End of the Year Round Up

There's a lot going on in Washington and state capitols.

Here's a sample of news about policy debates the outcome of which will affect women business owners:

The ranking Democrat on the House Small Business Committee is calling for SBA Administrator Hector Barreto's resignation because of concerns about the SBA's Katrina response. Women business owners also should be concerned about the Administrator's footdragging on the women small business contracting program. NAWBO is keeping the pressure up on this issue.

Association Health Plans legislation is pending in the Senate. Read the NFIB alert.

Minimum wage increases are pending in California, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Nevada. This issue is likely to be coming to your state soon. Right now the federal minimum wage won't pay for 2 gallons of gas. Pressure is on in the states to boost state minimum wage laws as a result. NFIB has more.

Will the Bureau of Labor Statistics continue to include women business stats in their reports? WIPP is on top of this issue.

The US Womens Chamber of Commerce has launched a new initiative on access to health care.

Want to get inspired for the new year?

Read this story about NAWBO Long Island member Anne Shybunko-Moore, the 34-year-old president of GSE Dynamics Inc., a military aircraft parts-maker in Hauppauge, who is one of the few women defense contractors.

GSE was told last week it beat out several rivals to win a $14-million Navy contract to make mast fairings - coverings for sensitive communications equipment - for submarines. The contract is the largest in GSE's history, and is nearly 1 1/2 times last year's revenue of $10 million.

"It's a whole new level of business for us," Shybunko-Moore said. "It will eventually double sales."

In hopes of getting the contract, GSE gambled, renting a 15,000-square-foot building next to its main facility so it would be able to handle such a large order. And a few weeks ago, it acquired, for an undisclosed sum, tools, material and know-how from giant General Dynamics Corp. to manufacture the mast fairings. GSE will be taking on nine or 10 General Dynamics workers who have been making the parts for two decades. GSE has about 38 employees.

Shybunko-Moore likes to say she takes careful risks, and she says she is not easily intimidated.

"I'm not afraid to walk into a room full of men and say, 'I don't understand this or that,'" Shybunko-Moore said. "I was raised with a strong sense of self-esteem and confidence."

So, get on out there....gamble, take a risk, we women business owners can do anything!

Cleveland and Columbus NAWBO Chapters Partner with Ohio Hispanic Chamber on Conference and Expo

On February 16-17, 2006, the Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in partnership with NAWBO's Cleveland and Columbus Chapters will sponsor a Women's Business Conference and Expo.

According to the press release, "during the two-day event, business owners, senior corporate executives, supplier diversity procurement professionals, community leaders and government officials will make a difference by actively participating in activities and events, which include networking activities, workshops, panel discussions, matchmaking procurement sessions and special events. Additionally, a highlight of the conference will be the Women Business Expo."

WBO's in New Jersey Oppose Paid Family Leave

Paid family leave has become an issue this year in New Jersey. A new coaltion, the New Jersey Time to Care Coaition, is pushing for "paid time to care" arguing that it is good for working families. Although a news report suggests that women business owners are part of this largely labor union driven coalition, NJAWBO has this to say about the proposal on its website:

Paid Family Leave
Get Paid, Work Free! But Who's Stuck with the Tab?

Issue: California recently became the first state in the U.S. to pass legislation that requires employers to offer employees paid family leave. New Jersey is expected to follow suit with its own legislation that provided employees with leave time to care for newborn or newly adopted children or for time spent with a sick child, parent or spouse.

Recommendation: Legislators who are genuinely concerned about the state's economic system should be encouraged to oppose this bill that is being driven by organized labor.

ACTION: NJAWBO members to unite with NJBIA and others to oppose this legislation.

Women Business Owners Not Getting Their Fair Share of Katrina Contracts

There's an interesting story on Women's ENews today about the fact that women business owners are not getting our fair share of Katrina contracts.

One interested contractor tells a story not unfamiliar to many women business owners seeking federal contracts:

Christine Bierman, 54, chief executive officer of Colt Safety, Fire and Rescue, a St. Louis distributor of safety gear, can attest to this. She has introduced herself to 19 prime contractors involved in the Gulf Coast cleanup effort and has called procurement professionals at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security. All these efforts have resulted in nothing for the 25-year-old business, which has $4 million in sales and 11 employees.

"I have 850 disaster kits, complete with wind-up radios, gloves and portable respirators, sitting in our company and no one wants to buy them for the cleanup. Hard to believe," Bierman says.

In addition, Bierman has been trying to obtain federal contracts for the past four years with no success. This is despite winning national awards for her products and services, and praise for her work from President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, both of whom she has met personally as part of her award ceremonies.

"Most of this business is going to big companies, which is usually the case in general with these contracts," Bari said. "Until federal agencies are given incentives to give contracts to women business owners, this situation remains difficult for entrepreneurs going after these big projects as either contractors or subcontractors."

As Women's Enews points out, this situation is not helped by the government's long delay in implementing the women owned small business procurement program.

Virginia Governor's Executive Order on Supplier Diversity; A Model for Other States?

This week Virginia Governor Mark Warner issued Executive Order 103 revising and expanding the state's program designed to enhance the participation of small, women and minority owned (SWAM) businesses in state contracting.

Dissatisfied by the state's meager progress since a statewide disparity study identified wide gaps between the availability of SWAM businesses and their utilization in providing goods and services to the state, the Governor imposed new requirements on state purchasing officials, including a requirement not to use past experience to exclude suppliers and specific permission to contract with SWAM businesses where they are not the low bid.

Virginia NAWBO chapters helped draft and lobbied for Executive Order 29, signed by the Governor in 2002, which was the first step taken by the Governor to ensure fairness in public procurement.

Women business owners in other states concerned about procurement issues may want to look at the Virginia experience as a model for action in their state capitols.

Save the Date - NAWBO's 2006 Public Policy Days

Don't miss out on NAWBO's 2006 Public Policy Days, February 19-21, 2006 in Arlington, VA. This year's featured speakers include Shelia C. Johnson, CEO of Salamander Hospitality, owner of both the Washington Capitals and the Washington Mystics, and co-founder of Black Entertainment Television as well as Sara Laschever, co-author of Women Don’t Ask.

To view the entire event schedule, please click here to view the schedule online or click here to view the event program.

To find out about local tours and ways to spend the holiday weekend with your family, please visit http://www.washington.org .
Questions? Please e-mail national@nawbo.org or call 1-800-55-NAWBO.

USWCC Lawsuit Against the SBA

On November 30th, the USWCC won the first round in its lawsuit against the SBA for its failure to implement the federal set aside program for women owned businesses. In a carefully reasoned 38 page decision, federal district court judge Reggie B. Walton refused to dismiss the Women's Chamber case and ordered the SBA to present a schedule for implementing the law within 45 days of the date of the court order. The court declined to enter an injunction setting specific deadlines for the SBA to meet in large part because the SBA represented that it has "re-drafted" proposed regulations and is "actively searching for proposals to conduct the required [disparity] study." The judge called the SBA's delay in implementing the program first authorized by Congress in 2000, "unreasonable" and found that the USWCC had standing to represent its members in seeking relief.

One can only hope that the SBA will approach implementation of the women owned business restricted competition program with renewed enthusiasm and that it will act to implement the program without further delay.

Claire Guthrie Gastanaga