A new advocacy group, backed by business and labor support, has been formed to help secure and strengthen America’s supply chain.

Josh Wood, a Sacramento, CA-based real estate development and public affairs executive, has spearheaded the launch of the Supply Chain Council to “develop and advance the best practices and public policies at the federal, state and local level” and “ensure the supply chain … will be protected and resilient in a rapidly changing global environment.”

The Supply Chain Council’s policy priorities will be to:

• Advocate for environmental regulations that are cost-effective, implementable and technologically feasible for members.
• Advocate for the responsible growth of commercial facilities critical to the supply chain and continued government investment in public transportation infrastructure.
• Proactively eliminate preventable disruptions and slowdowns by working with policymakers to ensure they understand the consequences of “short-signed” policy proposals; and foster public-private collaboration to better prepare the industry for a response to future natural disasters.
• Advance the industry’s economic interests and development goals.

Wood will lead the council as CEO, along with his I Street Public Affairs colleague Amanda Blackwood, who will serve as council President.

Wood is also the CEO of the Sacramento Region Business Association, which was launched to bring together local company leadership to advance economic growth in the region. Blackwood previously served as President and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

The council’s Board of Directors — chaired by logistics real estate company Prologis’ Senior Vice President and Head of Government and Community Relations Steven Hussain — is made up of several representatives of industrial and logistics real estate investment companies, groups representing union workers, law firms, an association and other companies, including:

• Real estate investment groups: Prologis, Dermody Properties, Link Logistics and Covington Group.
• Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which advocates for marine terminal operators, ocean-going vessels and maritime stakeholders doing business at U.S. West Coast ports.
• Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), which represents over 70,000 public employees working in the construction and energy industries.
• Rebuild SoCal Partnership, which consists of 2,750 contractors throughout Southern California that represent more than 90,000 union workers.
• California Alliance For Jobs, a labor-management partnership that advocates for responsible investments in public infrastructure projects. It represents over 2,000 heavy construction companies and 100,000 union construction workers in California.
• Two California-based law firms: Rutan & Tucker; and Harrison, Temblador, Hungerford & Guernsey.
• Johnson Controls.

Council members include representatives from Sierra Northern Rail Company, SSA Marine and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, among others, according to a CNBC report.

Following the launch earlier this week, 20 members were to meet to build a policy agenda, according to Wood, as reported by FreightWaves’ John Kingston, who attended the July 24 council launch event in New Jersey.

MDM has reached out to the Supply Chain Council’s communications representatives to confirm council members, as well as the members in attendance at the aforementioned meeting.

“Leaders at every level of government and business need to invest in our supply chain,” said LiUNA’s Southern California Director of External Affairs Josh LaFarga, during the launch.

He added: “We must support legislation that helps rebuild the crumbling infrastructure and invest in new infrastructure projects across our country. Not only does this make our supply chain and economy stronger, but these projects put millions of Americans to work, further strengthening our economy and productivity, as well as generating more tax revenue for future investments. Labor and business share the same goals: a strong economy. A strong economy which is going to be powered by a resilient supply chain. We must unite to ensure the supply chain is the national priority.”

Lead Photo: Supply Chain Council CEO Josh Wood at the July 24 launch of the council in New Jersey, via Supply Chain Council