Jan Teague

President/CEO

360.943.9198, ext. 19

jteague@retailassociation.org

Mark Johnson

Vice President of Government Affairs

360.943.9198, ext. 15

mark.johnson@retailassociation.org

Tammie Hetrick

Vice President of Retail Services (RASI)

360.943.9198, ext. 13

tammie@retailassociationservices.com  

Jim Szymanski

ACTION ALERT!

Contact your legislators to defeat state tax increases

WRA members are strongly urged to contact their state legislators and ask them to defeat House Bill 2038, which would repeal several tax and investment incentives and extend other taxes scheduled to expire. The Legislature is adjourned until May 13, when a special session of up to 30 days will begin.

The sales tax exemption for non-residents, upon which some retailers depend for a significant portion of their annual sales, is among the targets of the bill sponsored by Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle. Another part of the bill objectionable to WRA is a repeal on a sales tax exemption on bottled water.

These ideas would raise prices, threaten sales and slow the economic recovery from the most severe state economic slowdown since The Depression.

If you know your legislator, please leave a message at the Legislative hotline, 800-562-6000. Or, contact the legislature  and type in your address to learn who represents you and how to contact them by telephone or e-mail.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. 

Leaders from the North versus the South

By Jan Teague, President/CEO

It amazes me how the cluster of legislators from the more densely populated areas of King County can so outnumber the votes of other legislators whose interests may be far different.  Is there majority vote or is it really mostly about what King County wants?  It's a question that many ask every year as bills get pushed through that are good for one region of the state but not the rest. 

In the north, unemployment in King County is at 4.4 percent right now.  That is an extremely low rate that leaves legislators less interested in job growth and more interested in job benefits.  In the south, in Clark County, the unemployment rate stood at 7.8 percent in April, but it was 11.4 percent just a few months ago in January.  Their rate is still high and appears to be more fragile and somewhat volatile. 

Other southern counties such as Cowlitz have an even higher unemployment rate at 9.7 percent. Skamania is at 10.4 percent.   

We are fighting hard to protect the retailers along our Southern border who are under attack right now.  It's a tough situation for them as the struggle to sell faces stiff competition from the Oregon retailers who don't collect any sales tax.  People hate paying taxes and our rates are high.  So years ago legislators passed a law allowing Oregonians to shop in our state and not pay sales tax to encourage some cross border shopping.  It has worked and helped retailers to compete with Oregon stores. 

Retail employment in Clark County is somewhat fragile and hasn't changed that much in the past year.  They picked up 200 retail workers.  That's an extremely small number compared to the rest of the state which gained a record number of 15,700 jobs. 

Can we tell legislators that we worry about jobs in the southern area of our state?  Do they care if it's not in their county?  I don't know, but I do think that the effort to find more money for various programs is a lust that creates a blank stare and a deaf ear.  Those legislators who want the money more than anything else seem to have gone blind to the faces of the people who have told them their businesses can't compete for Oregon shoppers who, like most shoppers, tend to be looking for the best deal of the day.  

Oregon shoppers won't be bothered with what they see as a silly rebate program where they have to turn in some paper to a Washington State agency and hope they get their own money back.  No one trusts government to be timely and no one wants government to hold on to their cash.  Why even have that exercise?  That's what I would ask if I were an Oregonian.  Rebates are an idea that only benefits government because people won't do it. 

As the second special session gears up, let's hope for more reasoned thinking from all of our legislators that genuinely considers the needs of the people who work in our counties to the south.  

Memo to state legislators: oppose SB 5871

By Mark Johnson, VP Government Affairs

The non-resident sales tax exemption upon which many retailers rely for their survival is in jeopardy under a Senate bill introduced this week.

WRA urges all members to either e-mail or leave a phone message for their legislators and ask that they oppose Senate Bill 5871. The bill would end the immediate sales tax exemption that out-of-state residents enjoy and change it to a remittance system requiring consumers to ask the state for tax rebates.

WRA knows that removing this buying incentive will discourage most shoppers from seeking a remittance, lower sales and threaten layoffs and force the closures of many small businesses. It will further hold back the slow recovery from the most challenging recession of our lifetimes.

This week's decision to extend the 2013 session another 30 days gives WRA the opportunity to convince enough legislators to preserve the sales tax exemption and purchase incentive. The exemption has long encouraged tourism spending in Washington State and helped businesses near sales-tax-free Oregon to derive up to 60 percent of their sales.

Click here to find your legislators to send an e-mail to oppose SB 5871 or you can leave a phone message at the legislative hotline, 800-562-6000.

WRA President and CEO Jan Teague wrote to every state legislator on Tuesday urging them to oppose the bill. She included a report in The Oregonian about how removing the shopping incentive would hurt Washington State businesses that depend upon the sales tax exemption.

