More than 150 business executives, elected officials, and community leaders joined the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and President & CEO Jerry Sanders for the ninth annual “One Region, One Voice” advocacy trip to Washington, D.C. This year, the delegation visited the nation’s capital from September 27–30, 2015.
The goal of the trip was to inform and educate federal officials and legislators about important issues impacting the San Diego region, such as education and workforce, transportation and infrastructure, health care, military and veterans, energy and water reliability, cross-border commerce and more.
Dozens of meetings were held with officials from many federal agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Departments of Labor, Education, State, Defense, and Transportation. In addition, our region’s congressional representatives were very involved and active with the delegation’s visit.
Peter Callstrom, President & CEO of San Diego Workforce Partnership, joined dignitaries such as San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas Salas, City of Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazaran Orci, Councilmembers Lorie Zapf and David Alvarez, and County Supervisor Ron Roberts in making a strong case for interests in our region.
One of the many highlights of the trip was a luncheon speaking engagement with the Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez. Peter, along with Phil Blair of Manpower, was honored to introduce the Secretary and to facilitate a discussion with the delegation. The Secretary shared key priorities for the department that included ensuring a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work; connecting ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs, through skills programs like Registered Apprenticeship and on-the-job training; promoting gender equality in the workplace; ensuring that people with disabilities and veterans have access to equal employment opportunity; and insisting on a safe and level playing field for all American workers.
SDWP is honored to have been a part of this important chamber delegation visit.