United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Founded 1979
Type Education, Advocacy
Focus Education, Business Advocacy
Location
Area served
United States
Key people
Javier Palomarez, President and CEO; Marc A. Rodriguez, Chairman; Nina Vaca, Chairman Emeritus
Website http://ushcc.com

The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) is the largest Hispanic business organization in the United States. It was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.

The chamber promotes the economic growth and development of entrepreneurs and represents the interests of nearly 4.1 million Hispanic owned businesses in the US that contribute in excess of $661 billion to the American economy. It serves as the umbrella organization for more than 200 local chambers and business associations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Additionally, it advocates for the 259 major American companies who are its supporting members.[1]

The association is bipartisan. It regularly invites public officials and political candidates from both sides of the aisle to present to its members.[1] In 2016 the chamber endorsed Hillary Clinton and John Kasich for president.[2]

Studies

In September 2015, the chamber and the business intelligence firm, Geoscape, released a study showing that Hispanic businesses grew at an annual rate of 7.5% between 2012 and 2015, "which is 15 times faster than the .5% percent growth rate for all companies." Since 2007, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses increased by 57% to 4.07 million, and revenues at these companies grew by 88% to roughly $660 billion.[3][4]

Annual National Convention

Each year, the chamber hosts its national convention and business expo. This is the country’s largest networking venue for Hispanic businesses and Fortune 1000 corporations interested in the Hispanic market. The four-day convention affords Hispanic vendors and corporate buyers the opportunity to establish partnerships; provides sessions and discussions about business development, chamber training, innovative trends and solutions; and focuses on current issues that impact the Hispanic entrepreneur. The 2015 convention, held in Houston, TX, had 6,000 people in attendance.[5]

Annual Legislative Summit

Each year during the session of the United States Congress, the chamber hosts its annual Legislative Summit. The summit provides chamber members, Hispanic business leaders, and corporate executives the opportunity to discuss legislative policy issues that impact the small business community.[6] Hispanic chamber executives also use the opportunity to meet with their Congressional representatives. In addition, every two years, the chamber issues its Legislative Policy and Priorities to the White House and Congress.

Voter registration

In September 2016 the chamber started a Guac the Vote campaign to use taco trucks to register voters and to appear at polling stations on election day.[7][8] The campaign name is a reference to guacamole.[9][10][11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Gamboa, Suzanne. "Javier Palomarez Rebooted His Life and US Hispanic Chamber Of Commerce" (20 March 2015). nbcnews.com. NBC. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  2. "Hillary Clinton, John Kasich score endorsements from U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce". The Washington Times.
  3. "Get Started: Hispanic Business Growth Outstrips Rest of US". nytimes.com. The New York Times. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  4. Rosenberg, Joyce (23 September 2015). "Study: Rate of Hispanic Business Start-Ups Highest in Midwest". insurancejournal.com. Insurance Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  5. Rumbaugh, Andrea (18 September 2015). "Q&A: Leader of Hispanic chamber tells why Houston won convention". houstonchronicle.com. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  6. "Commerce Secretary Pritzker to Address USHCC Legislative Summit". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  7. "Taco trucks on every corner? Business group wants them at every polling site instead.". Washington Post. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  8. "Latino business group starts 'Guac The Vote' effort". NBC News. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2016-09-07. The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is trying to turn the "taco trucks on every corner" comment made by a Donald Trump supporter into a voter registration campaign dubbed Guac The Vote.
  9. "#GuacTheVote: Latino business group wants taco trucks to register voters". Russia Today. 2016-09-08. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  10. "'Guac the Vote' Takes Aim at Hungry Unregistered Voters". Time Warner Cable News. 2016-09-08.
  11. "Latinos Are Co-Opting the 'Taco Trucks on Every Corner' Threat to 'Guac the Vote'". Vice.com. 2016-09-09.
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