As we reflect on 2020, the NFIB team in Pennsylvania would like to provide a recap of our advocacy efforts throughout the year. We were able to successfully deliver resourceful information to our members utilizing several different advocacy tools and resources. Without our members input and counsel this would not have been possible! The voice of NFIB has made an impact in Harrisburg and in Washington, and there are exciting times ahead.   

Our members willingness to provide valuable insight on issues and priorities that matter most to their businesses is what makes the Pennsylvania activism program so successful. Throughout 2020, over 1,500 members took action by contacting their legislators, responding to a survey, or virtually participating on a NFIB event.

Team NFIB in PA asked our members to contact their state house and senate members, Governor Wolf, and the Environmental Quality Board within the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Team PA alerted members on topics ranging from minimum wage, opposing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and COVID-19 specific issues.

WE had to shift gears, get creative, and focus on a virtual meeting strategy for most of the year. While untraditional from our typical in-person meeting format, we were able to successfully conduct virtual meetings with top statewide office holders, state and federal legislators, and offer timely updates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic as well as small business assistance.

Going forward, NFIB in PA will “double-down” on letting our government officials know the challenges small businesses face on a range of fronts – some specifically related to COVID, but most focused on the lines on your Income Statement and Balance Sheet.  Tax burdens, regulatory entanglements, the cost of mandates, and the headaches and hassles of government red tape are what members share as their concerns.  For the first half of 2021, we will likely be forced to continue with our virtual format, but as soon as possible, NFIB in PA plans to move back to in-person gatherings and face-to-face advocacy opportunities for our membership.  

As the Voice of Small Business, we have had to adjust our format, but we have not lowered our levels of contact or our activism.  Going forward, we are optimistic that NFIB will become even more of a more vocal pro-business voice then ever before.  So get ready to join our renewed push in 2021!  The future of the economic backbone of Pennsylvania depends on all of us.