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December 21, 2012
Here is what you will find in this edition:
CLASSIFIEDS!
NEWS AROUND THE STATE
TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE
MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS
MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATIONS FOR SERVICE STATIONS
JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!
A WAY TO SAVE BIG MONEY,
PLASTIC BAG TAXES, AND MERRY CHRISTMAS First off I want to talk to you about a great deal that’s being offered to NJGCA members which can seriously improve your business and cut your costs. You’ll be getting a letter from me shortly (if it hasn’t arrived already) talking about this in more depth, so make sure you read it carefully because this offer is scheduled to expire on December 29th! KOPA Energy Efficient Lighting Solutions is one of our newest Member Benefit Partners. We’re always on the lookout here for ways to help you guys cut costs, and that’s exactly what their service provides. As an NJGCA member you’re entitled to special low prices not available to anyone else. They’ve been told, like all our MBPs, that if they give NJGCA prices to nonmembers they can expect me to drive my car through their front door. KOPA can audit your location for free and tell you how they can save you money by replacing your lighting with LED lights. These lights are not only brighter and more appealing to customers; they also use significantly less electricity and can save you up to 80% on your electric bill. Check out the flyer that’s included with my letter for more information on what KOPA can do. This is a great company providing a service I think can benefit your business on many different levels, and I wholeheartedly endorse them. If you have any questions feel free to email Greg Cannon: greg@njgca.org. On Monday I sent NJGCA staffer Eric Blomgren down to Trenton to testify on your behalf against S-812, a bill from Senator Bob Smith (D-Middlesex) which would require you to charge 5 cents for every single plastic and paper bag that your store gives to customers. You would get to keep one of those five cents (which is probably not enough money to be worth it and just enough money to feel insulted). Every quarter, you’ll have to submit a report that details, in effect, every single disposable bag your store gave out to customers. And, beginning in about 2 years you’ll only be able to give out special recyclable bags that are made from at least 40% recycled material and have “please recycle this bag” printed on them. Can you imagine what a burden this would be to your business? And it is your business, no matter how big or small, if you give out plastic bags for your customers to carry their purchases, you WILL be expected to comply if this bill becomes law. While a previous version of the bill exempted businesses with less than 1,000 square feet of retail space, this newly amended version removes that exemption. Even if your convenience store is just wide enough for a counter, a coffee machine, a fridge for some sodas, and a rack of chips and candy you’ll have to collect this nickel tax for every plastic bag you give a customer. Just think: you’ll have to train all your store clerks to track how many bags they’re using and then charge the customer 5 cents for each. This is a proposition that is inconvenient for business and inconvenient for the consumer. Now, inconvenience is a bad thing in any industry, but it’s a particularly bad thing for convenience stores. People stop at your business to pick up a few items and then quickly be on their way. Often they are not planning their trip enough in advance to bring reusable canvas bags with them. Providing fast service at the counter is one of the purposes of this industry, and being forced to track every single disposable bag undermines that. The effort that would go into record keeping is a major headache. It’s as if you don’t already have enough regulations and taxes to worry about. Based on the numbers used in the bill, there are approximately 400 million plastic bags used in the state of New Jersey every single year, and the government wants YOU to keep track of them all. And how do they plan to enforce this? This bill is modeled after a new program in Washington DC. There, they have a “secret shopper” program that checks to see if stores are complying. But that’s one city; this is a whole state with thousands of retailers. Are they going to fund an army of government employees whose whole job is to buy things at retailers and check to see if the bag is taxed? How much is it going to cost to cover a state with thousands of eligible businesses? If the whole point of the tax is to raise money for the environment, then how much is going to be left after those expenses? Are you expected to tax yourself if you grab a bag and use it for the garbage can, or if a clerk rips one accidentally and has to throw it away? I could go on and on about the problems with this bill but my blood pressure is going up and the last thing I need is another health problem just as I’m finally getting over the last one! This whole thing almost makes me laugh, in a very depressing way. It was less than a month ago the Legislature said they were going to start focusing on bills to strengthen the economy and promote jobs, and then they move forward with a minimum wage increase and a new tax that complicates the business practices of nearly every retailer in the state! The bill passed its Committee and will likely now head to the Senate Budget Committee. In order for it to become law it would need to pass that Committee, then the full Senate, pass the Assembly Environment Committee, and the Assembly Budget Committee, then pass the full Assembly, and finally be signed by the Governor. I highly doubt the Governor would sign as onerous a tax as this one, and I also doubt it will even make it that far. Rest assured that NJGCA and the rest of the business community is united and will aggressively fight