Growing Grass Roots

In an effort to fix Superfund, ReMA is building a grass roots network unlike any the industry has seen before.

By Jeff Borsecnik and Eileen Zagone

Jeff Borsecnik and Eileen Zagone are associate editor and editorial associate, respectively, of Scrap Processing and Recycling.

Sugar Kless of Stalloy Metals Inc. (Cleveland) had no experience lobbying Congress—or state or local officials for that matter. But that didn't hold her back from launching a personal effort to win support from Ohio 's congressmen for the Superfund Recycling Equity Act of 1995, a bill that aims to resolve the recycling industry's Superfund problem.

Kless not only contacted both of her state's senators and three representatives from the area through handwritten letters and follow-up phone calls, but also encouraged dozens of others to do the same. She enlisted her coworkers, grandmother, aunts, and cousins "and told them all what to say and who to call."

Kless is an enthusiastic foot soldier in ReMA's battle to remove legitimate recycling transactions from liability under Superfund. To make it happen, the association has set its sights on getting a majority of members of both houses of Congress to cosponsor—not just support—the Superfund recycling act, known in the House as HR 820 and in the Senate as S 607. The idea is to demonstrate broad support for the bill and insulate it from the bickering sure to rage over revamping of Superfund as a whole. "Politically, the better numbers you have, the stronger your argument is," says Clare Hessler, ISM director of federal and state policy and one of a small team of ReMA staff coordinating the grass roots implementation team—GRIT—effort.

The GRIT strategy is to reach every member of the House and Senate through his or her constituents who are scrap recyclers. "You will always get a better response from constituents than from lobbyists," explains Sam Hummelstein of Hummelstein Iron & Metal Inc. ( Jonesboro , Ark. ), who has been active in the GRIT effort since it officially began in February. "My voice as a voter rings loud and clear." Hummelstein says that initially he tried calling various legislators but discovered "if I'm not a constituent, then they don't listen. So I called [scrap recyclers] in each district and asked them to call. We got no cosponsors until we did this."

The scale of ReMA's battle is ambitious for a trade association of its size, and one representing mostly small-to-medium-sized companies. The GRIT effort depends on energizing enough volunteers—ISRI members—all over the country to magnify ISRI’s impact on the federal government. “That’s how the whole grass roots thing works,” says Bill Perry of United Metal Recyclers (Kernersville, N.C.), who has been lobbying his senators and representatives both from home and on Capitol Hill. “You have to have total involvement from all geographic areas in the country.”

On the Front Lines

Every ReMA member firm has a potentially vital role in GRIT and, consequently, in resolving recyclers’ Superfund dilemma, Hessler points out. Every association member represents a group of constituents with a potential link to at least three members of Congress—one representative and two senators. And, in most cases, the company’s employees live in an area broad enough to encompass several congressional districts or even states and, hence, additional legislators.

The key to the GRIT program is enlisting as many of these members as possible—not just those embroiled in Superfund troubles, Hummelstein notes. “I’m not involved with Superfund, I’m not a PRP,” he says, “but I thought it was important to get involved anyway. Superfund can happen to anyone anytime. If only PRP’s were working on GRIT, then I don’t think it could work and no progress would be made.”

Some ReMA members active in GRIT know their legislative representatives, while others are linked through campaign donations or civic ties. Yet many may be approaching their legislators for the first time. Kless, a rookie, confesses she was nervous, but only on the first call. “After all, that’s what I do for a living. If I can bug people I do business with, one senator’s not gonna kill me.” Besides, just being a constituent—a voter—gives everyone a reason to contact his or her legislators on issues of importance, and recycling companies that provide services and jobs to their communities are especially likely to be heard, Hessler notes.

As for knowing the issues, many recyclers understand the Superfund problem only too well. “You know what’s going on,” says Peter E. Tatalias of Mattatuck Industrial Scrap Metal Inc. (Wolcott, Conn.), who made it his job to sign on his state’s Rep. Gary A. Franks. “It’s just part of your business.” Abraham Silver of Max Silver & Son Inc. (Erie,  Pa.) believes his experience in the scrap business has adequately briefed him—“I felt confident talking about it [to legislators/staff] because I have been involved with the issue for so long.”

In any case, says Kless, “You don’t have to know every single thing about it, just as long as you understand the basic concept of what is being changed. Once you do, I think it’s easy.” Plus, there is plenty of help available from ReMA and other GRIT players. Of his lobbying effort, Hummelstein says, "90 percent was based on information from ReMA staff and the bal relating my personal situation."

Kless found useful an article from ReMA's Phoenix  on encouraging recycling that she copied and sent to her legislators. And she followed "to a T" lobbying how-tos from the association and fellow GRIT enthusiast James Smith of Smith Metals Co. Inc. (Selmer, Tenn.). The result: Kless has won the support of Rep. Steven C. LaTourette and at least written acknowledgments from Sen. John Glenn and Rep. Louis Stokes. And she continues to follow up with letters to each legislator about once a month.

