It is difficult to express the disappointment I feel in regard to the recent letter to the editor from Alpio Barbara (TR, October 2009) concerning TIA and its government relations activities. He questioned our activities on a number of important legislative issues, and I’d like to take this opportunity to present to him – and your readers – the facts.

But first, it must be acknowledged that, in situations like this, it may be a simple matter of miscommunication (or, maybe that should be “missed communications”). It turns out that Mr. Barbara, as a member of TIA through an affiliated group, does not have an e-mail address on record with us. If he had, he would have received, for example, the multiple e-mail alerts we sent to our California members on our efforts concerning the California bill and the Chinese tire tariffs.

We have asked our members on numerous occasions (including in the current issue of our member publication, Today’s Tire Industry, which Mr. Barbara receives) to make sure they have given us their e-mail address so we can communicate with them quickly on urgent matters, and this situation illustrates why it is so important.

First, I cannot speak to his comments on the Ford/­Firestone recall and the advent of the TREAD Act with TPMS; TIA was not yet in existence, as the merger between TANA and ITRA had not yet taken place.

Second, there are three major automotive aftermarket associations lobbying for the Motor Vehicle Owner’s Right to Repair Act (H.R. 2057 in this Congress), and TIA is one of them. Over the last six years, we have submitted testimony, attended hearings, lined up dealers to testify and continue to knock on Capitol Hill doors, as well as working with state associations to garner grassroots support for this critical issue. It is perplexing that Mr. Barbara does not know this, for not only have we kept our members informed of our efforts; they have also been widely reported in the tire trade publications, including Tire Review.

Third, the TIA position on the United Steelworkers (USW) petition before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) was announced a few days before the USITC decision (if you happened to attend that hearing, it would not be a stretch to say that the outcome was a foregone conclusion); not the President’s decision. In fact, it was at the time of the USITC decision that TIA geared up for one of our most active lobbying campaigns. From then on, we had almost non-stop contact with our membership, the U.S. Congress, the office of the United States Trade Representative, the White House and the media. Since that time, we have sent numerous communications to our members and the media clearly communicating our opposition to the tariff. Our position has been reported on by media outlets all over the world (including, again, Tire Review). This issue is far from over, and TIA remains committed to doing whatever we can to remove this onerous tariff.

Fourth, TIA may not have been “on the ground” in Sacramento, but we were very involved in the California tire aging issue. We sent numerous e-mail Action Alerts to our California members, starting back in April. I personally contacted over 40 dealers in key legislative districts asking them to make the calls to the targeted legislators that may have swayed the crucial vote that, fortunately, never took place. Additionally, in our Spring and Summer 2009 issues of Today’s Tire Industry, I specifically discussed the California bill.

While no one enjoys having to defend their actions (and I certainly fall into that category), I hope I’ve shown that the record is clear – TIA has been, and continues to be a vociferous and determined voice for the tire industry in the halls of government.

Truth be told, Mr. Barbara is not the first member to have missed much of what TIA is up to, but I can only emphasize how anyone can stay informed on what TIA is doing – they should: 1) read our quarterly publication, Today’s Tire Industry; 2) visit tireindustry.org, and update their member profile to include their e-mail address, so we can send them late-breaking news (including our Action Alerts); 3) read the tire trade publications (including Tire Review); and, 4) simply follow the lead of our most active members, and get me in the offices of his Senators and Representatives in Congress.

TIA will continue to look for ways to better communicate to our members (including Mr. Barbara) not only our current activities, but the tremendous overall value that membership in TIA provides. And, I remain open to suggestions as to how TIA can convince our membership to become politically engaged at the local, state and federal level as a normal part of doing business, because it would be a tremendous benefit for all of us.

Paul Fiore
Director of Government & Business Relations
Tire Industry Association
Bowie, MD