 |
||||||||||
 |
August 16, 2013 Here is what you will find in this edition:
JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!
PAID SICK LEAVE Although business groups and industry leaders were originally assured that the Democratic proposal for paid sick leave would not come up for discussion in either the fall legislative session or lame duck, it appears that this is no longer the case. Last week, Speaker Oliver joined the "New Jersey Time to Care" coalition at a rally at the Statehouse. Also present was Lizette Delgado, executive director of the SEIU, the same union whose Vice President, Milly Silva, is now Senator Barbara Buono's candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Speaker Oliver said that the bill will likely be posted in the Assembly sometime in the fall. There are numerous financial, practical and legal issues associated with this proposal that we want our members to be aware of, and we intend to participate in a coalition to voice our concerns. First and foremost, this is just one more example of Trenton trying to mandate how you run your business, and picking your pocket in the process. I remember when I owned my shop. I had plenty of part time workers who ran my gas pumps, and if they didn't show up for work, they didn't get paid. With my full-time mechanics, it was a different story. If they were sick and had to miss a day of work, they got paid, as long as the policy was not abused. When I was in business, this is how I did things, and I'm sure you still do things in a similar fashion. However, this legislation would require employers to give workers one hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours of work. For an individual who works 40 hours/week, that translates to a 1/2 day of paid sick time earned every 3 weeks. Remember when I talked about minimum wage last week? Now add this to your cost of doing business!! This is just another example of legislators in Trenton being all too eager to involve themselves in your business. You can bet that we will be opposing this legislation, but it is also critical that you remember these proposals as you vote in November. On that note, hopefully you all went out to the polls on Tuesday to cast your vote in the Primary for this October's Special US Senate Election. Even though this election affects what happens in Washington, not Trenton, this is an example of how your vote makes a difference. Results were overwhelmingly clear in both primaries - the Democrats chose Cory Booker with 59% of the vote, and the Republican candidate, Steve Lonegan, won his primary with 80% of the vote. Whoever wins the general election in October will be faced with many tough choices as they serve the remaining 15 months of Senator Lautenberg's term. For example, from what I know of these candidates, one candidate is very likely to support mandatory paid sick leave, and one is very likely to fight to the death to oppose it. You make the decision about how you want your business to be run, and vote accordingly. In inspection news, I hope that you all paid close attention to the THREE VID messages that came through over the past week. One deals with catalytic converter visual inspections, which we have covered extensively in recent Road Warriors, one is about the Parsons Communication Package that we have written about over the past month, and the other concerns your inspection stickers. With regard to catalytic converter visual inspections, we have repeatedly encouraged you to be thorough and complete in all of your inspections. Now MVC is sending out the same message, with step-by-step instructions on how to protect yourselves and conduct a proper inspection of the emissions equipment. It will be extremely difficult to defend you if you skip steps and do not perform a visual inspection. Please refer to the following message from MVC for more details: "When conducting an emissions test it is every inspector’s responsibility to inspect each vehicle for tampering of the emissions equipment, such as missing catalytic converter. On a model year 1995 or newer vehicle, do not depend on a vehicle’s OBD System Malfunction Indicator Light to tell you whether there is a working catalytic converter, or even if a catalytic converter is present. You must perform a Catalytic Converter Visual Inspection (Tamper Check). If a vehicle was originally manufactured with a catalytic converter, it cannot pass an inspection without one. This means either using a mirror, flashlight, lift or mechanic’s creeper to examine the exhaust system for a missing catalytic converter. The catalytic converter is the most important pollution control device on a vehicle. Catalytic converters have been installed on most 1975 and newer passenger cars and light-duty trucks by the manufacturers to reduce exhaust emissions and allow the vehicles to meet Federal and California standards. To show that a vehicle has failed for tampering (missing catalytic converter) you must answer two questions in the SGS Workstation correctly. The first question is, "was this vehicle originally equipped with a catalytic converter as manufactured?" The question should be answered as followed:
• If the vehicle is model year 1975 or later, the answer is “Yes”. The second question is, “is this vehicle equipped with a correctly installed catalytic converter?”
• If the catalytic converter is installed properly, the answer is “Yes”. Answering these questions correctly is extremely important. Circumventing this procedure could lead to administrative action." As I said before, you have received these warnings multiple times from NJGCA in recent Road Warriors, and now it is coming straight from MVC. Please ensure that you are conducting proper and thorough inspections, and we won't have a problem! VID Message #2: Please also be advised, if you do not enroll with Parsons, you will not be able to perform inspections. CLICK HERE to access the application. VID Message #3: Please note -- if you are ordering your inspection stickers in the mail, remember that the address has changed. The NEW address is:
MVC - Inspection Services All vehicle inspection stickers are also available at the following sites:
Westfield
Asbury Park
Winslow One final note about the regulation of tobacco and other products sold by our members in their convenience stores. A recent news article reports that a new draft of three tobacco-related bills heading to the NYC Council will have a new definition of "tobacco products" - and would now include e-cigarettes and related components, parts and accessories. If the ordinances pass, the display of e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco would be banned in retail stores. This is another example of Bloomberg trying to create a nanny state which regulates the products our members can sell, and who they can be sold to. While we shouldn't really care what goes on in New York City, unfortunately, history has proven that their sewage flows right into NJ. Most recently it was the proposal of an under-21 tobacco ban in New Jersey, which Senator Codey borrowed from Mayor Bloomberg. New Jersey has enough senseless legislation to deal with on our own, we don't need New York to keep providing us with more and more bad ideas.
Thanks for reading -- See you next week!
BUSINESS FOR SALE!
Do you have a business for sale? Are you looking for a new location or opportunity? 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!
CLASSIFIEDS: FOR SALE & HELP WANTED! After running an ad in the Road Warrior over the last months, 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!
NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
08/15/2013:
08/09/2013:
TRAINING CLASSES!! NEW JERSEY EMISSION INSPECTOR TRAINING
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.
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 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.
Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.
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: 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 |
|||||||||
 |
||||||||||
