Constituent visits in Washington are effective and leave a lasting impression on our representatives. If you have an interest in participating at this event, please contact Jennifer Baker at jreid@thelaurinbakergroup.com especially if you would like to have your representative contacted about a visit (the sooner the better). Thank you.

To register fill out and return the registration form: (Click here) to view/print registration form.

Note: FIA's official position on relevant public policy issues is provided on FIA's Website within the Public Policy menu item.

Here's our take on the implications of Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts Senate race. 

Short term

Health care reform and the Employee Free Choice Act are now in a state of flux. 

The only way a health care bill can reach the President's desk is for the House to simply accept the version passed by the Senate without amendment, which is unlikely.  Otherwise, the bill has to go back to the Senate for approval of any House changes, and it would require 60 votes again to cut off debate.  It's not clear that the same bill that passed the Senate could get the same 60 votes today, given the concerns raised by the "Nebraska Purchase", but in any event, Sen.-elect Brown has made it clear he will be the 41^st vote AGAINST health care if it comes back to the Senate.  And two Senate Democrats-Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Jim Webb (D-VA)-said last night that the Congress should hold off on any health care votes until Sen. Brown has been sworn in.

EFCA was already short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate, with several moderate Democrats like Blanche Lincoln who are facing tough reelection fights in November seen as very reluctant to vote for cloture when the business community is so unified in opposition to the bill.  Still, Big Labor's supporters in the Senate, including Sens. Harkin, Specter and Sherrod Brown, have been pushing a "compromise" designed to get the bill to the floor and get it passed.  Sen. Scott Brown's election makes that more difficult at best.

Problem Resolution projects usually happen in isolation at each member's site even though there typically exists a commonality of issues. Small collaborative work groups across the industry serve to integrate the strengths of participants.

Research and Development projects are costly and may not produce immediate commercial benefits, yet they are essential to the long-term financial health of our industry.

Joint ventures minimize cost and maximize results. Click here for more information.  

Once a year, FIA re-issues its Custom Forging Capability Guide on CD. Along with its counterpart on the FIA website, this Guide is used by thousands and thousands of customers and prospects from all over the world in locating North American forging companies.  For FIA Company Members, the time for updating the CD while simultaneously updating the website version is here.

See www.forging.org and click on Forging Producers and Suppliers. Click on Buyers Guide and then Custom Forging Producers.  Finally, click on Full List of all Forging Producers and scroll down and select your company name from the drop down menu. If your company performs more than one forging process, it should be listed. Be sure and check all information (i.e. addresses, e-mails, equipment, weights, materials, etc.) Please notify FIA of any changes you want to make in writing. This can be in letter, fax or e-mail form. The person requesting the change must be clearly identified.

Members may now list company trademarks or logos electronically. Simply e-mail connie@forging.org with a .jpg or .gif image of your trademark or logo, or send it to FIA on disk. Color or black and white accepted as long as it does not exceed  a resolution of 72 dpi.

We must hear from you by February 12, 2010 in order to include your changes. If we have not heard from you by then, we will assume your listing is correct as is.  If you are a new member and have not been listed in the past, please e-mail connie@forging.org and request the proper listing forms.  

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• General view of your company's safety culture
• Management buy-in to a culture of safety
• Effectiveness of current safety programs
• Level of employees' willingness to open up to, and work with, management regarding safety issues.
• How much do your workers care about safety, and much more

An option available for your use is the "Electronic Interactive I & I Survey.  If you'd like to use this tool, again, please send an email to Connie Long at connie@forging.org. She'll send you one to complete, and then you SUBMIT back to her. Complete confidentiality is assured.

Only participants will receive the summary report listing forging industry Occupational Injury & Illness Total Recordable Incidence, and DART Incidence Rates - your only source of such specific information.  The more members that participate, the more reliable our industry figures are.  If you would prefer that your company name NOT be listed in the report, simply check the box on the form.

This information is also used to calculate the annual FIA Safety & Health Awards. Plaques will be presented to companies with the lowest Recordable Incidence Rates, and greatest improvements in each of four size groups. Presentation of the awards will be made during the May 15-18, 2010, FIA Annual Meeting of Members being held in Amelia Island, FL.

Again this year, Safety Award Winners will be highlighted in a special article of the May/June issue of FORGING Magazine.

In FIA's continuing effort to promote safety throughout the forging industry, the FIA Safety & Health Committee is recognizing individuals that take the time and effort to complete any five of the following Forging University safety courses, with a Safety Certificate of Recognition.  

• Forge Shop Safety Orientation
• Forge Hammer Safety
• Forge Press Safety
• OSHA & Medical Emergencies
• OSHA Walking-Working Surfaces & Housekeeping
• OSHA Employee Safety-Electrical Systems & Equipment
• Creating a Safe & Sound Environment
• Watching Out for Others Prevents Accidents
• OSHA Employee Safety - Personal Protective Equipment & Hazardous Confined Spaces
• OSHA Employee Safety - Special Work Issues
• OSHA Employee Safety - The Work Environment          
• Substance Abuse - Manager's Guide to Identification & Prevention                    
• Workplace Violence - Identify & Defuse Your Time Bomb
• Risk of Drug & Alcohol Abuse in the Workplace - Overview for Employees

The FIA Forging University is an online, Web-based training center that can be accessed from any Internet connected computer, anywhere in the world, at anytime.

FIA company and supplier senior executives are encouraged to mark their calendars for the 2010 FIA Annual Meeting to take place at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island (Jacksonville), Florida. The agenda for this meeting is being finalized as of this writing. Please watch Quick Read, the FIA website and your mail for detailed information early this March. 

All FIA Member Custom Forging Companies in North America will be mailed the Annual Confidential Survey of Profits the first of February 2010. 

NO COST to participate.  REQUIREMENT:  complete the FIA Annual Orders, Shipments & End-Use Markets survey sent to you in January and due February 13, 2010.  If you have not yet completed that survey, contact FIA to receive the forms or download the PDF forms you need by clicking the link below:

     Impression Die (Closed Die) Form [click here]

     Open Die Form [click here]