Business View Magazine | November 2020

82 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020 important issues. “During the last recession, less than 40 percent of the skilled workforce returned to the trade,” King shares. “So, we are working with the Congress for support for vocational training in high schools. Not every student is going to be a college graduate; some need a trade to fall back on so they can be a productive member of society. Also, we’re working with our Senators and Congressmen on infrastructure. A lot of times when you say infrastructure spending, it means roads and bridges. But under those roads and bridges are some very large water and sewer transmission lines that could be in excess of a hundred years old. So, if you spend millions of dollars on roads and bridges, and you’re coming upon hundred- year-old infrastructure that continues to fail at a very rapid pace, those dollars are wasted and will have to be re-spent to tear up those roads and bridges again to replace sub-surface drainage and water transmission lines. “We’re working to get that message out to our government. We partner with NUCA (National Utility Contractors Association), and every year, we go for a summit on the Hill. We pair up with utility contractors and several of our members, and we talk to our Senators and Congressmen about these things - what we’re seeing, what we’re needing, what the bottlenecks are. We’ve had several Senators reaching back out to us and asking us, as an organization, to help them understand, so when they start putting bills together, they’re covering all the aspects that need to be covered and doing the right things for the right reasons during the first go-round.” Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, WASDA has had to cancel its 2020 Fall Meeting, which is tentatively being rescheduled for Nov. 7-11 in St. Louis, MO. However, the organization is planning its first ever virtual event –WASDA Connect 2020 – so that its members can continue to stay in touch with their industry peers. The confirmed date for WASDA Connect 2020 is Nov. 18th.