Washington, DC—Today, the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project (MAP), an arm of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), joined 26 state manufacturing groups in delivering a strong message to the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) encouraging mayors across the country to stand up against trial attorneys and politicians who seek to punish the job creators and energy providers that their citizens rely on through involvement in baseless public nuisance lawsuits targeting manufacturers. The groups delivered a joint letter raising the issue ahead of the 86th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Boston, Massachusetts, in response to this growing trend.

The organizations asked the USCM “to consider how these cases have affected your courtrooms and constituents, and whether steps can be taken to establish guidelines for how mayors should engage on such matters.” Over the past year, thirteen cities and counties across the country have engaged in this misguided litigation against manufacturers, most recently in Washington state.

“Mayors are signing their names to lawsuits that will do more to undermine the resurgence of the manufacturing sector than to address the issues they intend to solve through the courts. Manufacturers are standing up today to highlight this concerning trend of litigation from Imperial Beach, California, to New York City,” said Lindsey de la Torre, Executive Director of the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project.

Read the full letter sent to the USCM here.

-MAP- 

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.