2020 Lobbyist Update

The Interim Board of Directors and the Strategic Planning Committee of the newly formed Cosmetologists United has taken into consideration all of the submitted items from qualified lobbyist candidates on behalf of donors and concerned community members. This review included comparing and contrasting contracts, quotes, scope of work, resumes, cover letters and a brief written interview supplemental questionnaire.

In our search to hire a lobbyist on behalf of Cosmetologists United we have discovered individuals who are truly passionate about combining the needs of people and businesses with the positive impact of government advocacy and constituent engagement.

As we carefully reviewed all the resumes, proposals and other items- we discussed the needs of our association and its future members. As the interim board and committee, we have the duty of care over the funds raised, and to make sure the money is spent wisely. Last year, in our efforts to listen to experienced Olympia insiders we raised funds through a GoFundMe campaign that amounts to just over $5,000. All quotes we received were well over this amount. Additionally, this being our first operating year we have not solidified the associations income streams, and have no idea what to expect our future annual revenue streams to be. It would not be responsible to commit to hiring a lobbyist, not knowing if we will be able to generate the funds to complete payment for their services.

In that light, we have notified all the lobbyist candidates and thanked them for submitting, however, we are not prepared strategically or financially to hire a lobbyist at this time. NOTE: All funds raised thought the GoFund Me are for lobbyist purposes ONLY and will stay in the COWU savings for solely that purpose in the future. 

We do not enter into this decision lightly and understand that it will require our Advocates to stay informed and ready to act quickly during this short session. Last year’s fight (for small business in particular) will continue. We are already preparing and planning. Inside sources in Olympia have tipped us to potential legislation surrounding minimum wage for independent contractors or “freelancers” as well as new overtime laws for salaried employees. 

Our voices during 2019 legislative session were historic and although we know it will be a challenge to recreate, we are confident we have built the first steps to keeping our community aware and active. What we came to realize is that we have much more work to do in order to build and strengthen the foundation and culture of our organization. We had hoped to hire a lobbyist, but we simply don’t have enough funds.

This session we intend to build and strengthen relationships with legislators and sister associations. We aim to grow an organizational culture can sustain for years to come. Be on the alert in the coming week for ENROLLING IN MEMBERSHIP and announcements about a legislative day in January for us all to convene and talk to legislators.

We did it once and we can do it again! Our work is not done >> Please be ready to write & call your legislators while also simultaneously encouraging your clients to do the same. We will provide you resources towards these action items. We hope and expect to see as many of you as possible also in Olympia for protest, discussion, district legislator meetings and testimony at hearings. 

Let’s all work to continue to UPLIFT, ELEVATE and SUPPORT the industry of Professional Cosmetology services as a TEAM of VOICES UNITED!