Chamber Blog

Talent– whether it’s lack of skilled labor, retention or attraction- is the number one issue facing the West Michigan business community. The Grand Rapids Chamber continues to work diligently in Lansing to address our talent crisis in two important areas: degree attainment and childcare. Governor’s Talent Initiatives: Michigan Reconnect & MI Opportunity Scholarships The Grand […]

Members of The Friends of West Michigan Business, the Grand Rapids Chamber’s Political Action Committee (PAC), are excited to be interviewing two candidates for Grand Rapids City Commission Ward 2 today. The Chamber PAC is a separate, segregated fund that is only supported by voluntary, personal contributions of Chamber members and is not supported by […]

This month’s Breakfast with Legislators included discussion of education, auto no-fault legislation, transportation, and more. Attendance included guest speaker, President Thomas Haas of Grand Valley State University and various state legislators who addressed various concerns of our members. President Haas ensured the return on investment from Michigan taxpayers’ contribution to the university. With 20,000 of […]

On May 23, the Grand Rapids Chamber held an Advocacy Engagement Series on the business case for the expansion of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The Chamber’s OutPro Council was proud to host the event in partnership with Equality Michigan. Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1976 is an act to define civil rights; to […]

The Chamber’s Executive Committee acted on two key issues last week: road funding and auto no-fault. Below are brief summaries of the Chamber’s positions. This reflects the work of not only the Executive Committee and Board, but members engaged in our Chamber issue committees and Public Policy Council. If you have questions about these positions […]

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS: The Grand Rapids Chamber strongly supports H.R. 5 and S. 788, the Equality Act, introduced by Representatives David Cicilline and Brian Fitzpatrick, and Senators Jeff Merkley and Susan Collins. It is a critical piece of bipartisan legislation, updating federal law to prohibit discrimination in the workplace and […]

Being a member of the Grand Rapids Chamber means having a seat at the table on important policy issues that effect the West Michigan business community. Last week, the Grand Rapids Chamber’s Transportation Committee met to discuss the various details in Governor Whitmer’s Gas Tax proposal. In her first budget proposal, the Governor proposed a […]

Last year, the Grand Rapids Chamber and other business groups from across the state, were successful in convincing lawmakers to pull the paid sick leave employer mandate from the statewide election ballot by adopting the proposals. This preserved the ability of the legislature to amend the adopted laws by a simple majority vote and approval […]