Several MITA companies have already taken up the industry challenge of 1,000 calls to legislator offices and signed up for legislator call days for their employees. AIS Construction Equipment, Michigan CAT, JDE Equipment Company, Wolverine Tractor and Equipment and now AJAX Paving Industries have either already made employee calls or have now committed to setting up a day for their employees to contact their legislators and tell them it’s time to fix our roads.
As a result of these companies’ efforts, over 150 new calls have been made to the toll-free number set up by MITA in recent days. These member companies have stepped up to the plate and supported the entire industry. Can you say the same for your company?
On September 1, MITA sent out a bulletin (1,000 “Fix Our Roads” Calls to be Made to Legislative Offices – CLICK HERE) asking member companies to select a “call day” within their company. On that specific day, all employees from the receptionists to the field staff to the CEO are encouraged to spend five minutes to call the specially created MITA toll-free number and send a message to their legislators.
The message is simple: I live in your district, Michigan roads stink, we have a crisis in funding and after four years of waiting, it’s time for legislators to find a solution. (For a copy of the MITA toll-free paycheck stuffer, click here.)
Callers to the toll-free number, 1-888-719-3087, are prompted to enter their home zip code. They will then be asked to select among the legislators who represent their area and they will be transferred to the office. It is very unlikely that callers will actually be connected directly to their elected official, but leaving a message with staff will have the same impact.
Once the caller leaves a message, they are asked to call the toll-free one more time. It is important that one phone call go to the representative and one phone call go to the senator.
MITA staff is willing to come to your office on your designated calling day to provide background information and help oversee an hour of phone calls.
First Transportation Funding Bill Considered at State Capitol
Legislation that would allow private investment in Michigan’s roads and bridges (HB 4961) is now being considered in the state legislature.
This week, members of a joint House and Senate Transportation Committee gathered in a packed room to hear testimony from national experts on Public-Private Partnerships (P3s). The legislation would give Michigan the ability to contract with private investors for both the building and maintenance of a road or bridge over a specified time period. In exchange, the investor would be allowed to toll the infrastructure to recoup their investment.
This legislation is seen as a critical first step in the fight for more transportation dollars. While this is not the gas tax or vehicle registration fee that will be critical to long-term funding, insiders agree that failure to win legislative approval on this first funding piece would signal lack of support for any of the other major funding components.
Call your legislators and tell them their support of Public-Private Partnership legislation is critical to fixing Michigan’s aging roads and bridges.
To sign your company up for a legislator call day or if you have other questions, please feel free to contact Mike Nystrom at mikenystrom@mi-ita.com or Keith Ledbetter at keithledbetter@mi-ita.com or call the MITA office at 517-347-8336.
