NJGCA/UTICA INSURANCE COMPANY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION AVAILABLE
LABOR MESS CONTINUES
INDOOR MASK MANDATES RELAX - BUT DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR MASK JUST YET
SCRAP TIRES DATA - PLEASE CONTINUE TO SEND US INFORMATION
NJGCA CENSUS DATA COLLECTION: WE NEED YOUR PARTICIPATION
SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT
A few weeks ago we mentioned that we would be starting up a scholarship opportunity for students. We are able to bring the scholarship to your attention thanks to the generosity of the Utica Insurance Company that insures many of our members through the Amato Agency for business liability, as well as the NJGCA Board of Directors that approved a matching amount. Applicants can be a child of a member, an employee of a member, or a child of an employee of the member, and each member may submit one application per membership. You as the business owner and member get to choose the applicant to be submitted. However, to be clear, each membership is only permitted to submit ONE application. There is a total of $10,000 in scholarship money to be distributed. The $5,000 contribution from Utica must be used for a student who is attending an automotive technical trade school. The NJGCA contribution of $5,000 can be used for a student attending any college, university, or trade school other than automotive. If you have questions, email sal@njgca.org.
Applications should be printed and mailed back to NJGCA. Applications must include the requested transcripts. Applications must be postmarked before the application deadline of July 13, 2021, and must be received at NJGCA Headquarters by July 19th, 2021. Click HERE to view the application.
LABOR MESS CONTINUES
We continue to see the labor market struggle to hire employees given the current enormous unemployment benefits. There are many employees that are demanding to be paid in cash in order to keep benefitting from this. Thank you to the members who notified us of employees that are working under the table and still collecting unemployment. It will be helpful if you could continue to send me this information. I want to remind you: your identification is never revealed, and that I need accurate and truthful information, not hearsay.
INDOOR MASK MANDATE
Late last week, the CDC published guidance stating that fully vaccinated people could opt to not wear their masks indoors where applicable. This means that, where there is no mandate for people to wear masks inside, if the individual is fully vaccinated they can feel free to not wear one. Following the announcement, Governor Murphy decided to hold firm to the current indoor mask mandates for everyone, vaccinated or not everyone is required to wear a mask inside. This is because, as Murphy points out, a majority New Jersey citizens are not vaccinated, and it would not be appropriate for business owners to have to check a person's vaccination status at the door. We support the governor's view that businesses should not be responsible for being "vaccine police" and checking vaccination status.
SCRAP TIRES
Thanks to those of you who responded to my request for information regarding how you are disposing of your scrap tires. Many members indicate the vendor that is supplying their tires takes back a tire for each tire that they purchase. Here are some of the responses we got and the vendors our members are using. If any of you have not shared yet or do not see the current business they are using in the list below, please contact Michelle at michelle@njgca.org:
"Our supplier Charges us $2.00 for every tire that we purchase from them. If the customer brings his own tires they must take their tires with them."
"We currently have Tyrex, and pay 2.35 per tire up from 1.50. We used to use Tire Management till they sold out to the big guys. We currently have no problem with pickups except it is on their time schedule."
"Made a deal with tire supplier to take all my tires. But I only buy tires from him. The cost is 0 no money exchanged for business."
"Casings of NJ, Inc. located in Hillside. $2.50 per tire. I'm also having trouble finding any competition so this could be an area that needs exploring. Thanks"
"Our tire supply folks take one for one when purchasing. On occasion we have extra casings and he charges us 2.00."
"East Coast Recycling Inc., Owner : Ray, Phone # 201-906-0711, Ray has been servicing my locations for over 10 years., currently $1.75 per tire."
"We purchase tires from Weldon Tire.They take all our used tires for free."
"We were having our tires picked up from a company in Pa. but when I called this morning their number is no longer in service. Our backup option is our current tire supplier but it is definitely expensive to dispose of tires."
"I use a company called Tire Management LLC out of Saddle Brook. Their phone number is 800-244-7704.They charge $2.50 per scrap tire. A tire wholesaler Momentum Tire Express out of Bloomfield, 973-840-1722. They will take a scrap back for every one purchased."
