Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1456062
46 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2022 2. Join our grassroots advocacy team. Visit our online advocacy center; enter or update your contact details; and watch for opportunities to participate in our grass- roots campaigns on USICA/COMPETES and other key issues. 3. Be in contact with your elected represen- tatives. Send emails, make phone calls, or ask for a meeting at the local coffee shop or district office. If you happen to have a relationship with one of your elected offi- cials, let us know. Otherwise, we'll help you develop those relationships, help- ing to arrange the meetings and providing you with talking points and "leave-behind" materials. Take it a step further and invite an elected official to one of your facilities. You can offer an in-person or virtual tour, a briefing, and/or a demo, and give them a chance to speak to your employees. is is your opportunity to be a high-impact advocacy champion for our industry. ese three steps will be an investment in your future success and that of the wider elec- tronics manufacturing community. ere is power in our individual company stories and in coming together in a united front. If we don't do this for ourselves, no one else will do it for us. Every other industry is out there advocating for their interests, and we must do the same. Grassroots or "grasstops" constituents like you are our industry's most effective advocates. IPC works hard to secure you a seat at the table, where we can educate policy makers and advocate for our industry. But we need your help at this crucial moment. e future of our industry is literally at stake. Don't just stand there; do something. SMT007 Chris Mitchell is IPC's VP of global government affairs, and an I-Connect007 columnist. To read previous columns, or contact Mitchell, click here. Sanjay Huprikar, IPC's President of Europe and South Asia Operations, describes IPC's globalization initiative to expand the association's standards, education and advocacy support to Europe, with an emphasis on collaboration. Real Time with... IPC: A Global Collaboration