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Home / Washington Business - May/June 2004 / 100 Years of Washington Business: AWB Remains the Dominant Voice Lobbying for Employer Needs |
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100 Years of Washington Business: AWB Remains the Dominant Voice Lobbying for Employer Needs |
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Written On: May/June 2004 |
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Written By: by Scott Carlson |
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Since 1904, the Association of Washington Business (AWB) has been the dominant voice of state employers in the Legislature. As the state’s chamber of commerce, AWB has fought for policies that ease pressure on employers, protect jobs providing income for Washington families, and invite more entrepreneurs to do business in this state.
As some look back at the first century of business policy here, AWB’s staff and governmental affairs team pause only long enough to catch their breath. Next year brings another legislative session. Another session brings one more opportunity to push the legislation through that will bring competitiveness back to Washington. This is what AWB has done for 100 years and will continue doing for 100 more.
“We’ve always been seen as the voice of business,” said Governmental Affairs Vice President Gary Chandler. “That’s what’s important about AWB. A lot of that has to do with the diversity of our membership.”
The founders of AWB felt this to be true also. According to a December 4, 1913 committee report given to AWB executives, diversity was the key to the success of AWB.
“Your committee has reached the unanimous conclusion that the effective usefulness of this Association depends on a large and general membership … if such large increased membership cannot be obtained, this Association may as well cease to exist,” the report proclaims.
Through decades of work in the legislative arena and in the business community of Washington, AWB established a diverse group of members 4,100-strong today. The Association’s success is due in a large way to its governmental affairs team. Over the years, this group of men and women has pushed an agenda through the Legislature to benefit the overall economy of Washington. All the while, the lobbyists have been passing down the knowledge and experience to each other necessary to accomplish this mission.
“For as long as the system’s been around, this is the way it’s been done,” Chandler said. “You work the issues with the governor. You work the issues with the legislators. You work them during the summertime. They have to be made aware of the business issues.”
This relentless push is what drives the business and economic worlds.
However, according to Chandler, there is one group of individuals more powerful and persuasive than even the most salty business lobbyist — the business owners themselves.
“One thing we’re trying to do here at AWB is increase our members’ involvement with their legislators,” Chandler stressed.
As a former state representative, Chandler said a phone call from a constituent was always more important than any call from a lobbyist.
“When a lobbyist would tell me something, I thought to myself, ‘Maybe it’ll affect my people, maybe it won’t,’” he said. “But when I heard from a business back home, I made sure to pay attention to what that person had to say.”
“A majority of AWB’s members do not personally know their legislators,” Chandler said.
“That’s something that through our grassroots movement and through other issues we’re working on here at AWB, we’re trying to change. We’ve got to push our members to build working relationships with their legislators and be able to pick up their phones and call them when we ask them to. If they do, that legislator will have confidence enough in them to listen to what is being said.”
And what is being said is that it is tough doing business in Washington. State businesses pay 54 percent of all taxes collected. Neighboring Oregon and Idaho pay roughly 40 and 36 percent respectively. This is the weight under which employers are slowly crumbling.
“Surviving has become more difficult for businesses in this state,” Chandler said. “However, due to our efforts with the Governor’s Competitiveness Council, we’ve eased some of the regulations and sped up permitting processes.”
Since AWB’s birth early in the 20th century, the Association has faired better in the Legislature when times were tough economically. More bills benefiting the business owner or his employers were pushed though and signed into law. More thought was put into strategies to put more Americans back to work.
But there will always be matters that need to be addressed in order for Washington to be a place businesses want to be. Taxes and the regulatory process are two of them. These issues are the biggest burdens for Washington employers and are two of AWB’s biggest targets in the legislative shooting gallery.
Another issue appearing on AWB’s back burner is the shifting of governmental authority to the local level, which businesses must now contend with in order to perform day-to-day activities.
“We’ve created almost two layers of government,” Chandler said. “I think everybody has always been in favor of giving more local control and local authority. I wouldn’t say it’s coming back to bite us, but it’s coming back as a concern now.”
Since its inception, AWB has been busy creating a culture of sorts. Not only does the Association lobby for pro-business legislation, it also backs measures aimed at elevating a business-owner, large or small, onto a fair playing field when dealing with state agencies. AWB’s marketing branch also provides Association members with services such as HealthChoice and the CompWise Retrospective Rating program, which allows companies to receive refunds on premiums paid out to the Dept. of Labor and Industries.
However, as AWB heads into its second century, no matter what level of government it focuses on, it will still rely on the support and drive of its membership base and their will to put the economy at the top of every legislative agenda.
“AWB has always been there for the business community to enable them to prosper and grow here,” Chandler concluded. “To make this next 100 years successful and beneficial to the business community, we will be relying on our business community to be there for us.”
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