September 14, 2021 | End of Session Wrap Up
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Message from the President
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Friday marked the final day of the 2021 Legislative Session and what a session it was. The halls of the Capitol were empty as most folks were not allowed in. Yet again, we lobbied via phone, text and zoom.
I am happy to report that CRA had an 82% win rate! Of the 50 top bills we engaged in, we won 41 and lost only nine. In addition, we pushed our sponsored bill, AB 331, over the finish line and ensured the California Organized Retail Crime Task force continued to be funded.
As we look past the legislative session, we start to look at what CRA will focus on in the next few months:
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Environmental Sustainability Issues – we know in 2022 we will be focusing on several bills related to sustainability. Our goal is to ensure we are telling the “story” of how the retail industry is leading on this issue.
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Gender Pricing – There is a bill pending in the State Assembly and we will work with the author on ensuring this does not over impact or overly burden CRA members.
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Organized Retail Crime – we will continue to work with Cal ORCA providing leadership and structure so we can impact policy in the state. Look for our first “Retail Theft Summit” in San Francisco early next year.
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COVID vaccine mandate – CRA is closely following the national debate on a vaccine mandate, but are anticipating a possible Executive Order and negotiations on legislation in California BEFORE we see any action or regulations out of OSHA.
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Paid Sick Leave – while we were successful in ensuring the COVID Supplemental Paid Sick Leave expires on September 30th, we anticipate another fight in the next few months – most likely tied to the EO on a possible vaccine mandate.
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2022 Ballot Initiatives – we are starting to turn our attention to the 2022 Election and what ballot initiatives we might see. We know the packaging initiative has qualified, we are working on PAGA reform, there is talk of a new split roll initiative in addition to a few others.
I hope you will join us for our Annual Meeting on October 29th so you can hear directly about new initiatives and projects CRA is advancing on our members' behalf. In addition, we will preview our legislative agenda for the 2022 session.
As always, my door is always open. Please do not hesitate to reach out directly should you have any questions, concerns on ideas related to California and the work of CRA.
Rachel
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Legislative Recess Wrap Up
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Public Affairs/Political Updates
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FAIR PAY AND EMPLOYER RESPONSIBLITY ACT California PAGA Reform
PAGA (The Private Attorneys General Act of 2004) is an important issue to members of the California Retailers Association. It allows private attorneys to sue employers over regulatory enforcement issues related to labor, in place of enforcement by appropriate state agencies.
Over the past few months, the CRA team has participated in several conversations regarding PAGA reform and proactive actions the business community could take. As we begin to look at the 2022 election cycle, it is time to garner CRA member's interest in the association taking a leadership role in a possible ballot initiative campaign for the 2022 November General Election to reform PAGA.
We will be hosting a private briefing for CRA Members on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 11:00 am PT with the campaign team so CRA members can be briefed on the research, understand next steps and ask questions.
RSVP IS REQUIRED! Please RSVP HERE to Ryan and he will forward you the zoom information.
You can access background materials to review prior to the PAGA briefing:
This will be an expensive campaign and, should CRA engage, members will be asked to make a meaningful contribution to the CRA Issues Political Action Committee.
Please reach out to Rachel or Ryan with any questions.
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CRA Leads the Fight Against AB 701
CRA continues to lead the effort to oppose Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez's Warehouse bill- AB 701. The following is a snap shot of three week sprint.
CRA's President and CEO Rachel Michelin spoke with dozens of news outlets over the final three weeks of session addressing retailers' and the greater business community's concerns over the bill. In addition to interviews, the following statement was sent out:
“AB 701 impacts distribution centers across industries, and will increase the cost of living for all Californians, kill good-paying jobs and damage our fragile supply chain. Everything we buy and use moves through the manufacturing, storage, and distribution process. Whether it’s our food moving from the farm to fork or clothes from the thread to our closet, we will all pay the price for AB 701. California families can’t afford AB 701."
