January 31, 2014

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

GENERATOR GRANT PROGRAM UPDATE
MINIMUM WAGE AND PAID SICK LEAVE
MARKETPLACE PREDICTIONS
CHANGES TO DIESEL FILTER REQUIREMENTS

Earlier this week we had the chance to regroup with our partners at the State who are running the Generator Grant Program. We are almost half way through the 8-week application period, so it is time to really get serious about sitting down and dedicating the time necessary to complete this application. As always, if you have any questions or need any help, my staff is standing by to walk you through the process. We have found that many people who have applied have not always included all of the supplementary documents that are required. The sooner you get your application to the State, the quicker they will be able to assess it, and provide you feedback about any adjustments or additions that are required.

I am still concerned that many of our members that were on the original list still have not put in an application. Also, it is more important than ever that you contact me if you are interested in participating in the program, but you were not on the original list. There is an increasing chance that there may be a second round of applications that will loosen the requirements to qualify for a grant, and we want to make sure that our members are first in line. If you haven't already emailed Eric, with the following information, please do so.

1. Your name
2. Your station's name, address and phone number
4. Your personal cell phone number
5. The best email address to contact you at

ALSO INLCUDE...

1. The storage capacity at your station for gasoline
2. The storage capacity at your station for diesel.
3. The distance to the nearest major highway
4. The distance to the Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike, Atlantic City Expressway or any evacuation route.

Moving on, it is becoming more and more clear that one of the biggest battles we will be fighting in the Legislature this year will be mandatory paid sick leave. We have already told you about the fight in Jersey City, whose proposal went into effect this week (I want to again thank NJGCA member Meer Fazaldin for his help on this issue and for joining NJGCA for a meeting with Mayor Fulop a few months ago). This week also saw final passage of an ordinance in Newark which will force employers to provide this costly benefit. The program will go into effect about 120 days from now.

We continue to see troubling signs that this will soon be debated in Trenton, and that proposal will apply to every single business in the state. The new leader of the Assembly, Speaker Vinny Prieto (D-Hudson), indicated this month that he is supportive of the concept. The current version of the bill is S-785/A-2354, sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden). As currently written, this bill would require every single employer in the state to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked by any employee. This applies to not just full time salaried employees (almost all of whom have some paid sick leave already), but also to part-time and hourly workers.

On top of the minimum wage increase that went into effect on January 1, you can see how much paid sick leave would raise the cost of employment and the cost of doing business. In addition to the cost of having to pay a gas pumper not to work, you also have to pay someone to fill his shift on short notice. There is a tremendous hassle involved in this because most of an employee’s unused hours must be carried forward into the next year. We all know how much overturn there is in this business, especially among the hourly workers. You’ll have more to keep track of because if they work a few months one year, quit, come back the next year they will still be legally entitled to the remaining sick days they earned the year before.

Sick days don't apply only if the employee is sick either. They are allowed to be used if a family member is sick, including: their children, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, parents, grandparents, and even in-laws. If the employee feels that they are punished somehow because of the leave they took (like say they don’t get as many hours) then they are allowed to sue the business. Needless to say, you will continue to hear more about this proposal, and we may need your help in Trenton when the time comes to speak out against it.

Switching gears now, I know that I haven't discussed the marketplace in a while, however I have to admit that it appears that some of what I predicted in the late Fall has turned out to be wrong. I honestly expected that by the end of January we were going to begin seeing sharp increases in fuel prices. The fact that I was incorrect in this predication seems to indicate that we may be heading back to more traditional price increases and decreases which may truly revolve around the driving seasons, rather than the anticipation of supply and demand for the upcoming driving season. Due to the cold snap, you may see a rise in diesel prices, because they are directly connected to the supply of heating oil. Propane, diesel and heating oil supplies have been a bit strained because of the cold weather that the entire country has been experiencing. I am not going to make any predictions right now, but I do need to admit that I was wrong about what I thought we would see at the end of January. However, I also must admit that I am happy that I was wrong.

