Pick your Ally to Change the Change: BCA, US Chamber, NAM

            Change.  Not just a buzzword during the Presidential elections, but a word that rose to a frenzied mantra.  Now that the smoke is clearing from our  recent mid-term elections, we are beginning to get the clear picture that something really has changed in the collective conscience of the country, and it may not be what some in Washington had hoped for or envisioned.  It would seem that previous to the 2008 elections, it was enough to ask the civic minded person to engage and vote.  Now that is just not enough.  Gone are the days of passive involvement, and trust in leadership whether it would be corporate leadership (with a now 20% approval rating) or political leadership (with a now 11% approval.)  Enter the Watchdog.  Welcome the Self-Advocate.  All Hail the civic minded, highly engaged voter who not only shows up on Election Day, but is highly informed and ready to get involved.  

I want to share this thought with you on the heels of my participation in the recent Committee Days for the Business Council of Alabama (BCA).  Committee days are key to driving the Pro-Business Agenda that BCA supports for our state.  In their commitment to our legislative process, BCA looks to the business volunteer leadership who has led BCA for over a quarter of a century with vision, courage, integrity and commitment.  This weeks Committee days were filled with heavy hitter leadership participation from all business sectors for Alabama.  If your company supports BCA, your organization has taken a serious step toward not only civic engagement, but having personal ownership in driving the drivers of legislation and leadership. 

            Two key speakers supported the Committee days this week, and their messages were on target with the mission of BCA.  In attendance to support this event were Jay Timmons, Executive Vice President of the National Manufacturers Association (NAM) and Katie Hays, Executive Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the US Chamber of Commerce. 

Timmons spoke to the need for “clearing the bureaucratic brush”.  According to Timmons, American companies want to compete and win in the aggressive war of competition, and do not need to be encumbered by taxes and legislation that is a functional anvil on the backs of manufacturing.  The United States is second now to Japan, but soon to be the highest in corporate tax rate with a cost to do business in the US at 17% higher than other countries.  NAM supports better policies to create jobs and bring us out of the recession, and it advocates for the Free Market System.  Timmons expressed concern that voters are less and less educated on benefits of a free market.  “We will not survive as a service economy alone, and a manufacturing economy born in innovation, advancement and competition is crucial to building tangible wealth and strength for us,” said Timmons.

Hayes gave an election recap with recognition that there is certainly a lot of new blood in office with 13 new senators and 30 new governors.  “The role of the new governors is clearly significant as they work to interpret for the state what is happening at the national level and as well they should,” said Hayes.  As we exit this week from our Lame Duck Session with only one more session this year, there is a lot to accomplish in a very short period of time.  According to Hayes and the US Chamber of Commerce, President Obama must signal openness to compromise.  If the 2001/2003 Bush tax cuts expire, we will experience one of the largest tax hikes in America’s history.  $3.8 Trillion will be placed in the government’s hands only 45 days from now unless action is taken.   There is a lot of legislation in limbo in addition to the expiring tax cuts.  Other business tax provisions that are a priority for businesses are card check legislation, climate change legislation, transportation funding (SAFETEA-LU) reauthorization, discussion of the Debt Commission's budget report suggestions, immigration legislation (the DREAM Act), cyber security bill, trade legislation, and Medicare insurance legislation. 

The list is daunting, but chins up; Washington is listening now and now is our time to change the change.  We are the small-business bloc which is code for the “hardworking voter” or the “everyman.”  It is rare to find a small business person that does not complain about competition against the Big Box Company so here is your word of caution.  Politics is now truly big business.  More money from outside groups has been spent on the 2010 midterms than was spent in 2004, which was a presidential election year.  Don’t think about this as money spent buying votes, but think instead of the broadcasters, publications, campaign ads, event companies, restaurants, and the political consultants that help to bring it all together.  It may continue to be a tough fight for the small business bloc to compete with big politics in this type of financial arena, so square up with some good allies.  BCA may be that great lineman to your business big or small when it comes to the pro-business grid iron.

Your Chamber, BCA, CCAA and The Partnership

We have written here about the strong work of the Business Council of Alabama as their members work to forward a pro-business agenda. BCA is Alabama’s leading business and industry advocate representing nearly three quarters of a million working Alabamians. BCA is able to accomplish this by its partnership with the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama. CCAA and her 124 Chambers of Commerce statewide represent over 60,000 local business owners. I think that you will agree that it makes sense to link up the premier state business advocacy group, BCA, with the richest source of motivated business leaders, the members of the state and local Chambers of Commerce or CCAA. This has been done, and it is known as The Partnership. You may be surprised to know that Alabama is the first in the nation to cultivate this unique partnership between the Chambers of Commerce and business advocacy leadership. What has been created through The Partnership is a highly visible, forcefully active team that works to drive legislation and encourage lively debate while ultimately working to light the candle of accountability on our representatives. And by the way it represents more than 1 Million working Alabamians.