Teague pointed out additional problems that will result from the bill. As sales decline from loss of the tax exemption, business & occupation tax revenues to the state also will dry up. As retail employees lose their jobs because of lost business, social services costs to tide them over during unemployment will rise.

Despite all this, the Senate Ways and Means committee approved the bill this week. It is eligible for the Senate and House to approve before adjournment of the second overtime session.

WRA is disappointed the committee passed the bill, but will work diligently in the days ahead to preserve this valuable sales incentive.

Though the Department of Revenue often is quick to report sales tax gains in the state, it seems silent on projecting the damage that will be done to sales by removing this incentive to shop in our state.

This oversight is a great reminder that legislation seems necessary that would require a thorough economic impact analysis before any bill requiring a change in state policy could be considered or voted upon.

Contact WRA regarding new Tacoma threat

A grassroots organizing effort has been identified that is trying to pass a Tacoma law that would require businesses to offer paid sick and safe leave time to employees.

A similar law in Seattle, the only one of its kind in the state, has proven to be an expensive record keeping nightmare.

WRA's Tacoma members in particular are urged to contact Tammie Hetrick, WRA's VP of Retail Services, to be periodically brought up to date on the outcome of this Tacoma organizing effort. Reach Tammie at 360-943-0198, Ext. 13 or at Tammie@retailassociation.org.

The Tacoma Pierce County Chamber of Commerce is working on launching a website soon where small businesses will be able to share their concerns about this possible law. City council members are receiving many calls of concern from the Tacoma business community and have publicly expressed concern about the idea.

WRA opposed the Seattle law on several fronts. It is expensive to administer and leaves room for abuse that can be damaging to businesses that need to remain adequately staffed to serve customers.

Look for updates on this issue in future newsletters including a link to the Tacoma website after it is launched.

Inslee calls for second overtime session

Gov. Inslee called the Legislature into a second overtime session on Tuesday after the Senate and House could not agree on terms to approve a new state budget.

Though there is some concern state government may begin to shut down after the beginning of its next fiscal year on July 1, Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom said he expected both houses could work out their numerous differences and adjourn before the start of the new fiscal calendar.

The Senate and House budget are not far apart in total amounts, $33.3 billion to $33.6 billion, respectively. But House Democrats would raise taxes to increase state education spending while Senate Republicans expect to accomplish the goal by cutting more spending and avoiding any tax increases.

Also hanging in the balance are issues important to WRA. Two key issues involve preserving the non-resident sales tax exemption, which Democrats have proposed to all but eliminate and further reforming the state's workers' compensation system to allow more injured workers to negotiate financial settlements with the state.

Each overtime session can last up to 30 days. The Legislature entered its first overtime session on May 13 after failing to agree on a budget during the 105-day regular session.

Sources: TVW, Seattle Times

WRA commentary on Inslee's new taxes published online

WRA President/CEO Jan Teague has authored an opinion piece calling into question Gov. Jay Inslee's proposal to repeal a non-resident sales tax exemption currently offered in Washington State.

Teague wrote that a repeal is bad policy that would damage economic development and threaten retail jobs prior to the retail industry recovering from the recession. State Employment Security data show there are approximately 6,200 fewer retail jobs in the state compared with January, 2008.

In some cases, repealing the exemptions would add hundreds of dollars of cost to the price of more expensive items and discourage sales in Washington State, particularly for small Southwest Washington businesses along the border with Oregon, Teague wrote.

Visit Washington State Wire to read Jan's article. The Washington Research Council also posted Jan's article on its website. 

Teague featured in e-fairness article

WRA President/CEO Jan Teague is featured in a recent South Sound Business Examiner article reviewing the impact if Congress passes the Marketplace Fairness Act.

The act would require online retailers to collect sales taxes and end their unfair price advantage with brick-and-mortar retailers. Like many retail organizations, WRA supports the Marketplace Fairness Act.

"Consumers are price-sensitive," Teague told the newspaper. "So if they're going online only to avoid sales tax, a law like this just might change behavior."

Teague goes on to comment that the act would preserve sales in Washington State and be the most help to small businesses that suffer from shoppers who see their merchandise on display, but buy it online to save taxes.

The Senate has passed the act, and now it is before the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Visit Business Examiner (subscription required) to read the article.

It quotes several regional small businesses that would be helped by the act including Marty Pluth, CEO of Old Town Bicycle, who added that online shoppers now can save up to $300 on the cost of buying some of the high end bicycles he sells.

WRA co-sponsors free social media webinar on June 27

WRA is offering members a free webinar this summer in cooperation with the Council of State Retail Associations.