Media coverage included:
The coalition also secured op-eds and editorials in California's top tier media outlets including:
Op-eds:
Editorials:
(Los Angeles Daily News, The
*SCNG publications include: The Orange County Register, Press-Enterprise, Long-Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance, Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, San Bernardino Sun, Pasadena Star-News, and The Redlands Facts
Legislative Outreach
Floor Alerts were distributed weekly and daily leading up to the Assembly and Senate Floor hearings:
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Monday, August 30: Floor Alerts highlighting op-eds by Inland Empire Economic Partnership (link here) and California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (link here)
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Tuesday, August 31: Floor Alerts highlighting the coalition of nearly 50 organizations (link here) and the op-ed by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce (link here)
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Wednesday, September 1: Floor Alert highlighting AB 701’s PAGA provisions and impact on farmers and small businesses (link here)
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Thursday, September 2: A floor alert quoting coalition members (link here)
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Tuesday, September 7: Floor Alert highlights how AB 701 will increase the cost of living, hurt the supply chain and unleash PAGA lawsuits (link here)
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Wednesday, September 8: Floor Alert shares the California Auto Care Association’s op-ed (link here)
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Thursday, September 9: Floor Alert highlights California’s current supply chain issues and how AB 701 would make it worse utilizing quotes from coalition members (link here)
Legislative Meetings held:
- Senate pro tem Toni Atkins
- Senator Bob Archuleta
- Senator Patricia Bates
- Senator Josh Becker
- Senator Steven Bradford
- Senator Bill Dodd
- Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman
- Senator Melissa Hurtado
- Senator John Laird
- Senator Mike McGuire
- Senator Dr. Richard Pan
- Senator Anthony Portantino
- Senator Richard Roth
- Senator Susan Rubio
- Senate Appropriations Chief Consultant
Digital Advocacy included:
Facebook/Instagram: Reached 3,768 members of Sen. Portantino’s online network
Display/rich-media: Reached 5,638 IDs
Facebook/Instagram: Reached 2,707 members of Sen. Bradford’s online network
Display/rich-media: Reached 6,160 IDs
Facebook/Instagram: Reached 7,726 members of this online network
Display/rich-media: Reached 16,000 IDs
- Coalition Website: In just a few short weeks the No on AB 701 effort garnered over 1,400 visits to the website
Phone Calls:
- Sen. Portantino: 50 calls completed/ 8 calls per day on average
- Sen. Bradford: 51 calls completed/ 8 calls per day on average
Veto Push:
With the bill's passage, the effort now shifts to veto outreach where we are working with coalition members to send in veto letters to the Governor, along with an overarching NO on AB 701 coalition NASCAR letter.
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We wanted to take a moment and thank all of our member retailers throughout Los Angeles County for their continued efforts to prevent the spread of the virus putting their employees, consumers and communities they serve First! From the start of the pandemic California's retail industry has lead the charge in fighting this virus, implementing safety measures and proactively and voluntarily providing and distributing personal protective equipment.
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CRA President and CEO Rachel Michelin Speaks with ABC7 News Addressing the Rise in Retail Theft.
Rachel: "CRA is trying to be as proactive as possible. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation that we sponsored to tackle this issue. We were also able to secure funding in the state budget for the Organized Retail Task Force, but we are doing more. We are developing the Organized Retail Crime Association under the Cal Retailers’ umbrella. We are putting together subject matter experts to work with the legislature and local elected officials on how to combat this issue…."
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CRA Joins Governor Gavin Newsom in Addressing Organized Retail Crime
California Retailers Association President and CEO Rachel Michelin issued the following statement after joining Governor Gavin Newsom in a press conference addressing the growing problem of Organized Retail Crime.
"CRA applauds Governor Gavin Newsom for working with the California Retailers Association in extending the state's Organized Retail Crime Task Force for years to come with his signing of AB 331 this morning and recent ORC budget appropriation...."
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CRA Joins Annual CISRA Conference and Moderates a Panel on "Tough Conversations: Fostering Successful Collaboration from Opposing Viewpoints"
Collaboration and compromises are becoming increasingly difficult in today's climate. From business to politics, it's clear that strong leadership and a willingness to listen are critical skills for fostering collaboration, especially from opposing viewpoints. The panel, moderated by CRA's President and CEO Rachel Michelin, explored the art of leading difficult conversations to bring everyone to the table to solve big challenges and issues. The discussion drew upon real world examples in business, politics and the NGO community who have mastered the skills necessary to drive positive change by bringing many viewpoints together.
