POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
•Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX
•On the NJGCA Homepage
•Know your Territory Manager!

 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS! 

ON THE ROAD IN YOUR MAILBOX, USDOL, MEETINGS WITH LEGISLATORS AND MORE

Late last week or early this week you should have received (or will soon receive) the latest edition of On The Road, our official publication.  Though I know that you are busy running your business, and trying hard to balance work and family during the summer, please make a conscious effort to read completely through the entire magazine. 

As you’ll instantly be able to tell from the cover, the overall theme of this edition is how adding a convenience store to your establishment can be a smart business move.  We’ve included a few articles that highlight and outline some of the benefits and draw backs of adding a c-store.  The coverage starts on page 18.

In addition, I’d like to point out a few key pieces that you should look out for:

Page 3 - Executive Director Message:  Take a look at my message to get an update on some of the events swirling around Trenton.

Page 6 - Legislative Roundup: Read through a number of critical issues that are important to your small business. 

Page 10 - The Mechanics Lien: Learn how you can ‘repossess’ a customer’s car for not paying their bill – Legally!

Page 12 - Training Class Schedule: See our new class schedule for all you education needs (or just scroll below to see them in this Road Warrior!)

Page 30 - E15 or NOT E15: The government has proposed a mandate that revises the current blend of motor fuel for to include 5% more ethanol on vehicles produced in 2001 and later.  Will this affect you?

If you haven’t received the latest edition of the OTR, you can click HERE to view it online at our website.

The lazy days of summer maybe a time for vacations and trips to the beach for most, but that doesn’t mean that we’re resting on our laurels while others are soaking up the sun.  While it may be a bit quieter than when the Legislature is in session, we are using this “quiet time” to follow up with key legislators on three important topics: The Below Cost selling proposals that have been floating around Trenton, the Internet Lottery bill, and the Cash/Credit signage bill. 

That means we have a series of meetings lined up over the next two months to discuss these issues and more.  However, we may be calling you and other members to join us in meeting with these legislators.  Why?  Because if you live in a particular legislator’s district (or operate your establishment in their district), having you join us can be incredibly persuasive.  Legislators like to hear from their constituents and putting a name and face together helps them to understand why a particular bill can be good or bad for the survival of your business. 

For the last few weeks we’ve been updating you on recent actions by USDOL.  We’ve been getting a number of questions about their recent crack down from our members and have been presenting them directly to USDOL.  If you have any questions, you should contact me directly so I may make note of them.  As soon as we get an official response, we’ll be publishing the answers for all NJGCA to see.  

USDOL’s campaign to find employers that are not complying with current wage and hour laws certainly has shaken things up.  We are happy that most of our members are responding to our alerts and know that USDOL is coming.  While there is a lesson in there about paying attention to events as they unfold and staying involved in the association, I’m pleased to note that most of our members now recognize that this is an area of their business operation that can no longer be “Business as Usual”.

However, that doesn’t mean that you can let your guard down. As we’ve stated, the question is not IF USDOL will come to your shop, but WHEN will they come knocking.  Remember, when they pay you a visit, they’ve already scoped our your location and have a good idea of who works at your shop, at what times, and under what conditions – So if you are doing something wrong, don’t try to lie to them and fool them; you’ll only make it worse on yourself.  This is definitely one instance where honesty is the best policy and you’d be foolish to try and pull the wool over their eyes. 

Reach out to me if you have any questions on this.

As the price of gasoline continues to rise, the public and the press are continuing to rail against the volatility and high prices in the gasoline marketplace.  A few weeks ago, President Obama made an announcement that he would tap 30 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to help lower prices at the pump.  It’s now a few weeks later and we know that the President’s gamble has not paid off – prices that had declined almost 50 cents a gallon, have crept back up 30 cents since the Obama release.  However, the decision to release oil from SPR puts the nation one step closer to a disaster should there be any loss of supply for any reason.

With this in mind, I was quick to remind our friends in the Press that this was a poor idea and wouldn’t work.  We sent out a press release earlier this week to kindly point out the fact that we called it weeks ago.  That piece was published by NewJerseyNewsroom.com and you can take a look at it by clicking HERE

Can’t say we didn’t warm them!

Thanks for listening - See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

7/21/2011:
Private sector job market improves, but state’s unemployment numbers rise
On Thursday, state officials released figures showing that 11,600 residents found work in June, while another 6,000 lost their jobs.  The number of jobs lost includes 4,700 former government and public education workers.  Though the number of jobs grew, and it signaled the fifth consecutive month in a row of private sector job gains, the unemployment rate has risen 0.1 to 9.5%.  Click above to read more on the latest employment numbers.

7/20/2011:
Right to Repair proponents in Massachusetts present 43,000 letters in support of legislation
Support for the re-introduced Right to Repair legislation in Massachusetts hit a high note as 43,000 letters of support have been sent to urge lawmakers to pass this consumer friendly law.  Right to Repair would enable independent repair shops to obtain critical technical data to make needed repairs.  NJGCA supports the same initiative in New Jersey, and helped lead the charge to win passage of the bill in the General Assembly in 2008.  Unfortunately, the proposal wasn’t heard in the State Senate before the new legislative session, but we continue to urge legislators to pass this bill to benefit all New Jersey motorists.

7/7/2011:
Report: Motorists holding onto their cars, put more miles on their vehicles
A recent report by AutoMD.com illustrates that drivers are holding onto their vehicles longer and are planning to put more miles on them than in previous years.  The same survey found that nearly 80% of those interviewed plan to put up to or over 50,000 more miles on their current vehicle than they put on their previous vehicle.  Many cite the economy as a key reason for prolonging their next car purchase.  As more motorists drive their cars longer, it presents another opportunity for automotive repair shops to service the needs of their customers.  Click above to read more on this survey.

7/5/2011:
Twelve automakers band together to protest E15 proposal
A group of domestic and foreign automakers have come out to criticize the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to permit the sale of E15 motor fuel.  The new blend, which contains 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline, is harmful to engines produced before 2001.  Additionally, automakers worry that many later model vehicles that do not have fuel systems capable of handling E15 fuel may also be harmed.   

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES IN OUR “NEWS AROUND THE STATE” ARCHIVE 

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE

TMP Energy Solutions
Another Way to Save on Your Energy Bills

We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh   signing up through our energy saving program. We know it’s difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an “accurate” analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. 

This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member’s usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate.

Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group.

Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision.

If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require12 months of your most recent utility bills.

There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #’s, meter #’s  service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem.

The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate.

If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Phil Apruzzi at the NJGCA.

Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket.

We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs.  Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. 

Contact Phil Apruzzi at 973-376-0066 or email Phil at phil@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.