(The Idaho State Journal posted the following story on its website on October 27.)
POCATELLO, Idaho — Union Pacific will no longer be a member of the local chamber of commerce, Chamber President Arlen Witrock said Friday.
“Clearly we’re disappointed,” Wittrock said. “We certainly hope they’d reconsider.”
Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said the Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce isn’t alone, however. He said the company is reducing its chamber involvement nationwide. Even so, Union Pacific renewed its membership with the Boise Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce last month.
The company also maintains a relationship with the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry and has a full-time lobbyist during the Legislature.
Union Pacific has been paying $3,320 annual dues to the Pocatello branch for an unspecified number of years, Wittrock said. It’s been paying similar dues in Boise since 1926.