The President knows that America’s middle class was built on the strength of our small businesses and our manufacturing sector. But for too long, middle class security had been slipping away for too many families. Long before the worst recession since the Great Depression, folks saw the cost of living go up, while their wages remained stagnant, making it harder to make ends meet – especially for families in the manufacturing sector. And when President Obama took office, we faced the worst recession since the Great Depression, and the entire communities were devastated.  We’ve faced tough times, but the American people are tougher. And the President stood with the workers across the nation as they rebuilt their communities. Now, the manufacturing sector has added 504,000 jobs since January 2010 – the first period of sustained job growth since the 1990s. While there’s more work to be done, we continue to make progress.  In fact, just this week we saw some good news at an Alcoa Davenport Works Factory in Iowa. They just announced a new agreement with Airbus to manufacture the aluminum sheets for the new Airbus A-305’s. We’re pleased that they came to this agreement.  It’s good for business, good for the economy. More importantly, it’ll create jobs, strengthen communities, and continue to restore the economic security for thousands of middle class families. read more