The Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association on Monday named Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell as the recipient of the 2020 MEMA Joseph M. Magliochetti Industry Champion Award.
“I am honored to be named the 2020 Joseph M. Magliochetti MEMA Industry Champion,” Sewell said. “The growth of auto manufacturing in Alabama has created thousands of high-paying jobs and helped to change the cycle of poverty for many of my constituents. I remain committed to ensuring the continued success of auto workers and the manufacturing industry in my district and across this country.”
The award was presented virtually before a group of MEMA division members, many of whose companies have facilities in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, which Sewell represents.
“Terri Sewell led efforts in the House to pass the USMCA as well as to make its Auto Rule of Origin provisions as user friendly as possible,” said MEMA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs All Wilson who presented the award. “She also fought hard and successfully to prevent the imposition of auto and parts 232 tariffs against U.S. allies.”
The annual Industry Champion Award is given in memory of Joseph M. Magliochetti, who served as the chairman and CEO of Dana Corporation until his death in 2003. Magliochetti was widely recognized as a leader and a visionary in the supplier industry, and his tenure as MEMA’s chairman left a vibrant legacy of advocacy and outreach on behalf of motor vehicle suppliers.
“The Industry Champion Award is among the highest honors in our industry,” said MEMA President and CEO Bill Long. “The MEMA Board and our members believe that Congresswoman Sewell demonstrated extraordinary leadership on behalf of U.S. automotive and heavy-duty suppliers in 2020. MEMA members look forward to working with Representative Sewell for many years to come. She is a true advocate for manufacturers as a leading member of the Ways and Means Committee.”
MEMA members provide more than 871,000 direct jobs in the motor vehicle parts manufacturing industry, making it the largest sector of manufacturing jobs nationwide.
Together with direct and indirect jobs, the motor vehicle parts sector provides more than $270 billion in annual wages and income, and $435 billion in economic contribution to the U.S. GDP. There are over 41,000 Alabamans directly employed in the motor vehicle supplier industry, with Alabama in the top six states in the nation for supplier jobs.
Sewell was just re-elected to her sixth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. She had no primary or general election opponent.
