More than 200 green industry advocates from across the country convened in Washington, D.C., July 16-17, 2007, for TCIA’s second joint Legislative Day on the Hill.
The two-day program stressed the importance of grassroots advocacy on the legislative process. Following an afternoon and morning of issue briefings and education sessions, TCIA members – in small groups or as part of joint delegations with members of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) – visited with congressional staff in both the House and Senate to discuss OSHA, immigration and health care issues. Members also talked about their businesses, their value to the community as employers and their role in protecting the environment as green industry companies.
OSHA officials and staff members taking part in Legislative Day on the Hill July 17-17 included, from left, Donald Shalhoub, deputy assistant secretary for OSHA; Ed Foulke, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA; Randy Owen; Ben Tresselt; Peter Gerstenberger; Scott Packard; Erich Schneider; Cynthia Mills; Tony Gann; Jeanne Houser; Terrill Collier; Richard Alt; Will Maley; and David Fleischner.
Legislative Day on the Hill gave our industry a tremendous opportunity to promote policies that are favorable to commercial tree care businesses. There are several OSHA initiatives underway – from logging regulations as applied to our industry to updated regulations for utility work – that will directly affect the bottom line of TCIA members. In addition, general industry regulations on PPE and ergonomics will reappear somewhere down the road. Tree care needs a seat at the table where the specifics are decided.
The more Congress is aware of our More than 200 green industry advocates from across the country convened in Washington, D.C., July 16-17, 2007, for TCIA’s second joint Legislative Day on the Hill.
The two-day program stressed the importance of grassroots advocacy on the legislative process. Following an afternoon and morning of issue briefings and education sessions, TCIA members – in small groups or as part of joint delegations with members of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) – visited with congressional staff in both the House and Senate to discuss OSHA, immigration and health care issues. Members also talked about their businesses, their value to the community as employers and their role in protecting the environment as green industry companies.
Legislative Day on the Hill gave our industry a tremendous opportunity to promote policies that are favorable to commercial tree care businesses. There are several OSHA initiatives underway – from logging regulations as applied to our industry to updated regulations for utility work – that will directly affect the bottom line of TCIA members. In addition, general industry regulations on PPE and ergonomics will reappear somewhere down the road. Tree care needs a seat at the table where the specifics are decided.
The more Congress is aware of our industry, the less likely we are to see legislation that adds to our costs or makes doing business harder.
TCIA members joined with PLANET members and the landscape industry to meet with staff or with Representatives and Senators themselves to discuss access to a reliable source of legal labor. The H-2B program, specifically, has provided a legal source of labor to supplement year-round American workforce during the busy season. Unfortunately, the looming September 30, 2007, expiration of the H-2B cap’s repeat-worker exemption means that our members may not have access to this needed source of legal labor next spring.
We called on legislators to support the “Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2007” and work with their Congressional colleagues to get this legislation signed into law before the end of the fiscal year.
TCIA’s first joint Legislative Conference, held in 2005 conjunction with the American Nursery and Landscape Association, brought TCIA members to Washington as a defined industry for the first time. This year’s voice proved even stronger, thanks in no small part to TCIA’s lobbyist, Josh Ulman, who arranged appointments with senior committee staffers and elected members from a number of states.
“It was a watershed experience for me,” reports Andy Ross, president of RTEC Treecare. “It was eye opening to see how accessible the American legislative process really is. The receipt and importance of our message by the aides (and in some cases the Senators/Congressmen) was also empowering. I left that day amazed at how important it is to do what we did.”
Legislative Day on the Hill is just a small part of TCIA’s ongoing efforts on behalf of the industry – through regulatory work and direct action through the Voice for Trees political action committee – to advance the prospects for tree care businesses. Much work remains, and all members can easily visit the local office of elected officials to follow up on the good work your TCIA member volunteers started in Washington.
For information on how, contact Mark Garvin at 1-800-733-2622 or garvin@tcia.org.
Edwin G. Foulke confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Labor
for Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced March 15, 2006, that the United States Senate has confirmed Edwin G. Foulke Jr. of South Carolina as assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.
President George W. Bush nominated Foulke Sept.15, 2005, to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). “Ed has extensive knowledge and experience in workplace safety and health issues that he will put to use to protect workers and promote employer compliance,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.
Prior to his nomination, Foulke was a partner with the law firm of Jackson Lewis LLP in Greenville, S.C., and chaired the firm’s OSHA practice group. He served on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission from 1990 to 1995, chairing the commission from March 1990 through February 1994. The commission is an independent federal adjudicatory agency that renders decisions in job safety and health disputes arising from inspections conducted by OSHA.
As head of OSHA, Foulke will be responsible for administering a comprehensive program to assure the safety and health of America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards, providing training, outreach and education; and establishing partnerships and alliances that encourage continual improvement in workplace safety and health.
A native of Perkasie, Pa., Foulke graduated from North Carolina State University in 1974. He received his Juris Doctor from Loyola University in 1978 and a Master of Law (LL.M.) degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1993. He also served as an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans.
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