Message from the President
We’re Taking Charge of Change at the Fall Meeting
By Lee Mercer, PMI President and Director of Product Compliance for Moen Incorporated
Nearly from the moment that the PMI Strategic Advisory Council identified “advocacy” as the key mission of PMI at our meeting in May, issues on Capitol Hill began heating up. PMI members and staff have been consumed by work on a variety of legislative and regulatory issues for most of the past three months. Preparing testimony, submitting legislative language, crafting talking points, developing position statements, building coalitions, energizing members and trips to DC have dominated our agendas. Your PMI dues dollars are clearly working for you these days!
While our work here is not done, we are successfully positioning PMI as a proactive force to be reckoned with. Gone are the days in which PMI sits silently on the sidelines, trying to affect change after the fact. Today we are in the mix, putting forth PMI’s views and mission. We are reaching out to communicate PMI’s role as a credible resource and are urging entities to include PMI as a significant stakeholder early in discussions and program development. We are a “player.” We have value to add to the process, a story to be told and a voice that brings expert standing for the industry. We are no longer content to be the silent victim of the misplaced actions of others, however well meaning their intentions may be. Our valuable input ensures a better outcome and helps to guard against the proverbial and dreaded unintended circumstances.
The theme of the Fall 2010 meeting captures our proactive spirit. PMI is “Taking Charge of Change!” Examples are everywhere. We are working to harmonize requirements across the nation for product content and performance guidelines for water efficiency. Just as PMI worked with Vermont to harmonize product requirements with those of California, we are now in Maryland urging the legislature there to follow established protocols for enforcement. In addition, we have taken the mission to the Federal level to standardize lead content levels and enforcement nationwide. Similar to when PMI urged the implementation of mandates for HET 1.28 gpf water closets in a tiered rollout, first in California and later in Texas, we have taken this template to Massachusetts and also to Washington D.C. We are working to secure legislation that would provide rebates for consumers who purchase WaterSense certified products. We are also leading the initiatives to blunt the efforts of the U.S. Department of Energy to redefine “showerheads,” a full 18 years after adoption of the current definition first defined in EPACT ‘92. (See related article on page 9 of this issue of PMI News.) And we are working to preserve the benefits and educational value of WaterSense as a voluntary program.
PMI’s role as a trade association is to stay ahead of the curve while reflecting the changing direction of our industry and reacting to the forces which impact you, our members. With our strategic changes on the “inside,” there will also be changes on the “outside.” You will be hearing more very soon about the initiative to redefine the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute as the Plumbing Manufacturers International. A formal vote to confirm this change will be taken at the General Membership session on October 4, 2010. We’ll unveil our plans for rolling out the new branding. Don’t miss it!