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April 27, 2012 NEWS AROUND THE STATE ATTEND THE 2012 ACT EXPO! TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC ERF CERTIFICATION, PLEEEEEEASE AVOID ARREST & HANDCUFFS, CASH/CREDIT SIGNS, TOBACCO DISPLAYS IN JEOPARDY…… and more Several weeks ago I was contacted by the DEP/MVC folks that monitor PIF and ERF licensing. I was given a list of Emission Repair Facilities who are in jeopardy of their licenses expiring because the technicians that they employ need to have their credentials re-certified by the end of June. I have asked NJGCA Director of Member Services Debbie Hill to schedule a class in order to avoid a situation that may find a technician falling thru the cracks. The entire 8 session ETEP course has been scheduled to begin on May 8th and will end on June 26th, and a 2 session re-certification class will accompany the ETEP class on the final two sessions on June 19th and 26th. Click HERE for more details and to print out the class registration form or call Debbie here at NJGCA headquarters at 973-376-0066. (NOTE: The link will redirect you to an outside site to view the PDF - Just click on the green DOWNLOAD button to view the registration form). It was almost exactly one year ago, on April 29th 2011 when I sent out a Wildfire Alert to warn you that the Attorney General’s Office had criminalized the sale of so-called “Bath Salts”, which were really designer drugs being sold at c-stores and gas stations. I reminded you of the issue again in another Road Warrior last August, and again last month I informed you that the Attorney General’s Office had reached out and asked me to inform you about more substances that had been banned. These newly banned substances are a form of synthetic marijuana that has become popular in the last year, especially with teenagers. In 2011 in New Jersey there was a 711% increase in the number of incidents reported to Poison Control and studies show these substances are the third most commonly abused drug by high school seniors. Until this issue arose last year I didn’t have a clue that these items existed or were sold in gas stations. I had never heard of this stuff! When I go into a c-store while my car is filling up it’s for a cup of coffee (or other goodies that my wife doesn’t like me eating) not fake drugs and a cheap high. Please forgive me for being so naïve. Most of you responded to my warnings and removed the banned substances. The substances come in small packets and commonly go under names like “K2”, “Spice”, “Cloud 9”, “Space Cadet”, "Kush," "Down 2 Earth," "Comatose Candy," and others. The packets often contain a mixture of herbs and plant materials that have been coated with chemical agents and are often labeled as "incense", "potpourri", or “not fit for human consumption” in order to hide their true nature from unknowing retailers and law enforcement. These chemicals have been classified on the same level as cocaine and heroin in the eyes of the law and violators may be subject to a fine of up to $25,000 and imprisonment for a three- to five-year term. You can read the original order from the Director by CLICKING HERE. After the ban on the bath salts was announced several service station and c-store owners were arrested. I was pleased upon learning that those who were arrested were not members of NJGCA. Since nonmembers don’t receive my weekly email, they wouldn’t have received any warning ahead of time. However since December I have been dismayed because a few longtime NJGCA members have been arrested, with 1 having his picture on the front page of the county newspaper being walked out of his gas station in handcuffs. Officials have contacted me and again have asked that I make yet another appeal since some people are determined to learn the hard way. Please, just get this stuff off of your shelves. Don’t try and sell it out of the backroom, or only to people you know, sooner or later word will get out and you will get caught and your face will be on the front page too (I don’t have to tell you that’s not really good for business!). Recently I mentioned that you need to be more careful regarding your signs when you’re using cash/credit pricing. Once again I’m proud to say it appears as if NJGCA members do a very good job of complying. Why? Because I am constantly informing you of the correct way to post your signs. I have asked that you all act as a patrol and let me know of competitors who are not adhering to the rules and may be unfairly drawing your customers to their location with misleading and illegal signs. Don’t let them steal your business by cheating! Besides, right now motorists have their underwear all bunched up because of the high prices, it does not take much to set them off if they think they have been deceived. One problem I was recently alerted to is stations that are using letters for the ‘cash’ and ‘credit’ that are too small and barely visible from the road. This confuses customers who then set about making complaints to the Division of Consumer Affairs. The size of the text DOES MATTER. The law says that; the size of the text depicting the words “Cash” and “Credit”, must be at least half the size of the numbers. You should be aware that officials from Weights and Measures will be stopping in to issue a citation if they have received a complaint. Although I am hopeful that they will issue a warning and give you an opportunity to correct the situation before handing out a fine, it is entirely their discretion on how to handle each individual situation. Just a reminder, last September I wrote (I feel like I’m doing a lot of reminding about issues in previous Road Warriors) about proper demeanor when Weights and Measures people stop by. If you’re polite and cooperative, they almost certainly will be too. Whether they give you a fine or let you go with a warning is entirely up to them. Acting less than professional doesn’t accomplish anything for anybody. Not only does it hurt your business immediately, it can have far wider consequences for others. I have included some pictures of several stations that have been visited by Weights and Measures as an example of What You Should NOT Do!
