Days at the Capitol have become an annual activity on association advocacy calendars for groups ranging from homebuilders to automakers. These Capitol visits give business leaders, educators and others a chance to meet face-to-face with their state or federal legislators to express concerns and to discuss key issues facing their respective industries.
At its core, Government Relations is about education—business and industry leaders learning about the process of lawmaking; and lawmakers learning about the issues, laws and regulations that affect businesses and other constituencies. Understanding the process and identifying and monitoring legislative issues give businesses a better opportunity to shape the outcome. Advocacy clearly can influence the law and oftentimes it requires two simple things: knowledge of the governmental process and contacts.
For leading forklift designer and manufacturer Hyster-Yale Group, the Government Relations initiative began in 2014 when the Industrial Truck Association hosted the first annual National Forklift Safety Day in Washington, DC. ITA members including Hyster-Yale executives, made appointments with U.S. House and Senate members from their respective states to discuss topics relevant to the industry such as the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
The Capitol Hill visits brought Hyster-Yale executives together with elected officials and Congressional staffs responsible for crafting bills that could affect business activity such as the global lift truck manufacturer’s ability to export its products or to develop new alternative power source technology to run its forklifts. They began conversations that would continue over the next two years.
To sustain momentum from the visit to the nation’s Capitol, Hyster-Yale officials began working to get Congressmen, U.S. Senators and their staffs to visit Hyster-Yale manufacturing and R&D facilities scattered across the country. The Congressional visits were designed to:
- Establish Hyster-Yale Group as a thought leader on matters related to the economic health of the materials handling industry and U.S. manufacturing overall
- Establish Hyster-Yale Group as an industry advocate that monitors legislative and regulatory issues that can impact the materials handling industry and U.S. manufacturing overall
- Reinforce Hyster-Yale Group’s leadership position in the industry and elevate the company’s profile among customers, potential customers, competitors and employees
- Reinforce Hyster-Yale Group as one of the industry’s top employers
Over the next year and a half, Hyster-Yale facilities in Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina and Oregon hosted more than 20 local, state and national elected officials and their staffs, including four U.S Congressmen and three U.S. Senators. The visits, which received significant media coverage, helped establish Hyster-Yale Group as an advocate in areas such as R&D tax credits, fair trade policies and workforce development initiatives.
Perhaps the most significant result from the sustained government relations effort is the number of calls Hyster-Yale executives now receive from Congressional offices requesting input on proposed or pending legislation that might affect the company, the industry or manufacturing in America.
During an economic development forum held at Hyster-Yale Group’s Sulligent, AL plant this past February, U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) emphasized that lawmakers can help companies like Hyster-Yale Group succeed and grow by limiting restrictive legislation.
“Number one, we can stay out of the way and not cause burdensome regulations,” Aderholt said. “We also need to make sure we create the best environment to facilitate jobs in the South and especially here in northwest Alabama.”
Hyster-Yale Group’s commitment to work closely with national, state and local leaders to influence positive change, coupled with Jackson’s ability to coordinate and manage the Congressional visits program, has made the Greenville, NC-based company a leading voice on issues affecting the materials handling industry and U.S. manufacturing overall.
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