Don Salazar, the Chairman of the United States Hispanic Business Council’s board, will be the keynote speaker acting as the capstone for Hispanic Heritage Month at Weber State on Oct. 15. He will be speaking about the impact and importance of the Hispanic business community in the United States.
“We’ve been here for hundreds of years,” Salazar said. “We’re impacting the community and contributing trillions of dollars. I think that sometimes we have to wave our own flag to let folks know how important we are to this community and how vital we are to the U.S. economy.”
The U.S. Hispanic Business Council, or US HBC, is an organization focused on commerce and business in the United States. Salazar said the organization’s primary concern is an even playing field for Hispanic businesses in the United States.
US HBC represents the 4.5 million Hispanic owned businesses across the United States and is funded by donors. The US HBC doesn’t take any money from the federal government. Salazar said that their job is to advocate for legislation that helps business owners and being funded by the government could inhibit that cause.
“If we have a Republican administration and they’re doing things that maybe we don’t align with, then it’s our charge to call them on the carpet so to speak,” Salazar said. “But if they’re holding the purse strings and we’re relying on them for our existence then I think that inhibits our strategic thinking, certainly.”
The board that runs US HBC is made up of members of business owners. Salazar said that this allows for their board members to understand everything that goes into business and advocate for policies accordingly.
“I think the US HBC is critical to maintaining sensible business direction and structure,” Salazar said.
The organization advocates for various policy priorities including affordable healthcare and child care, fair and strategic trade and a strong immigrant workforce while maintaining a secure border. The council reaches out to politicians on both sides of the political aisle when pursuing its advocacy.
Salazar said that the US HBC utilizes data and statistics when deciding on its policy positions.
“Everything that we say is fact-checked and based on statistics, so we just don’t pull things out of the air,” Salazar said.
The council utilizes polling to highlight the perspective of its constituents to politicians or business owners. Salazar said that polling can push the needle one way or the other and is a powerful tool for their advocacy.
Salazar stated that he believes that the health of business determines the health of the country as a whole. He said that healthy businesses can increase pay for its workers and help fund charities.
“We have to maintain a strong, vibrant business culture in this country and then everybody benefits,” Salazar said.
While the US HBC advocates for Hispanic business owners and focuses on issues impacting those communities, Salazar said that doesn’t erase the bigger picture at play.
“We advocate for the Hispanic business, and we’re proud to be Hispanic businessmen,” Salazar said. “But At the end of the day, we’re more proud to be American businessmen and business people. That’s just what we believe.”
