Lunch at Capitol Hill with Plastics as the Honored Guest

A United States Senate office building was the site of an unlikely lunch gathering late last month, as lobbyists, union reps, lawmakers and corporate officials gathered on April 27^th to announce the merger of an unexpected team, the Chemical Industry Labor-Management Committee.

This merger links the chemical industry to NABTU, the North America’s Building Trades Union and the ACC, the American Chemistry Council. The goal of this powerful group of dominant sectors is to collaborate and develop solutions that effect both sectors. Areas of interests to be addressed include, work-place safety mandates, regulatory issues, the delivery of quality insight to the public and government authorities on fracking and environmental issues.

The collaboration on the Hill brought discussion of plastics to the floor with interests on each side of the spectrum. Key players in the topic of discussion include the involvement of the construction sector with an extraordinary group of plastic products ranging from sidings, windows, insulation and pipes as well as, liquid natural gas being brought to the table as an area of interest, as it is an explosive motivator in the $164 billion investment that has been poured into the chemical industry at this point.

An invite to Capitol Hill was clearly well-structured and perhaps a bit overdue, as the plastic industry should have had a seat at the table long ago. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), said it best when he stated, “plastics make it possible.” These words uttered from the mouth of the man who represents The Texas 36^th, which happens to have the highest number of chemical plants and refineries in the country. Add that to the motion of Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey), to initiate a 15-cent per pound tax break for bio-based producers of plastics and most would agree that plastics has finally taken the floor at Capitol Hill.

Founding members of the collaborative team also include Calgon Carbon Corp., the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Albemarle Corp., the United association Union of Plumbers, Fitters, Welders and Service Techs and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.