The Sooner State is currently being toured by a trade organization that claims to be a supporter of 50,000 manufacturing jobs in Oklahoma.
On Wednesday, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) had representatives in Perry, and they will continue their visits to member companies in Tulsa on Thursday and Friday. Lawmakers are also joining in on these visits.
Invited guests, including Gov. Kevin Stitt and U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern, will be in attendance. According to Kip Eideberg of AEM, the trade group is not focused on partisan politics.
“We’re not concerned about whether you belong to the Republican or Democratic party. Our focus is on what actions you, as our chosen representative at the state or federal level, will take to enhance equipment manufacturing in the United States.”
Eideberg emphasized in a Washington Examiner op-ed that it is crucial to prioritize achieving consensus on immigration policy and easing federal environmental regulations that have a negative impact on commerce.
On Thursday, AEM has scheduled visits to McElroy Manufacturing and Vacuworx in Tulsa. The following day, Friday, they will be visiting PACCAR Winch and TWG Dover.
The national tour is taking the group to Georgia next. This is part of the largest member engagement effort in the organization’s 130-year history, and officials estimate that they will have traveled 10,000 miles by October.