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Thanks To Our 2016 Scramble Sponsors
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The MWFPA News Bulletin is underwritten in part by Bug Blocker Doors & Screens
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Spring Summit, Scramble Successfully Completed
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Scramble winners (L to R) Ray Hawkins (Lakeside Foods), Mike Keller (JAX), Brian Raber (JAX) and (not pictured) Mike Curtis (PRF Marketing)
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On a perfect warm spring day under partly cloudy skies another successful golf scramble was completed at Trappers Turn Golf Club in Wisconsin Dells, WI. More than 200 golfers enjoyed a great day on the links and raised $2,000 for the MWFPA Scholarship Fund.
The winning team consisted of Ray Hawkins (Lakeside Foods), Mike Keller (JAX), Brian Raber (JAX), and Mike Curtis (PRF Marketing). They claimed first place team status with a round of -12 and gained possession of the coveted MWFPA Silver Golf Cup! The team will have their name etched upon the trophy.
Thanks to our participants, volunteers and the staff at Trappers Turn who made the Spring Summit & Scramble a success. A special "thank you" is owed our many sponsors who are listed along the left side of this newsletter.
Now planning begins in earnest for the upcoming convention. We hope to see you in at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells November 29 - December 1! And don't forget the Fall Sporting Clays Challenge set for October 6, 2016 at the Milford Hills Hunt Club in Johnson Creek, WI.
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YOUR BANNER HERE
By becoming an underwriter of the MWFPA News Bulletin, your banner will be viewed by a very targeted group of food processors, in addition to persons, firms and corporations that provide technology, logistics, ingredients and packaging to the food processing industry.
Contact [email protected], or call (608) 255-9946, ext. 11.
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IL Spring Session Ends Without A Budget, Some Employee Leave Bills Adopted, Others Defeated
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 The IL 2016 spring legislative session ended without a budget for either FY16 or the upcoming FY17, despite ongoing budget talks over the final week and long hours at the Capitol May 31.
Gov. Bruce Rauner and GOP leaders offered a six-month stopgap budget which was rejected by Democrats, and a House Democrat full-year budget plan that contained a $7 billion hole was soundly rejected by the Senate. Meanwhile, a Senate Democrat stand-alone bill to fund schools passed in the Senate, but failed in the House.
House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) told his members that the House would have session every Wednesday in June. No work yet on the Senate schedule.
Working groups continue to meet on a budget deal, and it is rumored those groups continue to discuss pro-growth measures such as workers' compensation and tort reform which is good news for processors and other IL businesses. MWFPA will continue to monitor negotiations and report back to you.
This spring session saw many bills introduced concerning employee leave benefits mandated on employers. While there were eight total mandated employee leave bills, only three successfully passed both chambers.
HB 4036 (Lilly/Hutchinson) requires employers with one or more employees to allow an employee who has a family member or household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence 4 weeks of unpaid leave. Allies in the business community were able to negotiate the time down from 12 to four weeks. The bill now heads to the governor and he is expected to sign the measure.
HB 6162 (Skoog/Collins) is an initiative of AARP that would require any employer providing paid sick leave to include that the leave may be used for absences due to an illness, injury, or medical appointment of the employee's child, spouse, sibling, parent, mother/father-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, or stepparent, for reasonable periods of time as the employee's attendance may be necessary, on the same terms upon which the employee is able to use sick leave benefits for the employee's own illness or injury.
Business groups were able to secure changes to the bill clarifying that an employer's paid time off policy already meeting the bill's requirements does not need to change its policy. The same groups saw to the removal of language that could have been interpreted to allow sick time to accumulate and accrue. The bill now heads to the governor and it is expected that he will sign the legislation.
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 MN Democrat Gov. Mark Dayton has signed the $300 million supplemental budget bill passed recently by the MN state legislature, but let Monday's midnight deadline pass without signing a $260 million package of tax cuts. His inaction killed the bill amid an impasse over how to handle a potential special session to finish the Legislature's work. Read more here.
Last week t
he governor left the door open on whether to call state lawmakers back into special session, spelling out certain conditions he insisted must be included or he would veto the $259 million tax reduction bill. Read more from MWFPA here and from the Star Tribune here.
