One of the hotly debated threads this week on the AGRR/glassBYTEs.com™ forum was why an owner of an auto glass business should consider joining the Independent Glass Association (IGA) or any other trade group. There were both some cogent and some not so reasonable arguments made pro or con.
I was looking for a quote that I hope would start to explain some of my feelings about why I chose the IGA, and this one from Arnold Glascow came to mind:
“An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.”
We owners and installers are facing some of our most challenging times ever in our history. There are some very major issues that involve freedom of choice by consumers, product pricing and proper installation procedures that are being contested currently.
Why join any trade group? That is a question often posted. Negative reasons why not to join also abound. There are many who profess that it is money wasted, that fiefdoms are being built or that our industry’s problems are much too great and diverse to be attended to by any sort of trade organization.
I believe those reasons are extremely short-sighted, narrow and even encouraged by those groups whose power could be affected if our industry could muster up enough resources and influence to try to counteract or at least counterbalance the political power wielded by insurance companies and other international corporations.
I would like to make the argument that we just don’t just need a strong, viable association. We need one now more than ever. AGR is losing ground daily perhaps hourly because of our traditional independent “lone wolf” mentality and our lack of a national voice.
What makes each and every one of us so vulnerable is our small size, regionalism and the need to operate our own businesses. Those are reasons that will always put us at a disadvantage when dealing with insurers that have a unified purpose and a national power base. No doubt these folks have long known the benefits of lobbying both on a national and state level.
The fact is that we need to get behind the IGA for the simple reason that in the political world, size means everything. Compared to our natural foes, we are at this time more like an annoying gnat than a respected equal. It is my opinion that if we can get past many of our petty and provincial attitudes, by supporting the IGA, it will allow us the ability to take care of our businesses and have our backs protected at the same time.
This will not be an overnight occurrence. Power is built step by step. Resistance will come from those that will benefit least from our growth and that sector has proven time and again that by spending money and acquiring political capital means success for their side. Can the IGA win every battle? If it can garner support from many of us it can become a force and power to be reckoned with. That is what we need.
The Italian poet-writer Dante wrote: “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”
Folks, if you don’t already know, the small auto glass shop is in the crosshairs of many. If that concept upsets you, I’d advise banding together to make our voices heard before they are either muted or forever extinguished.
