Businesses Lobby for Better Quality of Life for Employees

Posted by Julia Klaiber on May 06, 2010

Last night, CEOs for Cities attended a reception at the Dirksen Senate Office building hosted by Transportation for America. More than 100 business leaders attended the event as part of T4A's national campaign to mobilize major U.S. employers in support of their agenda for the federal Transportation Reauthorization Act.

The reception was co-hosted by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a collective of 300 CEOs who sent a number of representatives to Washington to brief members of Congress on their regional priorities for transit, biking and walking.

In his welcoming remarks, SLVG President & CEO Carl Guardino said that in an innovation economy the workforce has to be their number one priority. "We are focused on their quality of life." His remarks echoed an article CEOs for Cities contributed to in this month's Harvard Business Review, which plainly states the seismic changes companies are making to attract and retain talent.

For the Bay Area, where 51% of carbon emissions are caused by daily transportation choices, improving the quality of life means getting people out of their cars. For his part, Guardino bikes 32 miles round trip to work five days a week.

Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Paul Hodes (D-NH), John Garamendi (D-CA) and Rush Holt (D-NJ) also attended and gave remarks.