NRCA Grassroots Advocacy Network needs you!

Member engagement, growing participation and a clear message are the three major components of any successful grassroots program. To maximize the roofing industry's effectiveness on Capitol Hill, we need all roofing professionals to be involved. Simply put, we need you!

Grassroots engagement

The first component required for a strong grassroots program is engagement. When NRCA's government affairs team regularly visits Capitol Hill, members of Congress and their staffs tell us they need to hear directly from industry professionals and businesses in their districts. It's up to you to inform members of Congress how their legislation decisions affect your business.

There are many ways you can engage your members of Congress. In early 2017, the NRCA Grassroots Advocacy Network was introduced to help members develop relationships with their elected officials in their home districts. The easiest way for you to get involved is by registering on roofingadvocacy.nrca.net to receive action alerts. When action alerts are issued, you easily can send emails to your members of Congress to make your voice heard regarding important issues affecting the roofing industry.

The following ideas can also be implemented to engage your elected officials when they are home:

1. Business or job-site tours. I've spent a lot of time working on political campaigns and can tell you a tour of your business or job site can be a great learning experience for a legislator. A 30- to 45-minute tour is ample time to educate a lawmaker about major issues affecting your company and introduce him or her to constituents. These visits also make great photo opportunities. During August recess, when members of Congress typically are in their states and districts, legislative offices are looking for tour opportunities. This is especially true during a campaign year such as 2018. We realize you have busy schedules but encourage you to consider fitting in some time to build relationships with your lawmakers. An invitation template and additional information about requesting a meeting is available at roofingadvocacy.nrca.net.
2. State or district office visits. You also can set up a meeting at a lawmaker's local office. Members of Congress schedule office hours in their states or districts regularly to meet with business owners, local officials and other constituents. Many offices even have a dedicated business outreach staff member you can request to meet with at any time. Meetings with staff can be just as beneficial as meeting directly with a member of Congress.
3. Town hall meetings. Another way you can make your voice heard is by attending a town hall meeting. Lawmakers use town hall meetings as open forums to hear directly from constituents. These meetings serve as opportunities for you to introduce yourself and share your thoughts regarding what your lawmakers should be doing to help resolve issues affecting your business.

Growing participation

Growing numbers is the second component to strengthening NRCA's grassroots program because it is vital to amplifying our industry's collective voice. Although NRCA has a strong presence on behalf of the roofing industry in our nation's capital, we are even stronger when there are numerous industry advocates. It is critical lawmakers hear our message loud and clear from many voices.

A clear message

The final component for a successful grassroots program is a clear message. NRCA's main message is addressing the ongoing workforce shortage, which limits the growth of roofing companies and our industry's ability to contribute more to the U.S. economy. Our industry offers good wages to potential roofing professionals, but too many jobs still go unfilled. Our Washington, D.C., staff regularly hears from members who tell us they could do 10 to 20 percent more work if they had more workers. We need your help to present a clear message to Congress emphasizing the need for solutions to this problem.

NRCA approaches the workforce shortage with a two-pronged strategy. The first is to advocate for career and technical education reform legislation, which will strengthen programs designed to prepare students for workforce opportunities. The second strategy is to advocate for the establishment of a market driven guest worker program that is available when the economy demands additional workers.

We need NRCA members to help deliver a clear message to Congress this election season that emphasizes the need for career and technical education reform legislation and the enactment of a construction guest worker program to alleviate the workforce shortage.

Get involved

Join NRCA in advocating on behalf of your business to strengthen the roofing industry's effectiveness on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit the NRCA Grassroots Advocacy Network at roofingadvocacy.nrca.net or call NRCA's Washington, D.C., office at (800) 338-5765.

Nathan Pick is NRCA's director of advocacy and political affairs in Washington, D.C.

This column is part of Rules + Regs. Click here to read additional stories from this section.