Articles

ISSA Advocacy-Become an Advocate for Clean

Categories: Government Affairs, ISSA Insights

ISSA’s government affairs department has been very busy since the last issue of ISSA Today.

In addition to keeping on top of the ongoing tariff debates, we have been engaging policymakers on proposed federal overtime regulations, state product packaging restrictions, and the delay of New York’s ingredient disclosure enforcement until January 2, 2020. We have also been tracking legislation related to immigration reform, minimum wage, sales taxes on cleaning related services, and much more for our members.

Since ISSA is the only organization advocating for the entire supply chain of the cleaning industry, we track a wide array of issues for our membership. We aim to ensure that our advocacy focus closely aligns with specific member needs and concerns based on the issues you face the most. Therefore, we want to hear from you!

We also understand that not all the issues ISSA tracks and advocates for directly impact you or your business, but it’s possible that many of these issues could indirectly impact you.

Ripple effect in the industry

For example, during the rise of “green cleaning,” many states began implementing procurement policies for public buildings, such as schools. Unfortunately, some of the bills included banning the use of disinfectants because they couldn’t be certified “green” due to an outdated United States Environmental Protection Agency regulation.

This would directly impact the manufacturers of these disinfectants by reducing demand. For distributors and cleaning service providers, this could have led to fewer product choices or increased prices. It could also mean that a less effective product would have to be used instead, or necessitate more product having to be used to accomplish the same level of sanitation.

Additionally, since this would have effectively banned the use of disinfectants in public K-12 and higher education buildings, it would have compromised public health as well.

Luckily, due to efforts by ISSA and other organizations, these procurement laws were changed to allow for the purchase and use of quality disinfectants.

Unlike many ISSA members who have devoted their life to advancing the value of clean, most policymakers are not chemists, cleaning professionals, or public health experts. In many cases, the end goal of policy proposals is commendable.

But unfortunately, all too often, the “devil is in the details,” and a seemingly good sounding proposal wouldn’t achieve the desired impact, or worse yet, it would have unintended consequences that outweigh the positive ones.

Sometimes proposals need just a few changes to drastically alter the real-world application of a proposal for the better. And sometimes proposals can’t be salvaged and need to be opposed.

So why ISSA?

This is just one example of why it is valuable to you as an ISSA member, that we are becoming more involved in government affairs.

Not only will ISSA be working to encourage policymakers to utilize the best science available, we will also help them understand the applications of cleaning products, inform them about how a tax or regulation would impact our members, help spread the value of clean, and much more.

ISSA is the only organization crossing the entire cleaning supply chain, as our membership includes manufacturers, distributors, and cleaning service providers.

This gives us a unique voice to tell the whole story behind the impact a proposed bill or regulation can have. This can be incredibly powerful, but only if our members understand the importance and get themselves engaged.

You can make an impact

Over the course of the next few months, ISSA will continue to roll out more education, advocacy tools, updates, and opportunities to engage policymakers for our members.

As a result, we would like for you to opt in to receive the ISSA’s legislative updates or volunteer to become an “Advocate for Clean.”

By doing so, you will be the first to hear about pressing legislation, compliance deadlines, advocacy events, training, and more!

You can sign up by going to the ISSA Action Center at: www.votervoice.net/ISSA/home. 

About the Author.

John Nothdurft is the Director of Government Affairs for ISSA. He can be reached at [email protected].