Here are the presentations and presenters at the upcoming Leadership & Educational Forum in Napa, California. 

Over 150 of your industry colleagues have already registered for the event.

"Honoring Aaron Lowe of the Auto Care Association" for His Service to CAWA and the Automotive Aftermarket Industry – Presenter: Rodney Pierini, CAWA President & CEO

"CARB's Regulation to Stop the Sales of ICE Vehicles in California by 2035: The Transition to Electric Vehicles - A Utilities Perspective" - Presenters: Sacramento Municipal Utility District Representatives - John Grindrod, Advanced Energy Solutions and Eric Cahill, Senior Strategic Business Planner

"The Future of Diagnostics is Here and Now: Predicting Vehicle Repairs and Replacement Parts with Real Time Telematics" - Presenters: Parker Swift, CEO & Founder at Mechanic Advisor and Kyle MacDonald, VP of Marketing & BD at Mojio

"Future Vehicle Powertrain Technologies: Making Heads or Tails of All the Predictions, Hype and Promises, as well as, Their Impact on the Aftermarket" - Presenter: Brian Daugherty, Former Chief Technology Officer at the Motor Equipment Manufacturers’ Association and Now a Private Industry Consultant

Register here so you won’t miss all the event has to offer you and your company.

"As the industry has consolidated, and our sales agency, Glazier Sales has expanded to the west…. we identified early on that CAWA was an organization our agency needed to become involved in and support. CAWA provides not only a service to its members and our industry…. it serves as a place to grow, network, and gather with industry colleagues to give back together as a team. Sharing “best practices” with so many key industry colleagues is invaluable to our business. CAWA is a terrific conduit for this and so much more”.

~ Michael Glazier, Glazier Sales Associates

California will have three new state holidays in 2023: Juneteenth, the Lunar New Year, and Genocide Remembrance Day. Are we required to give employees days off and pay them for these holidays? Several new state holidays were created by the California Legislature in 2022 and approved by Governor Gavin Newsom. For example, the State Assembly and Senate passed a resolution declaring April 24 a “statewide holiday” known as Genocide Awareness Day. But the designation of these new holidays in California is largely symbolic. They are not paid days off for state employees. Regarding California state holidays, there are two significant things to know – see here. Source: Our Friends at the California Chamber of Commerce

The news of John Deere signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) allowing farmers to repair their own equipment continues the momentum of the Right to Repair movement globally. While this MOU signals positive change, the automotive and heavy-duty commercial industries are still awaiting a solution to repair challenges presented by today’s more technologically advanced vehicles. See more here. Source: Auto Care Association

Are meal break requirements determined by the total length of an employee’s shift, or by the number of hours the employee actually works? Meal break requirements in California are determined by the number of hours an employee actually works each day. The length of the employee’s assigned shift may be longer than the number of hours actually worked in a few situations. See details here. Source: Our Friends at the California Chamber of Commerce

Increasing engine emissions regulations, aggressive sustainability targets and the path toward zero emissions that is being blazed by California all contribute to what Ann Wilson, senior vice president, government affairs, MEMA, dubbed the “Year of Fuel Efficiency” from a regulations and legislations standpoint, during her Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue presentation. “Fuel efficiency [regulation] is going to come at us like a hot knife through butter,” she said. “They have to finalize those regulations before mid-point next year or else a new congress or president can overturn it.” 

Wilson delved into what’s driving increased emissions regulations at the D.C. level, and what she thinks this Congress and president can actually get done. So, here’s Wilson’s take on… “The California Air Resources Board has proposed new regulations for heavy vehicles; they want to see zero emissions by 2040 from fleets operating in the state,” she said. “If you go back to what the president said, he wants California and the EPA to work together. Now, we’re all in favor of that because we don’t want one set of regulations for 49 states and one set of regulations for California. “Now look at how the California rules are spreading. “One thing I would point out,” she continued, “is that there seem to be two different camps: Those states that are following what California is doing on light vehicles and those who are willing to follow it for commercial vehicles. According to Wilson, she sees these regulations transforming the commercial vehicle industry “worldwide.” “Not just in the United States; not just in California; not just in Virginia–worldwide. 

Some of you are going to be able to make it; some of you may not be able to make it. Source: Fleet Equipment

In 2022 CAWA’s Public Affairs Committee announced a goal of increasing the size of our Political Action Committee – also known as our PAC. While we believe we have been successful surgically applying the somewhat modest historical funding levels of the PAC, your leadership believes that in light of the ongoing rapid rate of technological change and the current and evolving political climates in each of the states that our association represents, we ought to grow our PAC to match the scale and scope of our challenges. Here are some examples of PAC activity of CAWA. Source: Dan Hanson, Jr., Hanson Distributing Company

An employee handbook is one of the most important tools for communicating your company policies to employees — and for protecting yourself against legal challenges. An effective employee handbook not only communicates your company’s policies and “rules,” but it also can help you efficiently communicate your company’s values and culture. While the law does not require employers to have an employee handbook, employers are required to create and maintain by law certain policies, including a harassment, discrimination and retaliation prevention policy and a lactation accommodation policy, for example. If you’re in the process of updating your handbook to account for new laws for 2023 — or if your company has yet to develop a handbook — read on for five essentials for your employee handbook (here). Source: Our Friends at the California Chamber of Commerce

You can’t deny that this administration is making huge strides when it comes to the advancement of electrification adoption in the U.S. Everything from electric cars to electric buses to electric trucks are getting an adoption boost courtesy of government incentives out the yin-yang. The author of this article wants to look at a few of the ways the feds have put their money where their mouth is in recent months to move the EV needle. See his thoughts here. Source: The Buzz EV News

Benefits plan administration is more complex than ever, and compliance is a growing concern, especially with ACA related changes. CoreMark’s team of highly qualified Employee Benefits Consultants offer CAWA members their valuable support tools and resources proactively helping businesses be in compliance. CoreMark advises CAWA members on how to make the best possible benefits investment decisions for their business as well as attracting and retaining the best talent to grow their business.

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• Life & Disability

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Mat Nabity, CAWA Program Manager | CoreMark Insurance Services

Toll Free (866) 340-2247; Direct (916) 286-0918; Fax (916) 923-2797

Email: mnabity@coremarkins.com; license # 0172684

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.