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Home / Washington Business - March/April 2004 / AWB Continues to Lead the Private Sector In the Tug-of-War Between Business and Government |
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AWB Continues to Lead the Private Sector In the Tug-of-War Between Business and Government |
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Written On: March/April 2004 |
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Written By: By Alexis Nepomuceno, Executive Editor |
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In the last issue of Washington Business Magazine we focused on the history of the Association of Washington Business before it officially became "AWB." This time, we take a close look at how AWB evolved from the 1970s into one of the state’s largest and most influencial business organizations.
Like most businesses in the state, AWB has endured through the good and bad times of the state’s volatile business climate. Additionally, the organization has fought through growing pains, and has worked to reinvent itself to best serve the needs of member companies. One of the things that has not changed is AWB’s relentless mission to represent the best interest of the state’s jobmakers. Indeed, the term “jobmakers” was essentially coined by AWB, and crystalized in it’s launch of jobmakers.com last year.
Presently, legislators have used the term “jobmakers” during floor speeches and committee hearings. This fact alone serves as testament to the impact an organization can have on the policies and laws of an entire state. Such influence can only be built on the type of trust that has been forged over the course of 100 years.
AWB has gone through many changes over the last 34 years, yet many of the issues it dealt with in 1971 are still relevent today. Energy prices, regulatory burdens, excessive taxation and workers’ compensation are just a handful of topics that continue to serve as points of contention between employers, labor unions and environmentalists.
Although many issues are similar, the business landscape has changed dramatically. During the early 1970s, personal computers were just an idea with a few prototypes developed by hobbyists and engineers. Now, personal computers and the Internet are virtually ubiquitous. Over three decades ago, artificial intelligence and instant wireless communications were the stuff of science fiction books and movies. Now, people spend more time taking on their cellular phones than on their landlines, and artificial intelligence can be found in everything from watches to automobiles.
Despite the consistencies and changes during the latter part of AWB’s history, one thing will never change – state government. The public sector will continue to rely on the private sector to create jobs that generate tax revenues, not use up tax dollars. For this reason, there will always be a tug-of-war between the private sector and government. AWB has been and will continue to be the anchor for that tug-of-war, representing businesses of all sizes and making sure somebody is always holding onto that rope.
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