CAWA is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2022 automotive high school teachers' scholarship awards. Named the Motorcar Parts of America - Selwyn Joffe awards, CAWA provided two scholarships this year to high school teachers to support their automotive programs. "CAWA is proud to assist these automotive high school teachers, in part, to assure their programs remain viable and well-resourced for the benefit of their students and our industry", said Rodney Pierini, President and CEO, in announcing the awards. Recipients of the scholarships include:

The primary scholarship fundraising effort for this program is CAWA's annual dinner gala held traditionally the Sunday night before the AAPEX and SEMA shows. This year, the gala will be held on October 30, 2022 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV and is sponsored, once again, by the Motorcar Parts of America. For details, contact programs@cawa.org.

To contribute to the Association's scholarship fund (see www.cawa.org) or to donate prizes for the 2022 fundraising auction, contact Michael Beam of Idemitsu Lubricants at 480.818.8816 or mbeam@ilacorp.com or Rodney Pierini at 800-332-2292 or admin@cawa.org.

On July 27, 2022, the Director of California’s Department of Finance sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom and other state officials, noting that the Department had determined poor economic conditions necessitated expedited increases to the minimum wage. Due to changes in the consumer price index (CPI) from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, the state’s minimum wage law requires the state to bring forward by one calendar year – from 2024 to 2023 – the date when it must annually adjust the minimum wage rate. Rather than, as expected, a $15-per-hour minimum wage being applied to employers of all sizes in 2023, the minimum wage will instead increase to $15.50 per hour for all employers, on January 1, 2023. The minimum wage law requires the rate adjustment to be the lower of 3.5% or the rate of inflation – 7.9% during the relevant period – and 3.5% of $15 is 50 cents. Learn More. Source: Littler

Walmart and Target inventory management failed to keep up with swift changes in consumer spending and the impact of inflation and COVID. The big box retailers had to resort to big markdowns to move products. Small business experts say there is an advantage to being smaller and closer to your suppliers and customers, whether B2B or B2C, and Main Street should take advantage.

See the discussion here: The Walmart, Target Inventory Misses Include a Message for Main Street. Source: CNBC

Tell your company’s HR Department (or the person in charge of hiring your associates) that CAWA has an industry specific job board. We created the job board and participate in conjunction with the Auto Care Association, MEMA, SEMA and ASA to name a few national associations. So, your job opening would be viewed by a great number of candidates given the exposure, though not only CAWA distribution, but the other industry association’s communications vehicles, as well. Another member benefit.

See https://www.cawa.org/Jobs for details.

"One might ask “why would a small company in the Northeast be an active member of CAWA?” Fair question. The short answer is in the tag line “CAWA, Representing the Automotive Parts Industry”. It TRULY is what they do. Now for the longer answer. It is widely known that fashion trends start on the west coast and then make their way eastward. Unfortunately, it is often missed that legislative trends, both good and bad start in the west and can gravitate eastward, and make it up to the Federal level. CAWA is the industry’s first line of defense when it comes to legislation coming out of the west coast. They have a very active legislative team that monitors all action in the legislature of the western states and works to promote the good and mitigate or derail those that can have negative impact for our industry. That in itself is a very compelling reason to join and be active in CAWA, but there is more. CAWA members encompass all levels of the automotive aftermarket; WD’s, Retailers, Program Distribution Groups, Importer Distributors, Rep Agencies, Manufacturers, Automotive Educators, E-tailers… This is NOT a stagnant organization. As the dynamics of our industry evolve, so does CAWA. The commonality is that we earn our living in the Automotive Parts Industry, and we want to continue to survive and thrive into the future. And theme of survive and thrive, CAWA works to support and bring young talent into our industry, providing annual scholarships to those pursuing education in our industry as well as educators in the field. Recognizing the importance of youth in our industry, CAWA events are always open and actively attended by members YANG, (Young Auto Care Network Group). Sorry… not done yet. Education… bi-annual education forums with presentations from experts in various facets of the industry to share trends, and help navigate the headwinds we often face. The MAC, (Manufactures Advisory Council). It doesn’t matter if you are a small company or part of a billion dollar entity, some aspect of the challenges we face are the same. When the MAC gets together it is an open sharing forum. We are in this together. There are always great takeaways. Yes, there’s more, but now it’s up to you. Take a few minutes to navigate www.cawa.org to dive deeper into how a CAWA membership can help you and your company."

 ~Michael Antonelli, IQ Integrated Quality, Inc.

California employment laws are constantly on the move. To keep you up to date on the 2022 employment law developments, the Chamber’s new white paper covers where they stand regarding COVID-19 laws and regulations, the latest court cases impacting employment laws, and several arbitration-related developments. See their white paper here. Source: Our Friends at the California Chamber of Commerce

Customers across the U.S. will begin to see custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian delivering their Amazon packages, with the electric vehicles hitting the road in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis, among other cities. Amazon says this rollout is just the beginning of what is expected to be thousands of Amazon’s custom electric delivery vehicles in more than 100 cities by the end of this year—and 100,000 vehicles across the U.S. by 2030. See complete article here. Source: The Buzz

There are many things a business must pay attention to, but the one thing you must avoid is losing sales. Without sales, your business has no reason to exist. Focusing on sales must be a continuous, ongoing effort by all members of your organization. Because people are drawn to new things, if you want to attract more paying customers, try something new and make sure people know about it. Whether an ad on the radio, a vinyl sign on the outside of your building, or a post on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, make sure people know about it no matter how small a thing it may be. And that’s the Theme of my list – DO SOMETHING NEW AND SHOUT ABOUT IT! Here is my own ‘Top Ten List’ of new things a business can do to increase top line revenues (click here). Source: Larry Mandelberg

Advanced Driver Assistance System refers to a wide array of active and passive technologies designed to aid the driver in comfort, safety, and efficiency. The safety of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians has been enhanced thanks to these measures. Sensors, cameras, radars and software play a role in the vehicle’s precise operation. ADAS features include autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot recognition, adaptive cruise control, park assist, and lane departure warning. The automotive industry has significantly benefited from artificial intelligence (AI). The growth of the vehicle sector and new technologies are driving the ADAS market, according to Straits Research. Urbanization, industrialization, improved living standards, and adoption of autonomous vehicles are projected to boost the ADAS market over the research period. Driver carelessness and mistakes cause most accidents. Road traffic accidents kill 1.3 million people annually. ADAS reduces traffic congestion and road accidents and increases car and pedestrian safety. See the complete article here. Source: aftermaketNews

I've seen many companies waste a lot of time sending countless proposals to new prospects with a closing ratio of only 10-20%. So what should you do instead? Watch this week’s video training to discover how to properly qualify your prospects, so you can write fewer proposals and still grow your business. Source: Ron Karr

Good employees are hard to find and even harder to keep. Providing quality health insurance is good for employee retention, morale and it’s the right thing to do. Now you can do that at an even better cost. CAWA’s Association Health Plans are less expensive, offer richer health benefits than a traditional Small Group health plan and are available to any qualifying automotive-related business. If you think your insurance premium costs are high or that you don’t have access to the right doctors, it’s time to explore other options. See more here and call 877.737.0184 for details. Another member benefit.

See the enclosed informational piece (here) from our California based partner, Armstrong & Associates. Contact Glen Dailey at 800.632.2777 or gdailey@Armstrongprofessional.com.