Here are the presentations scheduled for the upcoming session in Napa in February (see registration materials here). They are:

• The Newest Thinking in Telematics and What it Means for Your Customers and the Industry
• Future Vehicle Powertrain Technologies: Making Heads or Tails of All the Predictions, Hype and Promises, as well as, Their Impact on the Aftermarket
• CARB's Regulation to Stop the Sales of ICE Vehicles in California by 2035: Its Reasoning, Implementation Issues and Impacts on the Aftermarket

CAWA is holding its winter Leadership & Educational Forum in the beautiful Napa Valley on February 22-24, 2023. The event will take place at the Silverado Resort & Spa (www.silveradoresort.com) in the heart of the wine country. See you there...

New research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) provides an assessment of the infra-structure needs for electrification of the U.S. vehicle fleet, with an emphasis on the trucking industry. See more here.

Many California cities will ring in 2023 by increasing their local minimum wage rates. Employers should confirm what cities their employees work in to determine if any minimum wage ordinances apply. See details here. Source: Our Friends at the California Chamber of Commerce

"CAWA is on the forefront of industry matters in the aftermarket. The Association provides valuable information as to what is happening and what potentially can happen as well. It allows manufacturers and distributors opportunities to understand current events to help shape and plan our business strategies to be set up for success. CAWA involvement is a must!"

~Ken Dowler, LIQUI MOLY USA

See what your colleagues and associates are saying about CAWA and its importance to the auto care industry (click here). Like all trade associations, CAWA’s life blood is in its membership. Thanks for your membership in CAWA. It is appreciated. Tell your colleagues to consider joining the Association and becoming a member of the CAWA family. For more information see www.cawa.org.

For federal income tax purposes, CAWA dues may be deductible as a business expense but not as a charitable contribution. CAWA estimates that 44% of your dues for 2022 are not deductible as a business expense because they are attributable to lobbying as is in accordance with Internal Revenue Code Section 6033. Contributions to the Political Action Fund are not deductible as a charitable contribution or as a business expense for federal income tax purposes. For more information, consult with your accountant or tax attorney.

BBB Industries is sponsoring the Association’s newsletter for 2023 and the Parts Authority is sponsoring next year’s CAWA website. Thanks to these companies for their continued support.

Effective January 1, 2023, California SB 1162 will impose sweeping new requirements on companies with employees in the Golden State. SB 1162 builds on current pay reporting requirements for large employers by imposing first-of-their-kind mean and median pay reporting mandates. By May 10, 2023, employers with 100 or more employees, and at least one employee who works out of California, must file an annual California pay data report. The reporting parameters have been amended to include additional categories of data, broken down by race, ethnicity and gender. The law also requires covered employers to include pay scale information in job postings, provide pay scales to current employees upon request, and retain documentation relating to all employees’ pay scales for each job held during employment. Learn More. Source: Littler

Automotive businesses can enhance their health plan benefits for their valued employees with the CAWA Arizona Health Trust (CAWA) Association Health Plan through Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Arizona (BCBSAZ). For more details, click here. You could be saving your company many insurance premium dollars and enhancing your health insurance benefits! Another member benefit.

This scholarship program supports educational opportunities for you, your family, employees and those interested in a career in the auto care industry. Applying is easy! The online application process allows students interested in auto care industry careers to submit one application each year online at automotivescholarships.com and receive consideration for several scholarships. Preference will be given to those seeking a college level, vocational or technical program pursuing a degree, accreditation or certificate in the auto care industry. A candidate’s permanent residence must be located in the states of California, Nevada or Arizona. Scholarships will be awarded in June, 2023. The applicant with the highest ranking each year will receive the Mort Schwartz Scholarship Award. DEADLINE: March 31, 2023. APPLY HERE!

The oftentimes forgotten individuals in educating and training students in preparation for automotive careers is the high school automotive teacher. Whether it’s their use of personal funds to keep their programs going or their need for certification to keep their instructor and program status, CAWA wants to assist them in achieving success. The Association has established a scholarship program to help these teachers in several ways, including financially. CAWA represents manufacturers, distributors and retailers that could supply these high school automotive teachers with products, tools and other resources for classroom use to assist them in providing relevant, up to date and quality education and training for their students. Access to industry training being conducted by CAWA members could be made available to the automotive high school teachers for their own knowledge and development. Teachers that are interested in applying for a scholarship should complete an application for consideration, found here (PDF) or contact programs@cawa.org. Application deadline is May 31, 2023.