To register ahead of time, click on the following links:

*Intermediate Mobile and Social Media Marketing, on June 27 -  6:30 a.m. MT / 5:30 a.m. PT (Webinar 1) or  9:30 a.m. MT / 8:30 a.m. PT (Webinar 2).

Please contact Jan Teague, WRA's President/CEO, if you have questions at 360-943-9198, Ext. 19 or a jteague@retailassociation.org.

Policy Center announces June 27 business, health care conference

The Washington Policy Center will host its 11th health care conference and biennial small business conference on June 27 at the SeaTac Hilton hotel.

Speakers will address the state of health care reform and the state's small business climate at the policy center's first-ever dual conference event. The keynote lunchtime address will be by MSNBC and Fox News analyst Avik Roy, who will address free-market solutions to the health care crisis. Roy also writes about health care for Forbes magazine.

WRA is a co-presenter of the event. To register, click here. For more information, contact Stephanie True at 206-937-9691 or strue@washingtonpolicy.org.

Senate passes WRA-backed workers' comp reform bill

The state Senate has approved WRA-backed Senate bill 5127, a workers' comp reform bill that would save employers an estimated one billion dollars on insurance costs in the next decade.

The bill passed the Senate 27 to 18 last Sunday, and has gone to the House for a vote.

The bill would lower to age 40 the age by which injured workers could qualify to arrange earlier settlements of their workers' compensation cases. The current age limit is age 55 and older.

Bill sponsor, Sen. Janea Holmquist Newbry noted the bill could make the state more competitive with 44 other states that have no age restrictions on workers' compensation settlements. Workers' comp insurance taxes in the state have increased 70 percent in the past decade, Holmquist Newbry said.

WRA urges the full Legislature to approve the bill during its second special session that began today.

Seattle approves controversial hiring law

A law that would make it easier for convicted criminals to find a job won unanimous approval this week from the Seattle City Council.

WRA and other business groups including the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce opposed the law. It prohibits employers from asking questions about an applicant's criminal history until after an initial screening. Employers must cite a "legitimate business reason" for rejecting an applicant with a criminal history for a job.

The next step is rule making to implement the law. WRA will continue to be active in the business coalition that has worked to modify the law during the past six months.

WRA opposed the bill because it invites expensive lawsuits challenging hiring decisions, removes hiring authority from employers and could expose businesses and law-abiding employees to dangerous or dishonest co workers. Click here to read the bill.

Source: City of Seattle

Unions proposed anti-business initiative in SeaTac

Signatures supporting union-backed initiative in SeaTac seek to raise the minimum wage in a way that could lead to layoffs.

WRA members located in SeaTac are encouraged to attend a meeting at 6 tonight at the SeaTac Holiday Inn, 17338 International Boulevard. A panel of speakers will outline how this initiative would be damaging to their businesses.

It seeks a $15 minimum wage (the state minimum is $9.19 this year), mandatory paid sick leave and a guarantee that jobs be retained if a business is sold.

"An idea like this just kills jobs," said Tammie Hetrick, WRA's Vice President of Retail Services. As financial obligations go up for a business, the less likely it is to be able to avoid layoffs or to grow, she said.

Organizers have submitted petition signatures to the city, which must verify their validity. The matter then could go to the City Council for action later this month or the council could allow it to go to the ballot without taking action.

Hetrick has asked concerned WRA members to contact her for further information and updates on this issue. Contact Tammie at 360-943-9198, Ext. 13 or at Tammie@retailassociation.org.

RILA releases video supporting e-fairness legislation

The Retail Industry Leaders Association this week released a video outlining the reasons for supporting Congressional approval of the Main Street Fairness Act.

The bill, awaiting action in the House, would require online retailers to charge sales taxes just a brick-and-mortar retailers do. Such a change would level the competitive playing field within the industry and make for fairer competition. The Senate has approved the bill.

The short video comes courtesy of RILA's coalition of small business owners, the Alliance for Main Street Fairness. WRA supports the bill to protect small businesses threatened by the unfair price advantage many online retailers maintain by refusing the collect sales taxes.

Retail imports looking cautious

The slow economic recovery is holding back import volumes by the nation's major retailers, concludes a report for the National Retail Federation.

NRF's monthly import volume tracking service projects that volume will be up 1.9 percent in the first six months of the year and increase slowly each month until a spikes in October, heading into the 2013 holiday shopping season.

"We are witnessing a period of import trade growth that is running more or less in sync with the U.S. economic expansion," said Ben Hackett, founder of a company that tracks import volumes monthly for NRF. "Unfortunately, both are anemic. We expect import consumption to remain weak for the coming four to six months."

Cargo volumes do not correlate directly to sales because they could only the number of cargo containers entering the country, not the value of the contents. Regardless, volumes are a reliable indicator of the confidence among retailers for continued sales growth and economic recovery. Click here to read more.

