UCC Trying to Regroup Amid Financial Difficulties

A funding crunch at the United Chambers of Commerce has forced the organization to lay off its president and CEO, relocate to a smaller office and look for ways to restructure and reorganize as it moves forward. UCC, a coalition of about 20 chambers and other business organizations, hurts financially when its members are struggling, said Chief Financial Officer Joel Simon. “This has been a really hard year for small businesses, it’s been really tough and some chambers are having a very hard time,” said Simon adding that revenues at the UCC are down. “In a way our footprint has had to be reduced and like many other organizations that have been impacted by the economy, we’re learning to do more with less. Any businessman knows that if you don’t do that you’re not going to be around for long.” In an effort to cut costs, the UCC laid off Debi Schultze who had served as president and chief executive officer for the past three years and relocated to a smaller office in the same building on Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. “I love this organization, I put my heart and soul into it, so it’s sad on one side,” said Schultze, who is helping the organization on a volunteer basis through the end of the year. Schultze said she hopes that without the financial strain of paying for her salary, the organization will continue to grow and do its job of promoting the interests of its members. Two other staff members left or were laid off earlier this year. “I was very happy to help the organization grow to the level it is now. There are a lot of great things it can still do and I look forward to seeing what they are able to accomplish in the future,” Schultze said. Looking for other avenues to increase revenues, UCC leadership also considered making structural changes to the organization in order to allow it to sell memberships directly to businesses. However, the proposed bylaw change sparked controversy among member chambers who viewed the move as a way for the UCC to compete with the chambers, and the proposal did not receive the necessary support to move forward. There was also talk of a possible merger with the Valley Industry and Commerce Association in recent weeks, however Simon dispelled the rumors. “I don’t think there will be a merger with VICA because our interests are really different,” he said. Nonetheless, UCC will look for opportunities to work with VICA on certain issues, he added. Nancy Hoffman Vanyek, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber, who has been critical of the UCC in the past for being “out of touch” with its members, said the recent changes are an opportunity for UCC to reconnect with its membership. “We want an organization that represents a united voice, we don’t want somebody who competes with us, and we want to find a way to get our message across as a unified San Fernando Valley,” she said. The need for UCC is there, she added, but the organization needs better direction. “We definitely need a coalition of chambers that get together and work as a united front, sometimes you need to go to Sacramento or to City Hall and say we are 17 chambers and together we represent half a million employees and with that we want to oppose this bill. There’s more strength in numbers,” she added. Moving forward, the organization, which has been around for four decades, will be working much more closely with members, said Simon, and will rely more heavily on the participation of chamber executives, such as Hoffman, to fill the gap left by Schultze, and to help coordinate and work on projects. A February focus meeting will allow all the chambers and associations to express their primary concerns and share what they think the priorities should be in the near future. Seeing the need to really look at what’s going on locally with small businesses, Simon said UCC will also focus on getting the word out to them about the value of joining a chamber of commerce and helping them understand the benefits and resources that are at their disposal when they do so. UCC has set a budget to hire a staff member to replace Schultze and is conducting a search.