Where roofing and politics intersect

By Emma Peterson. 

Trent Cotney and Heidi J. Ellsworth look back at the 2026 Roofing Day in D.C. 

Earlier this year, roofing contractors and professionals from around the country came together to advocate for the future of the industry in Washington, D.C. This event, Roofing Day in D.C., is annually coordinated by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) as an opportunity for industry professionals to speak directly with representatives and government officials about the importance of roofing. To reflect on how the event went, Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Trent Cotney from Adams and Reese for a Roofing Road Trips® episode.  

Trent has attended nearly every Roofing Day since NRCA began the event and shared how the event is structured. He explained, “The event is really about educating people on Capitol Hill about our industry and our struggles. NRCA does a tremendous job helping attendees organize and understand the talking points. It makes it easy for anyone to join in and help make our industry’s concerns be heard.” 

Each year, NRCA’s lobbying team picks out a few key issues that they want to highlight over the course of the event. Then they create a list of talking points that help Roofing Day attendees start the conversation with their representatives. This year's key issues focused on workforce instability, lack of affordable housing and the need for continuing technical education.  

During his time on Capitol Hill this year, Trent specifically spent time talking to his representatives about the need for legislation like the Dignity Act in relation to the workforce shortage and instability facing the construction industry and other trades. He explained:  

The Dignity Act’s entire goal is to give an opportunity for people to come here and work legally, with an eventual pathway to permanent status. And it addresses the issues of immigration and workforce shortages that we’ve seen in the headlines for the last few years. Because every single roofing contractor, manufacturer and supplier wants a legal workforce, but there is simply not a sufficient domestic labor supply. So, if we're going to have a zero-tolerance immigration policy, we also have to have a mechanism to allow people to come here and work those jobs.  

To be clear, this is not a red or blue issue – it's an industry issue. As Trent put it, “It’s really easy to watch the news and form a politicized opinion one way or the other. But what I’m talking about shouldn't be politicized. We’re talking about a real issue in the industry – we don’t have enough workers and we need a solution. Right now, our best solution is the Dignity Act.”  

Listen to the episode or Watch the recording to hear more about NRCA’s 2026 Roofing Day in D.C.