At its annual dinner gala during this year’s Industry Week, Young Suhr, Jr. of APW Knox-Seeman Warehouse was installed as CAWA’s 2023 Chair of the Board of Directors. Other officers installed were: Vice-Chair, Tom Ogaz, of the Parts Authority; Treasurer, Wayne Schaack of the Pronto Group; Secretary, Dan Hanson Jr. of Hanson Distributing Company and Immediate Past Chair of the Board, Michael Rukov of IMR, Inc. The officers will assume their positions effective January 1, 2023.

The Association also sends a special thanks to its exclusive dinner sponsor, Motorcar Parts of America and its President & CEO, Selwyn Joffe.

The next formal meeting of the Association is its Leadership Meeting that will be held on February 22-24, 2023, in Napa, California. The event will take place at the Silverado Resort & Spa (www.silveradoresort.com). Beyond several expert presentations of contemporary industry issues, all CAWA Committees and the Board of Directors will meet to discuss Association and industry issues. All are welcomed! Watch for the registration materials. For immediate details contact programs@cawa.org.

“This scholarship is why I can become a teacher not only of music but of basic mechanics as well. Thank you very much ”. 

On November 10, 2022, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWED) announced an extension of their “status quo” period from November 19 to December 4. This pushes off the risk of a national rail strike to December 5 at the earliest.

BMWED is one of two unions that voted not to ratify the tentative agreements that it and eleven other unions reached with the six largest freight railroads on September 15. Both the freight railroads’ bargaining arm, the National Railway Labor Conference and Association of American Railroads issued statements on the extension. The freight railroads will continue to engage with the unions to seek an agreement based on the framework recommended by Presidential Emergency Board 250.

In light of today’s announcement, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will hold off on sending the coalition letter (which CAWA is a member) to Congress until we get closer to the end of the new “status quo” period, assuming the issue is not resolved before then. We will update the letter and keep you in the loop before we move forward. 

While the news is a welcome development, we still see a high likelihood that congressional intervention will be necessary to resolve the ongoing impasse. For more information reach out to our Friends at the US Chamber... specifically John Drake Vice President, Transportation, Infrastructure, Supply Chains - jdrake@uschamber.com.

“In California, Arizona, and Nevada, LKQ operates 76 facilities and employs over 2,000 people. We are proud to be represented by CAWA, particularly with complex and evolving state legislative and regulatory topics. CAWA provides the local expertise to effectively represent the aftermarket to policy makers while being highly responsive to its members. We encourage all aftermarket companies to join us at CAWA”.  

~Josh Meyer, LKQ Corporation

Nearly 50 years after Congress passed the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, warranties are in the antitrust news again. The “right to repair” movement is clamoring for legislation to give consumers the right and ability to unlock, fix and share diagnostic information from phones, cars and other products. And the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and private plaintiffs are filing right-to-repair lawsuits. What has happened? What does this mean for old warranty provisions? What can manufacturers still say about third-party parts and repairs? What might happen next? See here. Source: Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP

Share your support for Right to Repair throughout the month of December and what it means to you on social using the hashtag #righttorepair. We’ve created a media kit with downloadable and editable graphics for eye-catching communications.

Be an ambassador within your organization: forward this email to your supervisor. Ask your HR department to send this company-wide and use resources from our media kit to educate your company and encourage your employees to also take 30 minutes to send a pre-populated letter to their local legislator via our Action Center.

Additional resources, including full briefs on Right to Repair can be found on our website for both the state and national levels.

My father owned and operated a Mobil Oil gas station for about twenty years. Hence, the thought of a world without gas stations is about abstract as it gets, but that is where we are headed. The idea of electric drivetrains becoming the mainstream power plant in motor vehicles has progressed beyond the discussion point. Whether this shift is driven by the desire to reduce global warming, escape the ever-escalating costs of fossil fuels, or follow legislative mandates, the ball is in play. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are here to stay, will become the new normal, and we are well on our way to a world without gas stations. See discussion here. Source: Steven Sharp, Endeavor

There’s an idea I share during my speeches that massively increases the business of everyone who follows it. It is not for the faint of heart and it takes some work but, if you’re willing to do it, it will significantly grow your business. Many of you are going to groan, wince, swear, or do all three when you hear this. Few people will be willing to do it. Please don’t be fooled by its simplicity, after all, most problems have simple solutions, we as humans just like to complicate them so we have an excuse for a lack of success. In any case, without further ado, here is the idea: spend a minimum of three to four hours a day, Monday through Friday, prospecting for new clients. 

While that may sound like a lot of time, it’s actually fifteen to twenty hours a week, out of your total hours of 168. Spending nine to twelve percent of that time doing the most important task you do as a salesperson: prospect for new business, is not all that much time. Now I know some of you are thinking, wait, closing the business, not prospecting, is the most important task because without closing, nothing happens, and you’d be right, at the same time, in order to get the sales, you need plenty of prospects. You can’t close the sales, without first getting the prospects. So, whether you agree with me or not, just stick with me a little longer. Read more here. Source: John Chapin

The Technical and Economic Assistance Program (TEAP) is available to give your small business or non-profit the capital boost needed to catch up, get started and move forward.

Who Should Apply?

For those impacted by COVID-19 and located within unincorporated Clark County, the TEAP provided funding and up to 1-year of technical assistance to businesses, non-profits and some unemployed residents looking to be entrepreneurs.

Existing Business - defined as an active with with a) more than one (1) year of continuous operating history, b) a minimum of $25,000 and less than $3 million in annual revenue, c) less than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, and d) a current Clark County business license or charitable organization certificate.

Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis so be sure to act soon!

Visit BusinessinClarkCounty.com for full program details and pre-apply today to find out if you qualify. Questions? Contact rachel.flores@clarkcountynv.gov

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.

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.

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