NJGCA CENSUS
Because our organization has been around for over 80 years, it is more than time for us to go through our database of members and update our information on file. In the very near future, we will be contacting you in order to update our data. We want to especially be sure we are capturing geographical information in order to contact every legislator that may represent you at both home and business. We also need to be sure we have correct email addresses in order to send you fast and timely information to keep you updated. We want to have every available means to contact members in the event of another emergency such as Superstorm Sandy. Expect a call from NJGCA staff requesting information about your business. We have not updated this information in many years, and having this accurate info will be helpful to us when we communicate with you and legislators. Please be cooperative when you are called.
All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753
ASE-Prep Training (for NJ ASE-track ERT/ETEP Re-Certification)
NJGCA will offer an ASE-prep class for Emission Repair Technicians (ERTs) seeing to continue their existing accreditation. Students will meet twice a week for the entire five-week period (ten sessions), and review the required material for the A6, A8, and L1 exams. While we anticipate most students would appreciate preparing for all three tests together, we can also accommodate technicians who only need to prepare for a specific section.
All classes will meet in Wall Township, from approximately 9:00am to 3:00pm, on the following dates:
May Dates:
Class 1 - Tuesday, 5/4
Class 2 - Thursday, 5/6
Class 3 - Tuesday, 5/11
Class 4 - Thursday, 5/13
Class 5 - Wednesday, 5/19
Class 6 - Thursday, 5/20
Class 7 - Tuesday, 5/25
Class 8 - Thursday, 5/27
June Dates
Class 9 - Wednesday, 6/2
Class 10 - Thursday, 6/3
Prices:
NJGCA Members: $1,995.00 (plus the price of books)
As major retailers drop facemask mandates in their stores, some frontline employees are concerned that the new policy will increase safety and health risks in their workplaces, reports Bloomberg. . .The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) said it is reviewing the recent CDC guidance and will update its materials on the agency's website accordingly. Until those updates are complete, it directs employees and employers to refer to the CDC guidance for information on measures appropriate to protect fully vaccinated workers.
A labor union representing grocery store workers is applauding Gov. Phil Murphy's decision continue requiring vaccinated New Jerseyans to wear masks despite new Center for Disease Control guidelines that say it's no longer necessary."New Jersey frontline grocery workers have put their lives on the line daily to make sure families have the food they need during this pandemic," said Marc Perrone, the international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. "While vaccinations are helping us slow the spread of COVID, the pandemic is far from over and we cannot let our guard down." Murphy said on Friday that it could be weeks before he relaxes the restriction and Perrone wants other states to do the same as New Jersey.
7-Eleven announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Speedway from Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC), which includes approximately 3,800 stores located in 36 states across the U.S. "We are very excited to welcome Speedway into the 7-Eleven family," said Joe DePinto, president and CEO of 7-Eleven. "Speedway is a great brand and a strong strategic fit for our business that significantly diversifies our presence throughout the North American market, particularly in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Together, we have the opportunity to redefine and enhance the customer convenience experience nationwide. This is a groundbreaking moment in our company's proud history."
What will the gas stations of the future look like? It might entail a migration back to the service stations of the past with a futuristic twist, according to Brian Cooley in CNET.com's Road Show. NACS estimates that 120,000 convenience stores also sell fuel, constituting the vast majority of gas stations. In contrast, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) calculated that by 2035, between 25% and 80% of gas stations could be unprofitable if they only rely on gasoline to drive sales. BCG predicts that by 2030, sales of electric vehicles will exceed combustion engine cars, citing California and Washington state's plan to halt sales of new ICE vehicles by 2035 and 2030, respectively. Coupled with General Motors' and Volvo's plans to transform to pure electric brands by 2035 and 2030, respectively, EVs are beginning to be a threat to gas stations, Cooley wrote.
U.S. restaurants and stores are rapidly raising pay in an urgent effort to attract more applicants and keep up with a flood of customers as the pandemic eases. McDonald's, Sheetz and Chipotle are just some of the latest companies to follow Amazon, Walmart and Costco in boosting wages, in some cases to $15 an hour or higher. The pay gains are, of course, a boon to these employees. Restaurants, bars, hotels and stores remain the lowest-paying industries, and many of their workers ran the risk of contracting COVID-19 on the job over the past year while white-collar employees were able to work from home.
Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.
Parts For Sale: Incon TS-1000 tank monitor works well just taken out of service. Printer is aprox 2 months old. Also, Incon 8, tank probes. System replaced because on an Exxon upgrade. Call John Twin Towers Exxon (201) 224-8444
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