Keeping Connecticut’s manufacturing tradition strong is key to the health of our economy, our small businesses, and our middle-class. It’s also critical to our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Growing up in East Hartford, with both parents working at Pratt & Whitney, John saw the importance of CT manufacturing firsthand. That’s why no one has been a stronger advocate for Connecticut manufacturing workers than John Larson.
John’s leadership in establishing the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT), alongside longtime CCAT President Elliott Ginsburg, has been critical for our manufacturing sector. CCAT provides technical support to dozens of smaller CT manufacturers and their workers, keeping Connecticut at the forefront of technological innovation. CCAT has ensured that Connecticut manufacturers remain on the cutting edge of technology and techniques. Connecticut leads the world in high performance manufacturing and CCAT is helping maintain that edge!
John has delivered real results for Connecticut manufacturing workers time and time again, including in 2011, when he won the fight to scrap the Alternate F-35 Engine program.
The elimination of the alternate engine was a truly pivotal moment for Connecticut’s economy and for Connecticut Machinists. John’s victory secured Pratt & Whitney as the sole supplier of the engine, created thousands of accessible, high-quality jobs across the state, and generated an estimated $750 million of economic activity in the 1st Congressional District alone.
When the commercial airline industry was devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic, not a single F-35 machinist was laid off, because of the lasting and unwavering nature of this program.
Just this year, John won another key victory for Connecticut manufacturing, ensuring the approval of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 in the House of Representatives. This bill funds new and important projects for dozens of small manufacturers in Connecticut, supporting thousands of good-paying union jobs.
Working together, John, CCAT, the machinists and Connecticut’s small and large manufacturers are strengthening the Connecticut economy.