WVFA Winter 2018-19

I N D U S T R Y N E W S www.wvfa.org Winter 2018–2019 |  West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry 23 National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in West Virginia By Gil White, NFIB NFIB is good friends with the West Virginia Forestry Association, but we’re different. We don’t speak for a single industry. We’re the voice of small business, here and across the country. We speak for everyone from car mechanics to coffee shops. Here in West Virginia, about one-quarter of our members are in retail, roughly as many as work in the service sector. Twelve percent of our members here are in construction, while 8 percent work in manufacturing. Wholesalers and real estate agencies account for about 7 percent each. Other industries make up the rest of our West Virginia membership— including 2 percent that are in the forestry, timber or lumber. And when I say NFIB is the voice of small business, I mean it. Eighty- one percent of our member businesses in West Virginia have 10 or fewer employees. Most have five or less. The other thing that makes us different is that we don’t have a board of directors that dictates our agenda. Our agenda is driven by our members. We ballot our members at least once a year on the state and federal issues that are likely to affect them. When our members are split, we stay out of it, but when our members agree, we carry the message to the Legislature and Congress. I believe this diversity gives NFIB its strength. Since our founding some 75 years ago, state legislators and members of Congress have learned they can trust NFIB. We also put together state and federal voting records, so our members can see whether their lawmakers stand with small business. Our voice is even stronger when we partner with other organizations like the West Virginia Forestry Association. By working together, we helped make West Virginia a right-to-work state and repeal our outdated and unproductive prevailing wage law. Being a right-to-work state means workers can decide for themselves whether to join a union, and repealing our prevailing wage law means government bureaucrats can’t set wages that are higher than the wages decided by the free market. In this year’s session of the Legislature, we’ll be working with other groups to repeal West Virginia’s outdated and onerous inventory tax—which will require a state constitutional amendment—and reverse the Mandolidis insurance rule that allows injured workers to sue their employers, even if their injuries are covered by workers’ compensation. West Virginia is one of a handful of states that taxes business inventory, which makes it harder for us to attract and keep jobs, but some legislators want to keep it because they like spending the money it brings in. Likewise, the trial lawyers will be fighting to preserve the Mandolidis rule. However, our success in passing right-to-work and repealing the prevailing wage law shows what we can do when we work together, and I believe that by working together in the coming year, NFIB and the West Virginia Forestry Association can help create an environment where small and large businesses can grow and create jobs. Gil White is NFIB’s state director for West Virginia. “In this year’s session of the Legislature, we’ll be working with other groups to repeal West Virginia’s outdated and onerous inventory tax...”