Source: National Retail Federation

NRF releases 9^th retail crime survey

Tacoma crime conference set for October

The National Retail Federation's 9^th organized retail crime survey is available for review.

The report compiles feedback from 77 retail loss prevention executives surveyed in May.

Some of the findings:

*Nearly two in five apprehensions lead to some level of violence.

*ORC incidents increasingly are linked to other crimes including the sale of drugs and illegal weapons and money laundering.

*An estimated 11 percent of caught shoplifters carried foil-lined bags to defeat electronic article surveillance tags.

*The most popular items to steal include energy drinks and liquor from grocery stores; pain relievers and allergy medicine from pharmacies; razors, teeth whitening strips and pregnancy tests from health and beauty departments; and laptops/tablets and cellular phones from electronics departments.

Visit NRF's blog that includes a graphic summarizing some of the survey's findings. Also visit survey to read more and obtain the report.

The Washington State Organized Retail Crime Alliance (WSORCA), of which WRA is a member, is planning another ORC training conference set for Oct. 3 at the Convention Center in downtown Tacoma. The day's agenda is now being organized and a registration link will soon be posted on the WSORCA website for registration purposes.

Look to this newsletter for follow up information about the conference as details develop.

Watch of video overview of WRA's discount shipping partner

WRA's third-party shipping provider, PartnerShip, has released a short video overview of the discount services it offers customers.

As a WRA member, you could begin saving up to 27 percent on select FedEx shipping services by joining PartnerShip free of charge.

Four other possible advantages of joining PartnerShip include:

*Routing management. Based on an analysis of shipments, PartnerShip will recommend the best shippers for particular routes. The recommendation is based on a carrier's cost effectiveness and customer service.

*Bill auditing. Vendors such as PartnerShip say they often find invoices with rate errors of up to 10 percent in favor of the freight carrier. Corrections are made before the third-party vendor sends the bill to the customer.

*Improved inbound shipping. By relying on vendors to control your inbound shipping, it can be difficult to learn how and when your orders will be shipped and delivered. You can gain that knowledge by arranging shipping through a third party partner such as PartnerShip.

*Consolidated invoices. For frequent shippers, this can mean paying only one bill weekly or monthly as opposed to paying for each shipment.

Click here to watch the video overview of the company and obtain contact information. Also, visit PartnerShip's website and its improved, separate shipping website.

Safety tip: (one in a series)

A dangerous mistake for truck drivers, "riding the door"

What sounds or looks like fun often can be dangerous in the workplace.

For delivery drivers, "riding the door" is one such practice that can save time but threatens the driver with serious injury. It basically involves grabbing a hold of a latch handle when a rear door to a trailer is open and riding the door to the ground as the driver holds on to the handle with his feet suspended in the air. It is slower but far safer for a driver to reach for the handle or strap with his feet planted on the ground to pull the door closed rather than riding it to the ground.

A Labor and Industries article and picture relates the true story of a Washington State driver who was crushed and injured when he attempted to ride the door of his delivery truck before a door cable broke. The driver fell hard on his back and was pinned as the door dropped across his mid-section.

L&I urges companies and drivers to:

*Perform preventative maintenance on trailer doors.

*Support policies to keep trucks out of service until properly maintained.

*Use three points of contact to exit a trailer with feet planted on the ground.

*Wear shoes with good traction.

It's also a good idea to follow @TruckSafe on Twitter to keep up with more tips to improve safety for delivery drivers.

WRA employs Maria Justin as a safety advisor who can arrange a workplace safety visit or share advice on writing a safety plan or suggest ideas for safety meetings. Contact Maria at 360-943-9198, Ext. 21 or at maria@retailassociationservices.com.

Breakfast for Heroes set for June 27

A military Breakfast for Heroes has been scheduled on June 27 at the Hilton Bellevue Hotel, 300 112th Avenue S.E.

The event is sponsored by Heartbeat, an organization that provides therapeutic services, emergency assistance and morale building programs for active and discharged service men and women in Washington State.

Featured speaker for the 7:30 a.m. will be Katherine Theresa Platoni, an Army Reserve clinical psychologist with experience teaching patients methods of reducing suffering from chronic pain and terminal illnesses. Col. Platoni's assignments have included four wartime deployments.

To register, click here . 

Higher tax rates in Aberdeen, Stanwood

Local sales and use taxes will increase on July 1 in Aberdeen and Stanwood.

An increase of 0.13 percent for transportation costs will increase Aberdeen's rate to 8.53 percent. The Stanwood rate will rise 0.2 percent, also for transportation expenses, to 8.8 percent.

Visit Revenue for more information about these changes.