Blog
Member Update
As the COVID controls continue to wane and the process of rebuilding our economy ensues, I have had the opportunity to start traveling and meeting with our members. It is truly inspiring to meet with you all, visit our plants, and learn first-hand what our members have gone through to keep the materials supply chain working during the pandemic and maintain the backbone of California's economy.
We can be proud of CalCIMA's longstanding history of advocacy and education for the myriad of materials that make up our membership. From quarries, industrial minerals, and aggregates, to asphalt, concrete, and precast plants and production, CalCIMA members are proud of the work we have been doing, both in the regulatory world as well at the state and federal legislative arena. Collectively, our members are the influential, respected, and credible voice of the construction and industrial materials industry as a whole.As we look forward, your CalCIMA staff has worked hard to strengthen our relationships with our related national associations like IMA-NA, NAPA, NRMCA, and NSSGA. You may have noticed their regular columns and updates in recent editions of the Conveyor magazine. At present we are actively engaged with them on reauthorizations for the nation's infrastructure programs and the recent efforts to fight back against changes in federal law that would limit the necessary import of materials we use to manufacture asphalt and concrete.
At the state level, we have worked to build stronger partnerships with other statewide associations, not just in our industry like CNCA, but in other industries with similar threats and opportunities in California like those representing home contractors, builders, manufacturers, business properties, and agriculture. We are also building a strong virtual advocacy team that has helped us move our sponsored legislation on mine safety and to increase use of recycled asphalt and concrete at the local level, and respond to and provide meaningful input on legislation to advance clean concrete.
Internally, we convened both an Asphalt Task Force and a Ready Mixed Concrete Task Force, under direction from the Board, to review the support and services we provide to ensure that we are meeting your needs. From that process, we have adopted two new standing committees, an Asphalt Steering Committee and a Concrete Steering Committee. Those steering committees have unique missions to meet the material-specific needs identified by our members for advocacy, education, and promotion.
As we continue the process of bringing our industry voice together in strength and unity, we have begun the process of updating our website as well. Please take a moment to visit it today. We have now added material-specific pages for:
- Aggregates
- Asphalt
- Concrete
- Industrial Materials
We have retained an interim consultant to assist with the Asphalt Class of membership and will also start advertising today for a new permanent position: Director of Asphalt Advocacy and Technical Affairs. If you or someone you know has a lead on a good candidate to support our asphalt producer members, please let us know. You can also find more information on our job board.
We have also added more content to our staff page so members, new and existing, can know a bit more about your terrific team here, and our partners and stakeholders can better determine who to call when they are looking for a resource.
Thank you, again, to the many of you that have taken time to meet with me recently, responded to my calls, or participated in organizing efforts. Your input is shaping our efforts, and please feel free to contact me as you have suggestions or questions on any matters involving CalCIMA.
Robert Dugan
President & CEO
