Mr. McKinney and Mr. Reynolds Go to Washington

 

 

In addition to being an entrepreneur and business executive, Allen McKinney is a business advocate. McKinney is president and CEO of ELDECO Inc., a midsize electrical contracting company in Greenville, South Carolina. He and ELDECO CFO Steve Reynolds flew to Washington, D.C., recently to meet up with other members of the Chamber's Corporate Leadership Advisory Council (CLAC) for a day of lobbing and policy briefings.

 

What follows is McKinney's description of a day in the life of a business advocate.

 

7:30 a.m.--We arrive at the Chamber for our first meeting as new U.S. Chamber and CLAC members. CLAC provides a platform for mid-market business leaders to have their voices heard by Congress and the administration, and it's the primary avenue through which mid-market Chamber members provide input on the Chamber's policy agenda.

 

The main reason we joined the Chamber is because of its strong position against union card check legislation, which would eliminate secret ballot elections in union organizing drives. Greenville is undergoing a lot of changes. It's been revitalized from a textile area to a major exporter, particularly of automotives. And with those companies come the unions. Right now, they're not strong in South Carolina, although they're picking up steam in North Carolina. Companies come to Greenville to get away from unions in the northern states.

 

8:00 a.m.--Steve and I meet briefly with Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) and grab a last cup of coffee before the congressman speaks to CLAC members. Davis warns that unions are organized this election cycle. "They're trying to win in the ballot box what they can't win in the marketplace."

 

9:45 a.m.--Steve and I split up so that we can attend two of the six policy roundtables at the Chamber. I attend the regulatory reform roundtable led by Tom Myers, the Chamber's regulatory affairs counsel. Myers gives tips on how businesses can weigh in on the federal regulatory and rulemaking process, including filing comments and testifying. CLAC members engage in a lively discussion about government contract size limits and how to level the playing field for midsize businesses.

 

Meanwhile, Steve attends a tax policy roundtable, where he asks Caroline Harris, director of tax policy at the Chamber, about the prospects for estate tax repeal. Our company grew from a small family business to a midsize one, so the estate tax has a huge impact on us, giving new meaning to the term "growing pains."

 

10:45 a.m.--Steve and I use our divide-and-conquer strategy to attend two additional concurrent roundtables. I attend a discussion on immigration led by Angelo Amador, the Chamber's immigration policy director, and Steve gets a briefing from Mike Eastman, senior director of labor policy. I tell Amador about a new South Carolina immigration law that's due to go into effect January 1. The law imposes new employment verification obligations-and new penalties-on businesses. I don't want to be a police force; I just want to run my company. As it is, we get a couple of letters per month about discrepancies between employees' Social Security numbers and the federal E-Verify system.

 

Steve's roundtable discusses the tough legislative fights ahead, starting with organized labor's top priority-card check. There are three parts to the bill-the card check certification portion, the government arbitration of a first contract, and the increased damages employees can sue for, including triple back pay. "The focus has been on employer coercion, but arguments of union coercion are falling on deaf ears," Steve says. "Unions are organized, they're putting their people in public office, and they're getting their foot in the door while businesspeople are busy running their businesses."

 

12 noon--Over lunch, we hear from former White House official Fran Townsend, who speaks about the private sector's role in maintaining national security.

 

Chamber Vice President and Chief Economist Marty Regalia then gives an economic forecast. Following Regalia's presentation, we gather for a group photo in front of the Chamber building before boarding a bus to Capitol Hill.

 

3:30 p.m.--Our first visit is with Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR). Pryor co-sponsored previous union card check bills but not the most recent bill that the Senate blocked last year. I tell him that we're concerned about the bill. Some union confrontations get heated and hostile. This bill would make it hostile for employers. Currently, our company is not a target for unions, but with card check, it would make us a much more attractive target. Pryor is very courteous, and he listens closely to what we have to say. He says that he has only recently heard from the business community on its opposition to this bill and thanks us for coming to D.C. 

 

4:15 p.m.--Next, we meet with Sen. Elizabeth Dole's (R-NC) staff because we have an office in Concord, North Carolina. Dole is a long-time and vocal opponent of card check. We also discuss immigration policy. "If you make an honest mistake, you get penalized pretty harshly, and the time frames for fixing the issue are too tight," Steve explains to Dole's staff.

 

4:45 p.m.--Finally, we meet with our home state senator, Jim DeMint (R-SC), another opponent of the card check bill. "I wish I could sound the alarm a lot louder. Small companies don't realize that overnight they could be unionized," DeMint says. "The hard thing for us is that the business community is not loud enough. They don't like to be too vocal, but I challenge our business leaders to do so. It's important that the voters know."

 

5:00 p.m.--After a long and productive day, it's time to hop into a cab for our 7 p.m. flight home to Greenville.