The Floor Covering Leadership Council (FCLC) hosted a Flooring Executive Summit on March 12, 2019, at the Dalton Convention Center. During the session, Scott Humphrey, FCLC member, and Kathi Rose, The Blackstone Group, updated the group on the labor shortage challenge, presented the research collected by the Blackstone Group and asked for signed pledges to collaborate on taking the industry to the next step.
After the presentation, the following pledge was read: “We the undersigned acknowledge that shortages and gaps in the floor covering installation workforce pose serious challenges to the well-being of the floor covering industry as a whole. We hereby pledge ourselves and our organizations to provide the leadership, funds, and/or other significant support required to undertake a long-term initiative that will generate a sufficient and sustainable installation workforce.”
The pledge was signed by the following organizations:
- Advanced Adhesive Technologies, Greg Wood
- AHSG/Commerical One, Joe Weber
- Amaz Floors, Luxia Hong
- American OEM, Don Finkell
- CFI, Robert Varden
- Divergent Adhesives, Sonny Callaham
- Emily Morrow Home, Emily Finkell
- FCICA, Kim Oderkirk
- Flooring Success Systems, Jim Armstrong
- FUSE Alliance, Geoff Gordon
- IUPAT, Mike Heinz
- Loba-Wakol, Ashley Carter
- MAPEI, Charlie Nielson
- Metroflor, David Altman
- Mohawk Industries, Tom Lape
- NWFA, Anita Howard
- Protect-All, Jerry Lee
- QEP, Kevin Keefe
- RFMS, Terry Wheat
- Roberts, Tracy Muller
- Tarkett, Len Ferro
- Wagner Meters, Jason Spangler
- WFCA, Scott Humphrey, Tom Jennings, and Steve Abernathy
Information on signing the pledge and an executive summary and quantitative assessment of the research is available at: www.fclcouncil.org/key-initiatives.
FCLC plans to reach out to those who have signed the pledge and host a meeting in San Antonio at La Cantera Resort & Spa in August in conjunction with CFI’s 2019 Convention and discuss the next steps needed to help resolve the industry shortage.