this proposal every step of the way. I would ask that you help us out by providing us with some basic information about the role of plastic bags in your business. Please email eric@njgca.org with the answer these questions: 1.) Approximately how many plastic bags do you go through in a month, and how many do you go through in a year? 2.) Do you have any sort of recycling bins at your store or do you do anything else that promotes your customers to recycle plastic bags? I do want to briefly talk about the importance of voluntarily reducing the usage of plastic bags. You should know that I’m a huge recycling nut. I hate any form of waste and get into fights with my family over not properly recycling enough. It all goes back what I’ve been telling you for years now: Someday there will be a last drop of oil. Don’t forget that plastic is made from petroleum and when that all runs out it’s not just the cars that will be in trouble, it will be everything that uses plastic. Let’s use what we have efficiently and not waste it. Convenience stores should take a page out of the books of the grocery stores by placing recycling bins outside the store exactly for these bags and other plastics. It does help improve your image and can occasionally lead people to walk in the store (environmentalists gotta eat too right?). The best move though might just be to have your clerks ask customers if they even want bags, or to have them fit an extra item into each bag they use. Earlier in the year we had a special section at the end of the Road Warrior called the Manure Pile, where I spotlighted some of the stupider bills proposed by various members of the Legislature. Well I’ve been inspired to bring it back this week thanks to a new bill: S-2391. Apparently during Superstorm Sandy there was a station in North Jersey who, in order to try and reduce the gas line outside his station and ration his limited supply, would only to sell to motorists who lived in his town. Well now one of our illustrious state Senators wants to outlaw that practice. Never mind that what this guy did probably helped everyone by saving a lot of motorists from sitting in a two hour line only for the pumps to run out, and never mind that this is a free country with a lot of other problems. It’s not like any station is practicing this policy under normal business circumstances, if they did they would go out of business pretty quick! What is it with legislators who think that every little thing that happens in the real world requires some sort of government regulation to control it? Finally I’d like to say to all of you and your families have a very Merry Christmas. It’s the perfect time of the year to really remind yourself what’s truly important, and the reason that you slave away for all those hours and put up with all the poop you have to deal with in order to run a business. With all the tragedies and natural disasters that have been dominating our news coverage for what seems like forever, Christmas is the time to think about the happy stuff in our lives. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Thanks for reading – See you next week!
Regards,
BUSINESSES FOR SALE!
CLASSIFIEDS: FOR SALE & HELP WANTED! 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!
NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
12/18/2012:
NJ Assembly Approves Minimum Wage Hike Measure New Jersey voters may have the final say on whether the state’s minimum hourly wage should be raised from $7.25 an hour to $8.25, now that the General Assembly has approved a measure sponsored by Speaker Sheila Oliver and Assembly members Tim Eustace and Grace Spencer to put the question directly before registered voters at the next general election. The bill was approved 46-29-1. If it is also approved again next year by the Assembly by a majority vote, it can go on the November 2013 ballot for voter consideration. 12/18/2012: Christie begins re-election campaign with endorsement from major labor union In the first public event of his re-election campaign and a coup for any Republican, Gov. Chris Christie Monday accepted the support of one of the state’s largest labor unions. “This campaign is just started, but I doubt I’ll have better days than the day I was endorsed by the Laborers’ International Union of North America,” Christie told a sea of construction workers in orange shirts and waving “Jersey Jobs!” signs. Ray Pocino, vice president of LIUNA, delivered the governor the union’s support and with it the manpower and resources of its 20,000 members in New Jersey. 12/17/2012: Paper or plastic? Grocery bags may cost 5 cents under proposed law Shoppers would be charged a 5-cent fee on all paper and plastic grocery bags as part of a measure lawmakers and environmentalists say will cut down on pollution. The fee, which is aimed at discouraging the use of disposable bags and reducing litter, would apply to any disposable carryout bag, regardless of its material. It would kick in on Jan. 1, 2014, if the bill becomes law. A year later, businesses would be prohibited from using non-recyclable paper or plastic bags. 12/17/2012: Hydrogen fuel-cell cars look to overtake electric autos As electric cars try to forge more than just a niche in the market, the auto industry is already looking to another form of clean technology that could overtake today's battery-powered vehicles. Commitments by automobile manufactures to develop hydrogen fuel-cell cars have surged in recent months. Toyota, Hyundai, Daimler and Honda announced plans to build vehicles that run on the most abundant element in the universe and emit only water vapor as a byproduct. "A lot of auto makers believe the fuel-cell vehicle is just a better performing vehicle and just makes more sense," said Kevin See, a senior analyst of electric vehicles at Lux Research in Boston.
TRAINING CLASSES!!
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
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 |
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