Get involved or more companies will leave

Regardless of whether you decide to take an active role in government, there will always be lawmakers in Olympia making decisions that affect your everyday life. Look at the decisions and the years of political fumbling that have driven Boeing out of this state. This loss will affect each of us in a myriad of ways we cannot even begin to predict.

Some individuals and groups have consistently chosen to be involved in Washington state politics, because they realize if they help elect legislators who share their views, the policies put in place by those legislators will improve their way of life. Those who have consistently been involved, see the benefits.

Labor unions and trial lawyers have always been organized and actively involved in Washington state’s political arena, fostering relationships with legislators and working the process to their benefit. They have made it a top priority to elect legislators to public office who will go to bat for their interests. Their involvement has paid off for their members in spades.

A timely example of legislators looking out for organized labor relates to our state’s budget crisis. Everyone knows budget cuts must be made. What our legislators must decide is where to make the cuts.

Guided by the influence of organized labor, legislators in both houses have completely ruled out making any cuts to labor contracts to help balance the state budget. Labor unions are seeing the benefit of their consistent political involvement even during the worst economic crisis since the great depression.

While these groups and many others have been actively involved in politics, other individuals and groups have been inconsistently involved in politics and have failed to come together in an organized and effective way.

Perhaps they just don’t understand how much they can benefit from having their legislator’s help. The truth is these groups are undoubtedly missing an enormous opportunity to improve their way of life by helping to elect lawmakers who will have their best interests at heart.

The business community is one of these disorganized groups, and with their livelihood at stake, it’s time for everyone in the business community — both employers and employees — to wake up and get involved.

The politically active business communities in other states have strengthened their private sector so much that they are now attracting our state’s businesses and in turn taking our jobs. The decision by Boeing to build its second 787 production line in South Carolina is a perfect example of businesses choosing another state over ours. Boeing’s choice to locate the production line in South Carolina instead of Washington is devastating and has to be a wake up call to the business community in our state.

The private sector must become politically engaged immediately or else the business climate in our state will continue to collapse and everyone will lose: the private sector, the non-profit sector and every worker — union or not — in this state.

The business community taking an interest and becoming involved in the political process is in no way an admission that government can do the work of the private sector. Instead, it is an acknowledgement that if the business community helps elect business-friendly Democrat and Republican lawmakers to office, government can be a force that strengthens the private sector and helps businesses succeed.

Nothing could be better for all of us, in the long run, because a healthy private sector means a healthy economy for our entire state. Instead, the business environment in this state is becoming increasingly fragile.

Whether you are an employer or an employee, a Democrat or a Republican, the decisions made by the policy makers we elect, directly affects your job and your way of life. Other states have figured it out. When will we?

Erin McCallum is president of Enterprise Washington and the Business Institute of Washington.

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