September 13, 2016

Thank You to Our Sponsor of This Edition of CAWA Connections CAWA's Annual Dinner will "Kick-off" Industry Week 2016 CAWA's annual dinner will be held at Caesar's Palace hotel in Las Vegas, the Sunday night (10.30.16) before the AAPEX and SEMA shows. All proceeds from the event will go to the Association's scholarship fund.  Should you or your company want to donate prizes for the auction and raffle, see the detailshere.  Once again, Motorcar Parts of America is the event's exclusive sponsor. To register for the event, click here. For immediate information, email programs@cawa.org or call 800.332.2292. Ruby Lucero of the Bakersfield CARQUEST Distribution Center presents CAWA scholarship award Tom Bradley of Advance Auto Parts is Appointed to the CAWA Board of Directors Mr. Bradley has been in the customer service industry for 25 years including positions in the marine, consumer electronics and automotive aftermarket industries. He has been in the automotive aftermarket for a little over four years, all with Advance Auto Parts. Mr. Bradley started at Advance as a District Manager in Dover, Delaware in 2012 and was promoted to Regional Vice President for the Charlotte market in 2014. He is now the Regional Vice President for the Southwest Region covering New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. CAWA welcomes Mr. Bradley to its Board of Directors and looks forward to his participation and contributions. California Lead Acid Battery Recycling Act Passes Legislature, Heads to Governor The California Lead Acid Battery Recycling Act (AB 2153 - C. Garcia) passed both houses of the California legislature last week. The bill is now with Governor Brown, who has until September 30 to take action. AB 2153 represents a collaborative effort to codify an extremely effective recycling program for lead acid batteries and also enact a method to fund the clean-up of the communities around a former lead acid battery recycling facility in the Los Angeles area, which is in Assemblymember Garcia's district. CAWA, along with the Auto Care Association, Battery Council International and the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality (CARE) joined efforts to ensure the legislation addressed the lead contamination problem while not disrupting the current existing successful battery recycling system or imposing fees on the retail industry. For more information on the bill, see our California based legislative advocate, Gary Conover at gary@garyconover.com or 916.233.9655. Ivonne Forsthoefel of Vantage Marketing Global and Matt Verger of Spectra Premium have been Appointed to the CAWA Manufacturers Advisory Council (MAC) Ms. Forsthoefel is Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Vantage Marketing Global Inc. with over 19 years of automotive aftermarket and automotive off-road & farm equipment OEM experience. She oversees strategic business development for international auto part manufacturers focusing on sales in the following markets: Canada, US, Mexico and Puerto Rico.  Mr. Verger is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Spectra Premium, a North American leading manufacturer of heating and cooling, fuel systems and engine management products for the aftermarket and OEM. He continues his twenty year automotive aftermarket career spanning from NAPA part store driver to Spectra Premium Vice President of Sales and Marketing. CAWA welcomes these industry veterans to its leadership table and looks forward to their participation and contributions.   The Future of Auto Aftermarket Distribution May Ride on E-tailing Strategies - What Do You Think? The automotive aftermarket is at a crossroads because it remains to be seen how e-tailing will affect it. Some suppliers are unsure about their role in e-tailing because they don't want to compete with their customers. Will there be collaboration between suppliers and resellers on this important channel? See our friend Larry Silvey's take on this most important issue ( here).    In Sales and Business You Do Whatever You Have to Do to Win? What about when it comes to winning in sales and business? Is there a gray area? Is there a line somewhere that we don't cross? Or is selling in the same category as love and war where "all's fair"? See the enclosed article ( here) from John Chapin that gives thought to winning in business. Dress Codes Must Be Applied in Nondiscriminatory Manner Can I have a separate dress code for men and women? For years our company has had a separate dress code for men and women. Recently, someone questioned whether we should be making a distinction between men and women. Is this an acceptable practice? Treating men and women differently on the basis of gender may be viewed as sex discrimination and also may violate transgender identity and expression protections in California.  See the enclosed article ( here) from our friends at the California Chamber of Commerce for further details. Also, recall as a member, you can receive up to ½ hour a month in FREE legal consultation to assist you in complying with the tremendous number of laws and regulations affecting your business. See www.cawa.org for the CAWA attorney in your state. Another member benefit.   Are You Familiar with All the Programs & Services Offered Through CAWA as Member Benefits? In pursuing programs and services of value to you as a member of the Association, we wanted to make sure you were aware of those benefits. See www.cawa.org or contactprograms@cawa.org or 800.332.2292.  Rest Breaks May Not Be Combined Except in Limited Circumstances Scenario: My employees all work an 8-hour day. It's my understanding that when an employee works an 8-hour day, he or she is entitled to two 10-minute rest breaks and a 30-minute meal break. As a convenience to my staff that schedules employee breaks, I'm wondering if I can have my employees combine their two rest breaks into a single 20-minute rest break?  See the enclosed article ( here) from our friends at Cal Chamber for details and recall, as a member of CAWA, you can receive up to ½ hour per month of FREE legal consultation on questions like these. See www.cawa.org for the attorney in your state. Another member benefit.    Want to Save $$$$ on Your Workers Comp Insurance? CAWA members can receive significant dollar discounts on their workers compensation insurance and it costs you nothing to shop the Association's partner, Armstrong & Associates. See the enclosure ( here) to learn how and contact our insurance partner, Glen Dailey of Armstrong & Associates at 800.575.6891 or gdailey@armstrongprofessional.com. Another member benefit.     "CAWA - Representing the Automotive Parts Industry"