Victories at hand, dealers vow vigilance - Brief Article

Home Channel News, April 16, 2001

NLBMDA continues pressing political representatives to support free trade

WASHINGTON -- The National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers Association knows that despite the March 31 expiration of the Softwood Lumber Agreement, the dispute over the United States-Canada lumber trade is far from settled.

But the NLBMDA also knows that unlike five years ago, when it had little influence over the development of the SLA, its dealer members are determined to play active roles in shaping any new settlement. In 1996, the dealer organization watched from the side lines as U.S. lumber producers and a handful of Canadian provincial governments negotiated the pact. At the time a bitter, but determined, NLBMDA vowed to become a louder, more aggressive, lobbying force.

"Five years ago we were not seated at the table," said Tom Ross, past chairman of the NLBMDA and a vp with Gilcrest-Jewett Lumber in Iowa. "We're now at the table because of the efforts we've made."

The 2001 NLBMDA Legislative Conference, held here April 1 to 4, was a celebration of the group's increasing political aware ness and influence -- as evidenced by a recent string of legislative victories. But it also served as a rallying cry for even more proactive dealer involvement in national politics.

The independent LBM dealers who make up the NLBMDA membership used the first two days of the conference to discuss issues and craft a unified message that they could then take to their political representatives. The third and fourth days consisted of trips to Capitol Hill to lobby Congressional leaders.

"We're all here to help frame and work on the issues that affect independent lumber dealers," said Gerry Boland, NLBMDA chair man and a vp of two-unit Boland Maloney Lumber in Louisville, Ky.

The group raised $113,000 in PAC money during the last two year election cycle, which culminated in the November 2000 elections. Those efforts, combined with the Republican Party's hold ing on to their Congressional majority and winning the White House, have resulted in several key legislative battles swinging the NLBMDA's way. For instance:

* bankruptcy reform -- the NLB MDA supported it and Congress recently passed it;

* ergonomics reform -- the group opposed reforms passed shortly before President Clinton left office but claimed victory when President Bush later revoked them;

* estate tax reform or repeal -- the NLBMDA supports a bill that is currently being debated in Congress;

* U.S.-Canadian lumber trade -- for the moment trade is free, for which dealers have been rallying.

With the lumber trade issue unresolved for the long-term, however, the NLBMDA implored its members to continue pressing their political representatives to support their position: permanent free trade between the nations.

"Government affairs is a never ending job," Boland said. "Just when you close out on one issue, another one pops up. You never win forever. You always have people who come behind you and try to undo what you've done."

The goal for the next election cycle, which ends with the November 2002 ballots, is to raise $200,000 in PAC contributions.

Anti-trust a focus

The NLBMDA addressed other matters at the Legislative Conference as well. Association president Gary Donnelly announced that he has been appointed chair man of the Small Business Legislative Council, a Washington-based coalition of nearly 80 trade and professional associations that share a commitment to small business.

Through that group, Donnelly said he is setting up a task force to investigate whether national retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart are violating anti trust laws in the deals they strike with suppliers. The task force has already hired a former Justice Department official to work on the project.

The NLBMDA also proposed developing a new training pro gram called Distance Learning Center. The program would be some kind of joint venture between the association and Tindell's Consulting Group, a new consulting business spun off by Carl Tindell, president of Tindell's of Knoxville, Tenn., and one of his former employees, Debra Hayden.

The Distance Learning Center would offer dealers the chance to purchase multimedia training tools in a variety of areas, including fleet safety and operating heavy equipment. No decision on whether to go ahead with the initiative was reached.

NLBMDA's Dealer Service committee announced that it would be relaunching the www.dealer.org Web page and establishing a series of human re sources benchmarks that dealers could use for comparison.