I had the opportunity to attend a leadership event with BCA this week where President and CEO, Billy Canary, announced their publication What If No One Was Watching? This has grown from a summary booklet to a now published book available at your bookstore. The writers document the legislative process, and progress, for Alabama as it affects business. Bookmark the site www.bcatoday.org for timely updates on key legislative drivers that will affect your business. You will find today, right now, a clear explanation of the pro-business impact of decreasing the tax burden on business, the need for secret ballot voting in union elections, the need for education dollars to be spent in the classroom and to support charter schools, the need for tax credits to allow employers to provide health coverage for employees, and the need to implement climate change policy that will advantage Alabama and the Southeast at large for work force development. Pro-Business and high accountability, I sure am glad someone is watching. The bottom line, as stated by Mr. Canary is that “We believe the need to act comes as much because of our economic situation as despite it.” “Our mission is to stand tall for those who create jobs and opportunities for the people of our State,” said Canary.

There is a saying that “all politics is local,” and with organizations such as The Partnership this is made a reality. In the not to distant past most would view our government leaders as distant and removed from our daily concerns, and I believe this has led to the apathy and low participation in voter effort in the past. Now due in part to the speed of information via the internet and the significant human effort by organizations like BCA and CCAA through The Partnership, we now can feel that we are not just able to participate in the process, but eagerly sought out as contributors.

Why should you follow BCA and CCAA efforts? If you are a member of your local Chamber of Commerce then you are very likely already a member by extension of these two organizations. Ask your Chamber leadership to keep you up to date on the BCA legislative bulletins, meetings and events and plug in to this key support for Alabama business. Through this relationship with your Chamber you can sit at the table and have active participation in legislative business development that drives (or may hinder) your business.

Has it been a while since you attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting? How about the Wednesday morning meeting of the North Jefferson Business League? I had the opportunity to participate with two of these groups this week and in addition to catching up with several of the area business owners and leaders in the area, I learned a thing or two about topics relevant to staying competitive in business today.

The North Jefferson Business League presenter was Dr. Rudy Guess of the Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church. Dr. Guess shared with us some of his research and ideas on the scriptural directives for leadership. Pulling from the Book of Genesis, he relayed the story of the selection of Rebecca as the wife of Isaac. The story of Rebecca if you have not read it lately concerns the visit of a young woman to a watering well in the village. Off in the distance is the servant of Abraham, tasked with the job of choosing a wife to bring back to marry young Isaac, son of Abraham. Unsure of how to discern which young woman to choose, he is feverishly praying for God to help with the endeavor. “Please, God of Abraham,” prays the servant, “If she be the one, let her ask to bring me a drink of water.” As the story, unfolds, Rebecca is the only young lady among the several at the well who asks to bring the stranger some water. The leadership message comes in the next thing that Rebecca does. She offers to not only bring the stranger water (which for those times is customary), but she also offers to water his camels. This is the “goes the extra mile” message that centered on the leadership focus for Dr. Guess. Always a gifted speaker, Dr. Guess made the visit to North Jefferson Business League this week time well spent. We all need a good dose of “going the extra mile” with our customers and staff, and it is refreshing to know that the directive has changed little in 6,000 years.

The second learning event for me this week was at our Fultondale Chamber meeting. This week we enjoyed a visit by two leaders from the US Chamber of Commerce, Moore Hallmark and Patrick Gartland. I have met both Moore and Patrick at previous events sponsored by the Business Council of Alabama and the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, and they agreed to visit with us in Fultondale as we work to grow our Chamber. Whether growing a business team, or a chamber team, Moore and Patrick shared some examples of other Chambers and how they worked to remain strong resources in their communities. High on the list of suggestions was the need to work in partnership with both the State Chamber of Commerce and National Chamber. We are seeking to do just that in Fultondale, Gardendale, and the entire North Jefferson area. The best way to accomplish this is to develop a Government Affairs Team within the Chamber. This team will work on developing policy statements that will position the growth and sustainability of local business, and ultimately can work in partnership with the teams of sister cities in the North Jefferson area. This type of grass roots partnership will help drive outcomes for our legislative and local leadership, help us stay on top of timely and relevant issues to our community, and formulate a supportive infrastructure for government in our community.

The big message from Moore and Patrick was that while it is nice for a Chamber to support events in a town, the real work is to create true value in the area of leadership. Interestingly, 97% of State Chamber members have 10 or less employees
88% of US Chamber members have 10 or less employees. Most small businesses join Chambers to insure that they have a voice, and you can really cement that happening when you join and take an active role.

According to the US Chamber, small Chambers are key to holding people accountable and the focus of a Chamber should be less on the benefits and service, and more on creating value by increasing public policy involvement and working in economic development. Focus on these efforts will work to keep the Chamber of Commerce viable and relevant.