Using your business socials to share personal opinions

It’s not the easiest time to run a construction business. Tariffs, deportations and economic uncertainty are shaking the confidence of consumers and contractors alike. And if you’ve got political opinions, you may feel like you shouldn’t share them publicly out of fear you’ll turn off prospective customers and employees.

But Brad Bonneville of Bonneville Electric has a different perspective: taking a stand is a responsibility, despite the risk. We chatted with him about how he’s dealing with business challenges and what motivates him to speak out.

— Interview by Margot Lester, edited by Bianca Prieto

What's the most pressing business issue you’re dealing with right now?

Uncertainty: cancellation and indefinite postponement of larger commercial and residential projects, and subsequently, not enough work to always keep everyone busy. We’re lucky to have been around long enough that we were able to shift pretty quickly to doing more residential service calls, repairs, EV charger installs and taking on jobs from new customers, not just our contractors and long-time clients.  

But even as fortunate as we are, having to cut employees’ hours because of the lack of consistent, larger projects never feels good. And it feels worse and scarier this time around than it has in the past. We’ve had to scale back the time we’d normally put into training new apprentices because right now it’s hard to justify that investment, considering how much the construction and renovation industries have contracted due to the looming uncertainty. We’re also trying to cut costs where we can—like holding off on buying a newer service vehicle to replace one of our failing vans and not replacing tools unless it’s absolutely necessary. 

What motivates you to take a stand on your business's social media?

It’s scary to risk putting a bullseye on our back, and I don’t want our employees to ever be harassed because of my political views. But it’s even scarier to think about how I may feel years from now if I keep my voice quiet out of fear and a sense of protection and responsibility for those I can’t actually guarantee the protection of anyhow.  

We’d never ask our employees or anyone to censor themselves or change what they post. We do talk to them about the fact that we’re a Fourth Amendment workplace—that they have rights, and that we fully support and encourage them to exercise those rights.

Do you worry it will turn customers and prospects off?

No. There are plenty of local electrical contractors out there for people to choose from and potential customers should choose a company they feel comfortable with. That might not be us. If someone doesn’t want to hire us because we’ve been vocal about how cruel and ineffective the current approach to immigration policy is, or our views on the disruptions of a reckless tariff and isolationist agenda, then we’re probably not the right fit for them anyway. We believe these policies are harming valued local businesses and restaurants, stalling progress in construction and housing, and threatening the food supply, from harvesting and processing to distribution. 

You’ve run your own business for more than two decades. Any other advice for other contractors?

Often, as business owners in the trades, we feel so obligated to make sure we’re getting paid—rightly compensated, maybe even making a profit. We want to be treated fairly, to be respected. And that’s all valid. But what we really need to remind ourselves of every day is that we have the responsibility to protect ourselves and one another. Not just physically, but also from the repercussions of a litigious culture and an increasingly unfair system. That means working together as a team: with inspectors, contractors, other subs and with our customers. When we do that and try to keep our primary focus on making their homes or businesses and our job sites safe, we’re protecting everyone involved. That includes the employees who work for us, who rely on us not to mess up and endanger their jobs and their paychecks because we were too distracted to ensure no one gets hurt, nothing burns up, no one gets sued, no one loses their job or no one feels that they aren’t supported in exercising their rights.

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The Level is curated and written by Margot Lester and edited by Bianca Prieto.