There is news on the tobacco front. Last week in the Village of Haverstraw in Rockland County, New York, a law was passed banning the display of tobacco products in all retail stores, the first outright ban in the entire U.S. Other counties in NY are also considering such a ban. Retailers in the area fear that their sales will decline since customers may not even realize that they sell tobacco products because there won’t be any displayed or advertised in the store. In addition to economics, some say that this is a constitutional issue as an outright ban on tobacco advertising is an infringement on the 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech. Listen I’m not a smoker; I quit smoking exactly 23 yrs ago last week, but if people want to smoke it’s their business. My members sell tobacco products and to the best of my knowledge none have ever held a gun to a customer’s head forcing them to buy cigarettes. It is the NJGCA position that ALL government entities, federal, state, and local should stay out of your business and stop trying to run people’s lives. If you want to sell tobacco, and your customers are old enough and choose to buy it, government should just shut up and collect the huge taxes that come with each sale. (Government makes more money on cigarettes than you do!) My concern is that sooner or later some crazy legislator is going to try to impose similar restrictions in New Jersey. Yes we will go to war over that if the day ever does come! While I’m railing about onerous government poking around, I’m pleased to report that a federal appeals court blocked a stupid new rule from the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB had issued a requirement that would have required millions of small business to put up posters specifically telling their employees that they had a right to form a union. Once again, we have the government sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. They should not be doing anything inside the walls of your business to help a union form in your shop. I’m not a big fan of unions. Although I do believe that they should exist. Unions played a necessary role in the past, but since then have far outlived their usefulness. I believe that unions now do more harm than good. One rabble rouser employee can cause you a lot of headaches if he wanted to threaten you with forming a union at your business. I have my eye on this issue. For the Policy Patrol this week I thought I’d keep with the subject of unions and point out A-136, the New Jersey Right to Work Act, sponsored by Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth) and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). The Right to Work is a movement which protects employees from being forced to join a union. So far, almost half of the states in the US have become Right to Work states. Unfortunately, given the political power unions still hold it is unlikely we will see New Jersey provide this freedom anytime soon. From the Manure Pile this week we’re pulling S-207, a short bill that would simply prohibit “the planning, designing or construction of any additional jughandles on the public roads or highways in the State.” Not only was this bill such a priority that it was introduced on the first day of the legislative session, but it’s been introduced in every single legislative session since 2003! Really? No one could think of a better cause to fight for in this state than the plight of jughandles on our roads? Thanks for listening – See you next week. Regards,
NEWS AROUND THE STATE 4/23/2012: Big Implications for a Little Village's Ban Last week, the Village of Haverstraw in New York's Rockland County sent shockwaves through the convenience store industry by passing a tobacco display ban--the first of such bans in the United States. And it's not just retailers with locations within the 27.4 square miles of Haverstraw who are up in arms. 4/22/2012: Man Brags on Facebook About Siphoning Gas From Police, Gets Caught 20 year old Michael Baker probably thought he was pretty clever and funny, siphoning gas from a police car while flicking off the camera for a photo. The same photo that he posted up on Facebook that lead to his arrest. 4/19/2012: American startup company creates ‘plugless’ EV charger As the popularity of electric vehicles grow and more customers become aware of their advantages, an entire secondary industry is growing to address the needs of EV consumers. Among the new advances currently being worked on is a wireless charging system that market-experts believe will be the ‘next big thing’ for electric motorists. The North Carolina-based startup is getting big attention from companies like Google, Hertz Rent-A-Car, and Sears. Plans are already moving ahead to field test the new technology in a Chevy Volt and may help make using electric vehicles a bit easier for everyday drivers. 4/17/2012: Appeals court blocks National Labor Relations Board from requiring union posters at work sites A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the National Labor Relations Board from making millions of businesses put up posters informing workers of their right to form a union. The rule requiring most private employers to display the posters was supposed to take effect on April 30, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said that can’t happen until legal questions are resolved.
Click on the banner above or visit THIS LINK to open a PDF with instructions on how to get your Complimentary passes for the 2012 ACT Expo!
TRAINING CLASSES!! 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!!
MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE TMP Energy Solutions 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.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members. 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: 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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