August 28, 2017


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Who Founded Labor Day?       

"More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic."

Source: U.S. Department of Labor 
 
   
Register now for Retail Rally, October 4! Learn more at www.retailrally.com.  


Wondering What Makes Local, State And Federal Government Work & How You Can Comfortably Engage? 

Whether your experience with government is limited to voting for elected officials or you lobby your representatives on a weekly basis, The Government Affair series will walk you through a comprehensive, non-partisan, grassroots experience at the local, state and federal level.

This program will challenge participants to stretch their knowledge on all levels of government while learning from and networking with other business people and influential leaders.

This four-part series meets from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month from September to December at a location relevant to the topic. 
 
Investment: $199 for all four series programs and graduation.

Series sponsorships available. Contact Bruce Nustad, bruce@mnretail.org, for details.
 

Retail Rally  
Recognizing Minnesota's Retail Champions: Nominations Now Open!         

MnRA is accepting nominations now for it's Minnesota's Retail Champions awards set to be given out at the October 4 Retail Rally event.

Nominations are being sought for: 
  • Lifetime Achievement
  • Elected Official of the Year
  • Vendor Partner of the Year
  • Retailer of the Year
  • Retail Community of the Year
  • Retail Employee of the Year
  • Social Responsibility
  • Best Place to Work
  • Retail Innovation
  • Customer Experience
  • Advocate of the Year Award

To nominate a Minnesota retailer or partners, please submit the online form at http://retailrally.com/awards. 

 

All nominations must be submitted by Friday, September 8.  

 

Marketing  
Where Should Retailers Invest Their Shopping Ad Budgets This Holiday Season?

From the Retail Dive, August 23, 2017

"The shopping ads landscape has evolved significantly so far in 2017 and, as retailers gear up for the crucial holiday shopping season, some are likely to consider shifting budgets away from Google to reach consumers on several social media sites aggressively pursuing a land grab.  

Google holds the number one spot for shopping ads because online search is often the first place consumers go when they start a shopping journey. However, Facebook, Pinterest and other social platforms have all recently ramped up their offerings and could play a bigger role for retailers looking to capitalize on the time consumers spend on social media.  

Several trends support the idea that social shopping ads could be on the upswing, including that paid social was the fastest-growing sector of online display spend in 2016, according to "The State of Retailing Online 2016: Marketing and Merchandising" report by Shop.org and Forrester. At the same time, in-store traffic is declining while digital commerce spending continues to hit record numbers, with Q2 2017 as the first non-holiday season to exceed $100 billion, according to figures from comScore.

"Brands have been waiting for quite some time for social channels to incorporate e-commerce opportunities well," Stephen Boidock, director of marketing and business development, Drumroll, told Marketing Dive. "Though met with initial resistance, social users are finally coming around to connecting their pay accounts to social channels."
 

Legislative Update 
What We Learned From The Supreme Court Hearing On The Legislature's Case Against Dayton

From Minnpost.com, Briana Bierschbach, August 29, 2017

"Location, location, location. Despite having perfectly good and oft-used chambers down the street, the Minnesota Supreme Court opted to hold Monday's hearing of oral arguments in the case pitting Gov. Mark Dayton against the Legislature in its historic chambers in the Minnesota Capitol. The freshly restored digs are just down the hall from the House and Senate chambers, and one floor above the governor's office.

It was an appropriate venue for the issue at hand: how to continue the state's history of balancing those three co-equal and distinct branches government - the governor, the Legislature and the courts - in the wake of a move by Dayton to defund the House and Senate.

In May, after a messy session and special session concluded, Dayton surprised everyone when he signed a series of budget bills and a $650 million tax cut bill - but then used his line-item veto power to eliminate the entire budget for the Legislature's operations. He said he did it to compel lawmakers back to the negotiation table to discuss some specific budget and tax cut provisions he didn't like. Legislators responded by declaring the move unconstitutional and suing Dayton. A district court agreed with their assessment, ruling the governor's veto "null and void." 
 

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Minnesota Retailers Associaiton
400 Robert Street North, suite 1540
St. Paul, MN 55101
Tel. (651) 227-6631 - mnretail.org - mnra@mnretail.org