September 21, 2012

Dear NJGCA Member:

Thank you for reading this week's NJGCA Road Warrior!

CLASSIFIEDS!
•Do YOU have equipment for sale or are you looking for a new employee?!

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
•State unemployment rises to 9.9-percent
•NJ motorists can no longer smile for license photos
•Auto Tech: Electric turbochargers coming
•State tax revenue collection down

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE
•New Emission Inspector Training Class available -- SIGN UP TODAY!

MINIMUM WAGE HIKE GETS DANGEROUS SECOND LOOK
DIALOGUE RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK’S LUKOIL $9 GALLON PROTEST
ROLL YOUR OWN CIGARETTES
GASOLINE DEMAND REBOUNDS
SUNOCO STATION SELL-OFF GETS LOUDER

Though the last few weeks we have been utterly consumed with the LUKOIL protest, reporters, and related matters (more on that later), it doesn’t mean that other important issues have fallen completely off the radar. Rather, it only means that I’ve had to prioritize how much I tell you at one time!

In playing catch up this week, one big issue that is once again rearing its head is talk in Trenton of increasing the minimum wage. You’ll recall that a bill was introduced that would increase the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 an hour, then allow for yearly inflation adjustments.W

hile many were pushing to have the bill heard in the Legislature earlier this year, it ultimately fell to the back burner while Trenton tackled a number of important issues.

Now it seems that Democratic leaders in both the Senate and the Assembly want to revive the idea via a voter referendum, which is more dangerous because that means it will become an amendment to the NJ State Constitution. If the legislature approves a question on the ballot to amend the constitution (there are enough Democrat votes to do so), then it ultimately will bypass Governor Christie’s signature. The leaders in the Legislature know that the Governor isn’t in favor of a minimum wage hike and is very opposed to automatic annual increases. Putting it on the ballot and seeking a voter referendum would give them a way around his opposition. The catch is that it must pass in two consecutive sessions of the legislature, but once it passes then it will never need the signature of any Governor from now until eternity. Businesses will be stuck with an automatic minimum wage increase every year forever! Do you see why I say this is dangerous?

Statistics have shown time and again that only a small slice of the workforce actually makes the minimum wage – so how will it affect you? One obvious answer is that someone you are paying minimum wage to right now will get a bump in pay – that’s pretty clear. However, it will also affect you indirectly by convincing other employees (who now make more than the minimum wage) to seek a wage-bump in line with the change in the law. That means that even though your convenience store clerk makes $12 an hour, a minimum wage hike of $1.25 an hour will entice them to expect the same increase in their own wages.

Not an easy situation to deal with, is it? Don’t be surprised if we have to call you and the rest of the troops in on this one very soon.

The $9 gallon price of gas posted at Lukoil stations last week is receiving proper attention from Lukoil. Last Saturday, while dining out with my wife, my cell phone rang. I recognized the phone number as a Moscow phone number because I have been taking quite a few calls from Russian radio and newspapers. Lukoil is a Russian owned company and our protest received much attention in Russia.

To my surprise it was not a Russian reporter, but instead I found myself speaking with the CEO of Lukoil N.A. We had a polite conversation in which he asked if I would agree to meet with him. Of course I was agreeable and 5 days later he was sitting in my office here in Springfield. Did we come up with a solution to the problems that Lukoil dealers have been faced with? No. But a dialogue has begun, and I expect cooperation from Lukoil that will lead to one. The dealers are prepared to repeat and even expand their actions if a resolution is not reached. Stay tuned!

On the market front, gasoline prices have risen in recent weeks as demand rose and inventory levels dropped. This was created a surprising post-Labor Day demand – which caught industry watchers off guard. You and I both know that this is very odd since the accepted “summer driving season” is over and the kids have all headed back to school. This has created a headache for both motorists and small business owners who must now contend with another burden heading into the fall. Also unexpectedly and against the science of supply and demand, many of you saw prices tumble between 10-15 cents in the last two days.

The only “good” thing about this is that the price increase and supply shortfall has come before refineries have fully switched from the more expensive summer blend of fuel to the less-expensive fall fuel formulation. While that won’t give us immediate relief, it will mean that prices will decline slightly as those refineries get up to capacity and push more gasoline on the market.

In case any of them have fallen asleep, I want to send a very loud wake up call to any Sunoco lessee dealers or franchisee station owners out there. Though we’ve been hearing dribs and drabs about a possible Sunoco location sell off these past few months, the noise continues to get louder – and it’s time to prepare. I do expect to call a meeting of Sunoco dealers soon.

While I’d prefer to not get into too many details in the Road Warrior, it’s imperative that any Sunoco lessee dealers out there reach out to me. You can always email me at sal@njgca.org or feel free to call the office at 976-376-0066.

Remember that the Right of First Refusal that NJGCA worked so hard to get passed entitles you to the first crack at buying your station. But that DOES NOT mean that it just automatically happens. There will be work for you to do, but with a reward. If you don’t believe me, there is an army of former Exxon and Shell lessees that can attest to that.

Finally this week, NJGCA was in Trenton Thursday to testify on a measure that would eliminate a tax loophole on “roll-your own” cigarette making machines. If you haven’t seen these machines in action before, they’re really quite impressive. They can take raw materials and spit out a finished cigarette while the customer waits. Even more impressive is that they can make cigarettes at a rate of about 200 every 10 minutes. Pretty neat, right?

