three. The negotiations, held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, brought out almost 200 union members along with allies from Occupy San Diego, La Fuerza Unida, Friends of the Earth and other groups on Monday to express concern about the possible ramifications to their jobs, their families and the American economy.  Trade negotiators from the U.S. were at the Hilton all week working on the negotiations with representatives from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.  Mexico and Canada were recently added to the TPP—but have not yet participated in the talks.

Here's good news (from the Toledo Blade):

Demonstrating a tough line on trade with China, the Obama administration will file an unfair trade complaint today against China's new duties on some American-made cars and sport utility vehicles, including the Toledo-made Jeep Wrangler.

A senior administration official told The Blade Wednesday the United States will file the case with the World Trade Organization in Geneva, accusing China of putting illegal duties on $3.3 billion worth of U.S.-made auto imports.

Local unions, community leaders and working families rallied in Canton, Ohio, Monday at a Bring Jobs Home event after an announcement that TTI Floor Care vacuum bag plant will close all local production of Hoover vacuum bags. The rally addressed different ways elected officials can create good jobs and rebuild local communities hit hard by the recession. The United Steelworkers (USW), Electrical Workers (IBEW Local 1985) and the Hall of Fame Central Labor Council took part.

Larry Matheney, secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia AFL-CIO, wrote an Op-Ed Tuesday on economic patriotism, bringing quality manufacturing jobs back to America and supporting legislation that would  end  tax incentives to American corporations who send jobs overseas. 

Here is an excerpt:

The Department of Commerce's announcement of a preliminary countervailing duty (CVD) determination last week against wind towers from China is an important step in maintaining and expanding U.S. production in wind energy. Clean energy production and manufacturing have been a priority of the Obama administration. It also has been a target of the Chinese government’s five-year plan. U.S. trade actions need to be complimented by a manufacturing strategy.

That wailing siren you hear this Memorial Day is a national security alert set off by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. Their investigation into counterfeit electronic “uncovered overwhelming evidence of large numbers of counterfeit parts making their way into critical defense systems....And, it found overwhelming evidence that companies in China are the primary source of counterfeit parts.”