One final matter for those of you who sell diesel; particularly those that have separate pumps to accommodate heavy duty vehicles. A proposal being discussed by the National Conference of Weights & Measures would mandate that slow flow diesel dispensers would have to change their filters from ones with a fineness of 30 microns to ones with a fineness of 10 microns. The Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) has come out against this proposal, saying that it will double the amount of time it takes to pump diesel and increase costs by a few hundred dollars a year.

My understanding of the issue is that most retailers who sell diesel already use 10 micron filters, and therefore would be completely unaffected; it is largely truck stops that would have to deal with this. However, I know there are some members who cater to this segment of the industry, so I ask you to take a quick second to look up the fineness of your diesel filters. Send me an email and let me know if you’re using 30 micron or 10 micron filters. This isn't an imminent threat right now, but it is something we will be monitoring and I need to know how big a problem it would be for the membership.

Thanks for reading -- See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato,
Executive Director

Do you have a business for sale? Are you looking for a new location or opportunity?

NJGCA also assists members in selling equipment through the placement of advetisments in Road Warrior!

If you'd like to list your business for sale, publish a location you're selling, or are seeking a business partner for your establishment, please contact NJGCA at 973-376-0066!

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

1/29/2014:
Opportunities Abound for Tobacco Retailing in 2014
A little more spare change in consumers' pockets could spell good news for tobacco retailers, including convenience stores, this year. Speaking at Tobacco Plus Convenience Expo 2014, David Bishop, managing partner at Balvor LLC, pointed out that US consumers have seen sequential declines in the price of fuel per gallon for three quarters now. The lower pump prices have helped take some pressure off consumers, which in turn leads to an uptick in discretionary spending. When it comes to tobacco retailing, the growth opportunity this year lies in other tobacco products (OTP) and electronic nicotine devices (END), which include electronic cigarettes, e-hookahs and e-liquids. Cigarettes capture 90% of sales, while OTP accounts for roughly 10% of sales, according to research Bishop presented at the expo. Of OTP sales, END rank third behind smokeless and cigars.

1/28/14:
Newark passes mandatory paid sick-leave policy
On Tuesday, the Newark Municipal Council passed its mandatory paid sick-leave ordinance, joining Jersey City as one of only two municipalities in New Jersey to do so. Under the ordinance, full and part-time employees would be able to earn up to one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. There is a 40-hour per year cap for businesses with 10+ employees or those that offer child care, food service or direct care. Businesses with nine or fewer employees will only be required to offer workers at least 24 hours of sick pay per year. Last Friday, Jersey City saw its sick-leave law go into effect, making it just one of six cities in the Nation to enact such a policy. Newark will soon become the seventh, when the bill is enacted in 120 days. Business groups have warned against the ordinance and said it will significantly drive up employers' costs and add unwanted layers of regulation.

1/24/2014:

Rossi Honda of Vineland, NJ claims to be the first US car dealer be "Electric-Grid Neutral," meaning that it uses no net electricity from its local utility. To unplug from the grid, Rossi Honda installed solar panels in 2012, which were able to generate 90% of the dealership's power. As a bonus, the canopies also provide weather protection for cars parked outside. The dealer replaced metal halide lamps in its lot with LED lamps, achieving its goal of grid neutrality. Rossi Honda estimates that going "grid neutral" will save 321,000-kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, as well as 341,000 pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions. This effort earned Rossi a "Platinum" Honda Environmental Leadership Award, which the Japanese automaker gives to dealerships that achieve grid neutrality or receive LEED certification from the US Green Building Council. Rossi is the fourth US dealer to earn the top "Platinum" award since Honda launched its "Green Dealer" program.

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:

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.

To review the registration form CLICK HERE

FUTURE CLASSES 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

MEMBER SAVINGS PAGE
Check out all of our MBPs and Programs designed to SAVE YOU MONEY!