I should have seen this coming. In the midst of a recession the “Buy American” frenzy was bound to take off.
First the House tried to squeeze it into the economic stimulus package, requiring that only U.S.-made products be included in projects funded by the bill before the Senate eventually softened the clause to ease international anxiety over the plan.
More recently, a firm called My American Jobs Inc. claims to provide a certification process that allows manufacturers of products that comprise more than 50% U.S.-made materials to display a “
nationally recognized insignia” that touts their commitment to preserving domestic manufacturing. In addition, they can join an Internet network that provides consumers with access to manufacturers with “certified American products.”
If you haven’t heard of My American Jobs, there’s a good reason why. Despite having a “nationally recognized insignia,” the company actually just began publicizing its services yesterday.
When I learned this, I called My American Jobs CEO Bryan Aldridge to find out more about the company and what makes his firm qualified to stamp products with its patriotic message.
Aldridge says he has about 20 years of manufacturing experience in equipment engineering including a stint at Intel and several smaller manufacturers, some of which don’t exist anymore.
His company consists of himself, a business partner and an auditor who will review companies to determine whether they qualify for the certification.
The auditor, Stacey Rizzo, has about eight years of manufacturing experience between Motorola and United Desiccants and more than seven years of auditing experience with ACNielsen and a consulting firm.
The company’s Web site
www.myamericanjobs.com features a fairly detailed outline of the certification procedure. To qualify, manufacturers must submit a certification application listing each product it wishes to be included in the program along with documentation listed in the application.
If the initial product audit does not confirm compliance manufacturers can submit additional documentation or product samples for a secondary audit. Companies that still don't qualify then have an opportunity to request an on-site inspection at their own cost, which includes travel, lodging and a per diem paid by the manufacturer regardless of whether they’re deemed compliant or not.
That fee would be in addition to the $2,250 or $5,500 My American Jobs charges to participate in the certification process.
So how does My American Jobs determine which fee to charge? That depends on your company’s profitability, Aldridge told me. He says applicants are trusted to provide their profit figures with no required verification.
Aldridge and his auditor have the manufacturing background and what appears to be a well-planned certification process, but are they qualified to bless manufacturers’ products as “American made?” The Federal Trade Commission already has a fairly clear Made in USA labeling policy.
According to the
FTC:
“The product’s final assembly or processing must take place in the U.S. The Commission then considers other factors, including how much of the product’s total manufacturing costs can be assigned to U.S. parts and processing, and how far removed any foreign content is from the finished product. In some instances, only a small portion of the total manufacturing costs are attributable to foreign processing, but that processing represents a significant amount of the product’s overall processing. The same could be true for some foreign parts. In these cases, the foreign content (processing or parts) is more than negligible, and, as a result, unqualified claims are inappropriate.”
When I asked Aldridge via e-mail why his company didn’t at least partner with an accredited association or outside firm to carry out the auditing process, he said:
“To expand on our previous conversation, we did consider using an independent accredited auditing company. We decided not to go that route for two reasons. 1. It would have almost doubled the cost. 2. The Beta test companies I mentioned felt more comfortable about releasing sensitive supply line data to a private group of our employees in our office.”
Even though Aldridge brings up some critical points in his above response, I’d like to know how many manufacturers would be willing to pay $2,250 or $5,500, plus any additional charges they may incur for follow-up audits, in the midst of a recession to market their products as American made through a firm that, despite its claims, is not “nationally recognized?”
Get Your 'Made in U.S.A.' Stamp for $5,500
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