Timmons: Mayor de Blasio Owes New Yorkers an Apology
Should Be Transparent about Trial Lawyer Payday
Lexington, KY – Ahead of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s State of the City address, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement highlighting the mayor’s attack on manufacturers and calling for New York City to make public the financial windfall trial lawyers will receive under his recent lawsuit against the industry:
“We doubt he’ll admit it in his State of the City address, but Mayor de Blasio’s frivolous lawsuit is a farce and a direct threat to the jobs and livelihoods of manufacturing workers in New York and across America. And despite what he says, New Yorkers should also recognize that his divestment plan is misguided, a disservice to the city and a danger to the pensions of firefighters, police officers and other public servants.
“Given the mayor’s entanglement with a web of activists and trial lawyers, it’s clear that he cares more about making headlines than solving the global challenge of climate change. He should use this chance to be transparent about his arrangement with payday-seeking trial lawyers and apologize to his city for dragging New Yorkers into an embarrassing, fruitless and potentially costly stunt.”
Recent records uncovered by the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project show that law firm Hagens Berman stands to gain an astounding 23.5 percent payday if its cookie-cutter lawsuits against manufacturers in other states are successful.
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The Manufacturers’ Accountability Project (MAP) will set the record straight and highlight the concerted, coordinated campaign being waged by plaintiffs’ lawyers, public officials, deep-pocketed foundations and other activists who have sought to undermine and weaken manufacturers in the United States. This campaign will pull back the curtain to expose these efforts and to hold key actors accountable in order to protect our members and American manufacturing workers. The MAP is a project of the NAM’s Manufacturers’ Center for Legal Action (MCLA), which serves as the leading voice of manufacturers in the nation’s courts. Visit us at mfgaccountabilityproject.org.