Growing New York State Manufacturing
Randy Wolken, President & CEO
In both Washington, D.C. and Albany, we have a unique opportunity to invest in and grow manufacturing. MACNY remains committed to working with our elected officials to do this. U.S. Manufacturing matters greatly to the health and well-being of our nation. We learned the hard way that we need to make essential products here, so they’re readily available when we need them. It’s vital to our national defense and overall economic vitality, but we’ll need strong public policy to make that a reality.
To start, we need better public policies that encourage domestic production. Robust growth policies will help us hire more people and enhance local manufacturing. This helps everyone. Manufacturing jobs pay the best of any industry and are accessible to individuals with skills training or college degrees. New York can lead in so many ways, such as in the development of state-of-the-art technologies to solve our most complex challenges. This week, Governor Hochul delivered her 2025 State of the State Address, which included several essential commitments to growing manufacturing.
MACNY applauds the Governor’s continued support of workforce development training programs in high-demand occupations, focusing on underrepresented populations throughout New York. With apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, such as MACNY’s Real Life Rosies program®, in constant high demand, we were pleased to hear the Governor pledge to increase funding for these critical programs to help incumbent and entry-level workers advance their careers in the manufacturing industry.
As the Governor noted in her address, New York is a leader in the semiconductor industry through the Green CHIPS program, with success also attributed to New York’s Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program. We were glad to hear Governor Hochul propose a 10-year extension of the Excelsior program and the creation of a new tier for smaller semiconductor supply chain companies. This tax incentive would be an effective tool for attracting companies that would supply the new Micron Technology facility in Clay. We look forward to seeing more details on this and other proposals in the Executive Budget.
MACNY and our member companies look forward to collaborating with the Governor and her administration on a Master Plan for Responsible Advanced Nuclear Development as the state works toward meeting its decarbonization goals. We’re encouraged by the Governor’s commitment to support an application by Constellation Energy for bringing a smaller modular reactor online. Day after day, we hear from members concerned about the future of affordable, sustainable, and reliable energy. New nuclear is a clean energy source that is critical to the state’s solution.
Finally, New York State can be the most affordable place to manufacture in the nation. Manufacturers in New York State remain hopeful that Governor Hochul and Legislative Leaders will come together in the upcoming budget to extend the same income tax rate granted to large manufacturers to small and medium-sized manufacturers. Doing so would make all manufacturers in New York State globally competitive and build upon the Governor’s overall mission of making living and working in New York more affordable.
When we focus on how to grow manufacturing, New York State thrives economically. It must be our number one goal as we work together to create a better future for ourselves and our children.