The Senate tax proposal included a paid family leave program, but was not included in the final tax bill. The program would have charged employers and employees to support a fund that would provide a partial wage replacement for up to 12 weeks annually for parents with newborn children or caring for an ailing family member.
MWFPA has opposed the measure citing the financial burden it would place on struggling workers and businesses. Employers, many of which are already voluntarily offering paid leave to workers, have the ability to offer benefits to attract and retain employees and a "one-size fits all" approach as this proposal mandates would have been ineffective and costly.
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House Panels To Hear SNAP , Overtime Pay Bills - No Word Yet On GMO Food Labeling
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This week lawmakers return to Capitol Hill from the holiday recess. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be examined by a House panel and there is still no new update on whether or not Senate ag leaders can come up with a compromise regarding GMO food labeling.
On Thursday the House Education and Workforce Committee will consider the Department of Labor's new rules that would significantly increase the number of American workers that would be eligible for overtime pay. The final rules, which would go into effect in December, would increase the amount of overtime pay for eligible salaried employees working more than 40 hours a week from $23,660 to $47,476. Businesses have been vocal in their opposition to the new rules, arguing they will have a negative effect on the economy.
Republicans in the House and Senate have already introduced legislation (S. 2707/H.R. 4773) that would overturn the rules.
Fewer than two dozen days of legislative business remain on the calendar before lawmakers depart for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominating conventions.
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FDA Issues Voluntary Salt Guidelines
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a set of new sodium-reduction targets for dozens of categories of foods - from bakery goods to soups.
The proposed guidelines are voluntary, so food companies won't be required to comply, and it could be a year or more before they are final. But the idea is to persuade companies and restaurants - many of which have already lowered sodium levels in their products - to take a more consistent approach.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association says it will collaborate with the FDA on efforts to help consumers reduce their sodium intake per the agency's new guidelines, GMA Chief Science Officer Leon Bruner said. "We welcome a dialogue with FDA on its sodium reduction targets and look forward to working with the agency to ensure the best and most recent science is taken into account when determining sodium intake levels for optimal health for all Americans," he said.
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Gloves In Food Plant Sanitation
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 The glove plays different roles in food plant sanitation including personal hygiene. It can protect hands from injury and protect food from hands.
Glovers are used in production, cleaning and sanitizing, warehouse operations and other applications depending upon the type of food being processed.
Learn how to protect your consumers and your workers through proper glove selection by reading this short article prepared by Rob Brown of Gloves by Web, an MWFPA Associate Member.
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GMA Offers Nutritional Label Rules Webinar Series
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 If you sell, market or manufacture packaged food and beverages, your product label will likely change as a result of the Nutritional Label reform final rules. Join GMA for a three-part webinar series to hear from highly sought after experts on how these rules will affect your company. You'll learn how to comply by the issued deadline.
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MWFPA Events You Won't Want To Miss
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October 6, 2016: MWFPA Sporting Clays Challenge. Milford Hills, Johnson Creek, WI.
November 29- December 1, 2016:
MWFPA 112th Annual Convention and 89th Processing Crops Conference. Kalahari Resort & Convention Center, Wisconsin Dells, WI.
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Other Educational Opportunities
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June 13-15, 2016:
Iowa State University FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food. Iowa State University 1951 Food Sciences Building Ames, IA. A three day Basic Preventive Controls training designed for people in the food industry desiring to understand and be trained in the Food Safety system for manufacturing safe food. This course will meet the FDA FSMA regulations as an Approved Course under Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance (FSPCA). For more information, click here.
August 3, 2016:
2016 Midwest Buyers Mission. Madison, WI.
Sign up for the upcoming Midwest Buyers Mission to position yourself and your products in front of pre-qualified international buyers seeking the latest food trends and products from the United States. Register early as meeting slots are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. It's the perfect low-cost opportunity to meet buyers from established and emerging markets in one place!
September 26-30, 2016:
Private Label, Food Service and Retail Products Trade Mission.
Monterrey and Mexico City, Mexico. Expand your export sales in Mexico by joining Food Export-Midwest and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture on the Focused Trade Mission to Mexico, for Private Label, Food Service and Retail food product companies. Cost: $400 by the Early Registration Deadline - May 23, 2016. For more information, contact Ashwini Rao/ 608-224-5119/ [email protected]. Register here.
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