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CRA President and CEO Speaks with California Groundbreakers Podcast About the Latest Retail Trends.
The pandemic has changed the concept of physical stores – do we still need them, what’s their purpose now, and how should they change to stay relevant? And what about the stuff we buy – do we need to have the same things we bought before the pandemic, and do we still need to shop for so much of it?
This episode features two retail experts who speak about how the coronavirus has shaken up the industry, how consumer spending habits are shifting and what shopping will look like in the future.
Rachel joined David Fishbein, co-founder of the Runyon Group, a real-estate development firm in Los Angeles that owns, creates and manages new types of shopping hubs.
California Groundbreakers is a civic-minded, community-focused organization putting together moderated panels, interviews, discussions and events focused on cool people doing groundbreaking things and possibly causing earth-shattering change in California and beyond.
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Nominations are open for CRA Board of Directors- Vote to be Held During Upcoming Virtual Annual Meeting
Per the CRA bylaws, all current CRA members are eligible to serve on the board of directors. Members can nominate themselves or someone they feel is qualified to be part of CRA's leadership team.
- A member must be in good standing; dues must be current
- Board members serve a three year term
- Board meetings are held via zoom once a quarter with a possible in person organizational meeting during Q1 in 2022 (pending health orders)
- Executive Committee is nominated and voted on by the newly elected Board of Directors
Learn more about the CRA Elections Process HERE.
** Nominations are due by September 30, 2021
On October 29, 2021 CRA will host our 2021 Annual Membership Meeting virtually. More information and the registration link will be sent soon.
Meeting topics include:
- CRA board of directors election
- Legislative/Regulatory update
- Organized Retail Crime
- COVID update
- Opportunity for members to share priorities for CRA to focus on during the next legislative session
If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out via email HERE.
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Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Amazon are Among a Growing Number of Retailers Investing in California's Workforce
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Target announced a plan to pay 100% of college tuition and textbooks to attract workers. The company is rolling out a new education program that will cover the cost of associate and undergraduate degrees at select schools. It also will help pay for graduate school costs. Employees at stores, distribution centers and headquarters locations in the U.S. will qualify on their first day. Target will cover the full cost for 250 programs aligned to its business, such as computer science, information technology and business management. If an employee chooses a different specialty or seeks a graduate degree, Target will pay up to $5,250 for non-master’s degrees and up to $10,000 for master’s degrees each year in direct payments to the academic institution. Target plans to invest $200 million in the education program over the next four years.
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In similar announcemets, Amazon is investing $1.2 Billion for its employees to attend college and Walmart and Home Depot are providing tuition reimbursement programs and college fund assistance programs. Walmart is removing all costs related to its employee college tuition program, totaling $1 billion over the next five years to cover the full price of tuition and books for approx. 1.5 million employees. The goal is to remove “the barriers that too often keep adult worker learners from obtaining degrees.”
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DX3 USA is rooted at the intersection of Retail, Marketing, and Technology. While the dynamics may have changed in the last year, the interconnectivity of these three elements is what defines the retail of today and will continue to do so in the future.
Join us virtually for DX3 USA, on November 9-10, 2021 to hear stories of success, discover the latest trends and gain inspiration from the biggest names in retail, marketing and technology.
Here is what we have in store for you:
- 2 days of insightful conversations between 2 streams- Retail & Marketing
- Interactive Workshops
- Opportunity to attend the event safely from across the globe
- A chance to meet market leaders from top Retail brands
- Network with like-minded professionals from the industry
- Innovative exhibitor booths
- Hear growth stories from C- level executives
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CRA members get access to CRA's exclusive online member portal, which contains coalition letters, floor alerts, regulatory comments and testimony that California Retailers Association authored or signed on to during previous Legislative sessions as well as the latest updates on the 2021-2022 legislative session. The portal also contains newsletter, news alert archives and important association governance documents for your reference. If you have not yet received your login credentials and access instructions please email cra@calretailers.com. We are also available to answer any questions you may have regarding portal navigation.
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Follow CRA on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Instgram to stay up to date on the latest developments in statewide and local legislation and policies, regulations, relevant industry and member related news and association events.
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