NJGCA Government Affairs Assistant, Eric Blomgren, testifies before the Senate Health, Human Servicves, and Senior Citizens Committee in support of S-2149 concerning "Roll-Your-Own Cigarette Machines".

Well, as impressive as that is, these machines also put station owners and convenience store owners at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to tobacco sales. Why? Because the current tax regulations essentially create a loophole for these roll-your own cigarette machine operators to exploit, giving them a huge pricing advantage that may severely impacts your sales.

If they were paying the same taxes as cigarette retailers and were subject to the same regulations, I don’t think anyone out there would oppose these machines from popping up here and there. But that’s not the case and the loophole has to be closed! Thankfully a bill was introduced that would create some parity with other tobacco taxes and we urged Legislators to move on the proposal immediately! Without closing the loopholes, your customers can roll their own cigarettes for half the cost of buying them from you. Thursday, I traveled to Trenton to participate in several hearings that dealt with 6 different bills important to you. I asked Eric Blomgren, our Government Affairs Assistant, to deliver the testimony and he did a great job. The bill passed and now must work its way thru the legislature and hopefully receive a signature from Governor Christie. I will keep you posted as it progresses.

After running an ad in the Road Warrior over the last month, NJGCA was able to assist a member in selling his equipment!

If you'd like to list equipment for sale, or have an open position you'd like to make other industry professionals aware of, please contact NJGCA at 973-376-0066 and let us help you get the word out!

9/20/2012:
State unemployment rises to 9.9-percent
New numbers from the NJ Department of Labor illustrate that unemployment has risen to a 30 year high of 9.9-percent in August. It is the highest unemployment rate in 30 years. The numbers come as the Labor Department reported revised job numbers showing 40-percent few jobs created in July. However, officials are quick to mention that New Jersey has had positive job growth for 10 straight months, adding over 86,000 new private sector jobs.

9/20/2012:
NJ motorists can no longer smile for license photos
In a move that is upsetting many residents, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is no longer allowing motorists to smile when taking their driver’s license picture. The “smile ban” is due to new face-recognition software that the state began to use in January. Though a slight smile is permitted, the program may be confused by anyone smiling too widely. The software is designed to catch fraudsters and compare a person’s old photo from their new one. If there is a discrepancy, the program alters MVC agents. Click above to read the full article.

9/19/2012:
Auto Tech: Electric turbochargers coming
In the years ahead, a new electric-driven turbocharger may soon find its way into production vehicles. Pairing smaller engines with forced induction technologies like turbocharging is nothing new to the automotive world. Electric-turbocharging, however, could help address packaging, heat, and pricing issues associated with traditional turbos. German automaker Audi is investing in electric turbos since they help avoid turbo-lag while also increasing fuel efficiency. In addition, since ordinary turbochargers work off of exhaust gases, replacing the traditional turbocharger with an electric-driven unit could also reduce engine displacement further to reduce emissions and raise fuel economy.

9/19/2012:
State tax revenue collection down
Revenue collections for the first two months of the new fiscal year (which began July 1st) fell short of government projections. Taxes collected by the State Treasury were nearly 5-percent off from anticipated revenue. The largest drop came from income taxes and sales taxes, which are the State’s top two revenue-generating taxes. However, Treasury officials indicate that income tax collections for August were at an all time high and beat previous projections. Click above to read full details.

TRAINING CLASSES!!
-ALL CLASSES WILL BE HELD AT NJGCA HEADQUARTERS-
66 Morris Avenue - Springfield, NJ 07081 (Union County)

In order to be licensed as a Motor Vehicle Emission Inspector, you must complete this course and pass a “Written Exam” given by the State of New Jersey. NJGCA offers this training in a ONE DAY State approved training program that will provide an understanding of inspection related issues including EPA Regulations, Safety, Diesel, Customer Service and the New Jersey State Specific Curriculum. This specially tailored NJGCA course fulfills all requirements.

CLASS DETAILS:
Class Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Class Location: NJGCA Headquarters, located at 66 Morris Avenue - Springfield, NJ 07081
Arrival Time: 7:00am
Lunch Break: 12:00pm (Pizza and soda will be served)
NJMVC Test: 1:00pm

Class Fees:
NJGCA Members: $250.00
Non-members: $300.00
Manuals are included and payment is due upon registration. All credit cards are accepted.

License Fee: Bring a $50.00 check made payable to NJMVC to satisfy the State’s licensing fee.

PLEASE NOTE: If you live out of state, you must bring 6 points of ID with you, such as a license, passport, healthcare card, utility bill, etc.

CLICK HERE to view and complete the registration form with all the required information.

Once complete, please fax it to 973-376-0766. Alternatively, you may also either scan the form or email the details below to Debbie Hill at debbie@njgca.org.

PLEASE NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!

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 Greg Cannon 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 GREG CANNON at 973-376-0066 or email Greg at greg@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

DEFENDING OUR MEMBERS.
PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS.
ANSWER THE CALL & CONTRIBUTE TODAY!!

Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.

However, in order to truly affect the debate, we must ensure our friends in the Legislature are re-elected. It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.

For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon a few. This is not only unfair to those few members who have shouldered this burden, but means we are not utilizing our full strength to affect the debate in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of supporting our allies, consider our successes in Trenton:

We defeated BELOW COST SELLING
We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law!
We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly
We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram
We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes
...and MUCH MORE!!

In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature!
If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies.

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
66 Morris Avenue
Springfield, NJ 07081
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC

I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.

We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. ?

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX

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