It’s You, It’s Us

For the past several months, I’ve been urging you to fly to D.C., meet up with NUCA at its annual Washington Summit and visit your congress representatives to educate them on the needs of the utility construction industry. I’m happy to report that this year’s Summit, which was held May 17-19, was a success. We had strong participation from more than 120 attendees, who stormed Capitol Hill to talk to their representatives about everything from construction funding to OSHA regulations. Without the support of everyone — from the first timers to the old timers — our unified voice would not have been heard.

Making the effort to participate is crucial to the success of not only NUCA, but the construction industry as a whole. We are the workforce of America and today, we’re unemployed. We need to educate our elected representatives on the clean water needs of America and the needs of excavation construction contractors across the country. And that education doesn’t end at the Washington Summit. It’s just the beginning.

What can you do from here? Stay involved through the NUCA committees. As you may remember from the NUCA Expo in January, NUCA has re-organized the committee meeting schedule to make regular participation easier. For nearly every issue in our industry, there’s a NUCA committee set up to address those problems. Want to improve upon your damage prevention policy? There’s a committee for that. Want to get involved on a political level? There’s a PAC for that. Got a contractor problem that you can’t get rid of? There’s a committee for that too.

Now I know it’s hard to get involved, but you have to believe in what you’re doing. The industry is in dire straights, and you know that better than anyone, just take a look at your bid opportunities for the summer. Everybody out there has something to provide and NUCA wants your input. If it’s your first time going to a committee meeting, don’t be afraid to stand up and speak your piece. What you have to say is invaluable to the construction community. Even if you have an issue that you think is silly, it could be a serious situation that one or more of us have run into in our time on the jobsite. You’re with a group of your peers. We’re all on the same page and we all do the same thing.

Regardless of the size of your company — whether you have one employee or 10,000 employees — your input is needed to help grow the committees and be successful.

So how do you get involved? It’s easy. Just call NUCA and ask! Or visit the NUCA Web site — www.nuca.com — and look under the NUCA Leadership link for a list of committees and the most recent minutes. As for me and the Board of Directors, we’ll be doing our part by travelling the country to the local NUCA chapters to strengthen both our national unity and the tightly-knit web of grassroots support many NUCA chapters already provide to their members. I can’t urge you enough to get involved. And if you’ve been involved in the past, a sincere Thank You, and we need your continued support. It’s not just for NUCA or the challenges that face the construction industry, but to ensure that you and contractors like you continue to serve the American people for a long time to come.

Where Is Dan?
May 26 - Denver, Colo. (NUCA of Colorado)
June 11 - Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Georgia Utility Contractors Association Annual Conference)
June 18 - Rhode Island (Utility Contractors Association of Rhode Island)

     Dan East
     NUCA Chairman of the Board