86 | Business World Magazine |
November 2013
SUPPORT AND SERVICES
TRSA CEO Joseph Ricci provides an over-
view of the range of services the association
fulfills on behalf of its membership. These
include facilitating the sharing of informa-
tion and best practices through conferences,
trade publications, industry events and on-
line resources. TRSA additionally conducts
research and benchmarking initiatives that
help improve productivity, core competen-
cies and customer service. And in terms of its
role in legislative advocacy, the TRSA strives
to protect the integrity and market oppor-
tunities for textile services by advocating for
fair, balanced and pro-business regulations
and taxation. Such advocacy is particularly
essential because as Ricci says, “Most people
have never stepped once into a commercial
laundry to witness how it operates. Most
don’t have a clue about the safety standards
and sustainability practices that operators
adhere to, or the amount of people that de-
pend on the jobs this industry provides.”
Therefore, to Ricci’s point, when regulatory
or legislative policies are introduced, there
may not be proper understanding as to how
such policies will impact the industry and its
workers, such was the case when TRSA came
into its very existence. Nearly one third of
TRSA’s budget is dedicated to monitoring,
tracking, reporting, responding and proac-
tively advocating regulatory and legislative
