MLA Logo
Vol. 15, No. 9, May 2, 2016 
MLA LINE
Lumber Industry News Express
Quick Links
Our Sponsors


Blish Mize



Westfall GMC

GSWP-Yellawood
MLA Logo
MLA Associate Members

All Season Bldg. Supply
Allied Building Stores, Inc.
American Wholesale Corp.
Blish-Mize Company
Bluelinx Corporation
BlueTarp Financial Inc.
Boise Cascade
Boral Light Building Products
BPI - Lbr & Engineered Wood
Builders Material Company
CCM Countertop & Cabinet  
Central Woodwork Inc.
Continental Divide Fence
Dealers Choice Distribution
Delden Mfg. Co., Inc.
Discovery-Based Retail
DMSi Software
Do It Best Corp
East Side Lumberyard Supply  
Epicor Software
Federated Insurance
Forest Products Supply Co.
Frontier Forest Products, Inc.
Georgia Pacific Wood Prod.
Great Southern Wood Pres.
Guardian Building Products
Hardman Wholesale Co.
Hawkeye Bldg Dist., Ltd
Hiab USA, Inc.
Hixson Lumber Sales
Huttig Building Products
Jack Morgan Construction
James Hardie Bldg Products
Klauer Manufacturing Co.
Lumberyard Supply
MAX USA Corp.
Metal Sales Mfg. Corp.
Mid-Am Building Supply, Inc.  
Modern Equip. Co., Inc. (MECO Omaha)
Monarch Cement Company
Pennsylvania & Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Ins. Co. 
PrimeSource Building Products
PWD, Inc.
Rollex Corp
Schutte Lumber Company
Simpson Strong-tie Co Inc
Tamko Building Products, Inc.
Tax Favored Benefits
Tennison Brothers, Inc.
The Empire Company LLC
Timber Products, Inc.
Treeline Forest Products LLC
USP Structural Connectors
Warrior Building Products
Western Builders Supply, Inc.
Westfall GMC Truck Center
Weyerhaeuser Co.
Wingate Sales Solutions, Inc.

Please patronize these companies that support your Association! 
MLA Logo
__________________

The Last Word


" You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do! "
 
-- Olin Miller     
Here's your bi-weekly lumber industry newsletter. We hope you find this quick, responsive format helpful and entertaining. Anytime you have news or views to share with fellow dealers, please don't hesitate to contact us by replying to this newsletter.
Sign Up Now for
Sunflower Shoot-out 

The popular Kansas Sunflower Shootout is just a few weeks away. This is the perfect opportunity for dealers, suppliers and guests to get together to enjoy the great weather and camaraderie of this annual event, this year scheduled for June 10 in Hesston, Kansas.
Click here for complete information and a registration form .
Call Robert Uhler for more information at 800-747-6529.
Have You Checked out the MLA Online Campus?
The MLA Online Campus provides you and your employees with high-impact, "real-world" training that develops your leaders, retains your best people and increases your customer loyalty. Each employee has a unique username to access the campus, which houses more than 700 courses on customer service, sales, leadership and more. Want to try a program for yourself? Click here to view one of our popular courses. If you like what you see, contact us for a one-week trial subscription to see the hundreds of available courses. Learn more .
Annual Commercial Truck Inspection Scheduled for June
 
mac-truck-blur.jpg The 29th annual International Roadcheck will take place, June 7-9. Organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), this year's initiative will focus on tire safety.
 
Inspectors will be measuring tire tread depth, checking tire pressure, checking to make sure no items are lodged between dual tires and examining the overall condition of the tires to ensure no deep cuts or bulges exist in the sidewalls. Checking tires is part of a normal inspection, but CVSA is highlighting tire safety as a reminder to drivers and carriers.
 
According to the CVSA, approximately 10,000 certified local, state, provincial and federal inspectors will perform truck and bus inspections throughout North America during the three-day period. "Nearly 17 trucks or business are i nspected, on average, every minute during Roadcheck," notes CVSA media.
 
Since its inception in 1988, roadside inspections conducted during International Roadcheck have numbered more than 1.4 million.  
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) sponsors International Roadcheck with participation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico).   
Source: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, April 20, 2016
Time to Consider the MLA MEP 

MLA has offered a "group" MLA 401(k) plan for members for over a year. It is saving participating dealers on their fees and offering a great benefit to reward their loyal employees. If you haven't taken a serious look at this program, now would be a good time. Find out why smart dealers are making the move to the MLA program. Call the MLA Hotline at 800-747-6529, or

Industry Update  

Dealers Tell Congress: We Have Seven Issues You Should Tackle... Scores of building material dealers visited Capitol Hill today to press a suite of concerns involving health care, small business, an expected rule on overtime, legal issues and sales over the internet. The visits in Washington were part of the annual spring meeting and legislative conference put on by the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA). Read more.
Source: ProSales Business Update, April 19, 2016

Five Takeaways from House Hearing on New Silica Exposure Rule...
In his opening statement, subcommittee chairman Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) questioned whether OSHA's new silica rule was simply a way for OSHA to compensate for not adequately enforcing existing silica dust exposure standards. "The department's first priority should have been enforcing existing standards," Walberg said. "If OSHA is unable-or unwilling-to enforce the current limit for silica exposure, why should we expect the results under these new standards to be any different?"
Read more.
Source: Remodeling Business Update - April 20, 2016

PPWO Sends Letters to House, Senate Supporting Important Legislation...
Today, 139 national organizations and 201 regional, state, and local organizations joined letters urging Members of Congress to support legislation that would require the Labor Department to conduct a detailed economic analysis before making dramatic changes to federal overtime pay requirements. The letters, which were spearheaded by the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity (PPWO), ask members of congress to cosponsor S. 2707/ H.R. 4773, the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act. Read more.
Source: ProtectingOpportunity.org, April 20, 2016
 
DMSi Software Releases Proof of Delivery Mobile App... DMSi Software announces its new proof of delivery app, Agility|Mobile P.O.D. It lets businesses answer the growing demand for better order tracking by making the delivery process more efficient and transparent. Agility|Mobile P.O.D. uses data integration to keep drivers, customers and sales teams on the same page. Inside reps can view delivery statuses in real-time. Drivers can see schedule changes the moment they happen. Read more.
Source: DMSi, April 26, 2016

Can You Remove a Disciplinary Write-Up from a Personnel File?
 
Question : An employee was written up for calling in sick but the employee had a doctor's note excusing them from work. What is the legal way to withdraw a write-up from an employee's file?

Response : Absent an employment contract, including a collective bargaining agreement, that addresses this issue, there is no federal or state law that governs here. Read more .
  
This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association's recommended insurer.