Besides writing letters and making phone calls to their legislators, many GRIT participants strive for face-to-face meetings, especially if they can be set up in the home district. Not only is meeting with legislators at their home office easier for ReMA's activists, but it's also more conducive to accomplishing what GRIT is all about. As Perry puts it, when talking to congressmen back in their district, "they are more in touch with their constituency than when they're on Capitol Hill." As a related strategy, GRIT veterans suggest identifying and getting to know key legislative aides.

A second major responsibility that falls to members at the grass roots level is getting their peers to do something too. "Getting other members to make phone calls is the key," offers Hummelstein. "The only way to get GRIT organized effectively is a peer-to-peer structure—when one ReMA member calls another member and asks them to make phone calls to legislators. This is what will get it done."

This is especially important since ReMA members who have never approached the corridors of power are probably more likely to energize if supported by their peers. Jerry Simms of Atlas Metal & Iron Corp. (Denver), who helped coordinate Colorado 's GRIT efforts, suggests you have a "greater impetus if encouraged by people in your area that you do business with and know. That has more impact than if you are asked to participate by the ReMA office."

The Tacticians and Coordinators

Organizing the Superfund battle are members who have volunteered to be state coordinators, a job whose main responsibility is crafting strategy to reach each legislator. Based on information provided by members in the state and maps that show which recycling facilities fall in which districts, the coordinator tries to take advantage of existing ReMA member/legislator relationships and geography to ensure the best reception for the GRIT message. The coordinator also acts as a link between ReMA headquarters and individual members, ensuring that members get the support they need from ISRI.

The state coordinators are invaluable to GRIT success, reports Hessler. “Where we have very active state coordinators, we have done wonders.”

Backing up the state organizers are regional GRIT coordinators whose role is equivalent to that of a legislative whip—to stir up enthusiasm and unity and ensure discipline.

ISRI staff, meanwhile, back up the armies in the field by providing information and advice. ReMA assists the state coordinators and has given each a planning guide including helpful documents such as a copy and summary of the Superfund Recycling Equity Act; guidance on writing letters to, calling, and meeting with legislators; suggestions on grass roots lobbying techniques and identifying potential local allies; and lists of legislators who sit on key committees.

Association staff also accompany members on visits to legislators upon request to help them drive the message home.

States Stuck Together

When all the GRIT players work together, the results can be impressive. For example, in North Carolina, a group of ReMA members from all around the state coordinated by Kalman Gordon of L. Gordon Iron & Metal Co. (Statesville) and Frank Brenner of United Metal Recyclers (Kernersville) set up meetings with the legislators in all 12 districts. Then, Mark Reiter, ReMA manager of legislative affairs, joined the team in holding the meetings. "At one point, Mark and I did seven visits in three days," notes Bill Perry. And in the end, he says, "we got 100 percent— 12 reps and 2 senators— to cosponsor."

Voicing a sentiment offered by a number of GRlT players, Jerry Simms says, "I feel we in the state need to stick together. Yes, we compete, but let's get united on this." Simms has proven the power of unity: He and his Coloradopeers, some of whom met with Rep. David Scaggs during a tour of Atlas, have achieved "almost 100-percent cosponsors" among the Colorado congressional delegation. And Perry feels the final argument that sold his state's delegation on unanimous support for the recycling amendment was a "united-effort for- North Carolina " theme.

Having signed up their legislators, some of the state teams are looking beyond their borders. "We've been working with our various representatives and senators, trying to get them to write 'dear colleague' letters" to drum up additional support, notes Perry.

An Easy Sell

Thus far, results of these GRIT efforts are admirable, though there's still plenty of work to do. As of early August, 14 senators and 112 representatives had signed on as cosponsors of the Superfund Recycling Equity Act— a good start toward ReMA's

clear-majority goal of 51 senators and 218 representatives.

This support has been bipartisan, with about an even split between Democrats and Republicans, a reflection of the bipartisan team that introduced the act—John Warner (R-Va.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the Senate and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) in the House—and of its appeal to conservatives, liberals, and those in between. "This issue is a wonderful issue for bipartisanship," says Hummelstein. "It's for business and for the environment."

Geographically, the results are mixed. Among the states with the best results to date are Arkansas , Colorado , Mississippi , North and South Carolina , and Pennsylvania . The numbers are generally weaker in the West and Midwest , with more support particularly needed in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New York, and Texas, Hessler says.

Getting that additional support shouldn't be difficult if more members would join the GRIT ranks, say those who've already done so. "The scrap industry position on Superfund is an equitable one. It's easy to sell," says Perry. "It just takes time and diligence." And Silver, who says he received—but was not surprised by—positive response from Pennsylvania legislators, echoes this theme: “There's no way anyone could disagree with our position.”