September 21, 2015

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Join MnRA for our Annual Meeting October 22 featuring Dr. Dave Brennan. Learn about disruptive innovations transforming the retail industry and how your business might respond.
Local Mandates
MnRA Hosts Tuesday Briefing Call On
Minneapolis 28-Day Schedule Mandate & Sick and Safe Leave Proposal
 
Any organization (retail, non-profit, government) with employees in the City of Minneapolis will be impacted by a series of policy proposals deemed the "Working Families Agenda" as proposed by several Council members.  The policy set includes a 28-day scheduling mandate with penalties for changes and accrued paid time off for all employees.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, September 22) at 9:30 a.m. MnRA is hosting a conference call to bring members up-to-date on the proposals as well as discuss the City's timeline for enactment. 

Note: This is a members-only call. Please register here if you intend to participate and dial-in information will be provided via e-mail. 
 
Legislative Agenda for 2016
Your Issues, Your Agenda--Take Our Five Minute Legislative Issues Survey Now To Add Your Perspective to MnRA's Policy Agenda 
 
Each year before the Minnesota Legislature convenes, the Minnesota Retailers Association (MnRA) formulates a policy agenda designed help elected officials understand how to support your operation and the 788,000 jobs that depend on the success of retail across our state.

Our process for understanding the policy needs of Minnesota's retailers begins with you, today.  Please complete our five minute annual legislative survey before September  28.

In addition, consider attending our September 29 Retail Legislative Policy Summit where we take the information gathered through the survey and combine it with experiences from the past, conversations from the present, and a look at the future as we put MnRA's policy agenda together.

Thank you for adding your voice and perspective to MnRA's annual policy development process.    
 
Legislative Agenda for 2016
Legislative Policy Summit September 29
 
Mark your calendars now for the Minnesota Retailers Association's annual Legislative Policy Summit to be held at the MnRA offices in St. Paul on Tuesday, September 29, 2015, 2:00 - 4:00 pm.  This is your opportunity to help MnRA shape policy positions as we head into the 2016 legislative session.
 
No cost to attend.

Note: This is a members-only event. Please register if you intend to attend in person or join the meeting via conference call. Call-in instructions will be e-mailed out one week prior to the event. 
 
RetailPlus+ Network
Go Buy Local Introductory Webinars September 30 & October 6 
 
Interesting in learning about MnRA's partnership with Go Buy Local and how retailers can make use of the platform to attract new customers, reward existing clients, and support local non-profits? 

Sign up for either the 2:30 p.m. September 30 or the 9:00 a.m. October 6 webinars for a brief introduction to the program. 
 
Register for 9/30 or
10/6 now!
Prices
U.S. Prices Fell Unexpectedly Fell In August  
 
From Reuters, , September 16, 2015

"U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in August as gasoline prices resumed their decline and a strong dollar curbed the cost of other goods, pointing to tame inflation that complicates the Federal Reserve's decision whether to hike interest rates.

The Labor Department said on Wednesday its Consumer Price Index slipped 0.1 percent, the first drop since January, after edging up 0.1 percent in July. In the 12 months through August, the CPI rose 0.2 percent after a similar gain in July.

Signs of a disinflationary trend reasserting itself are in stark contrast with a fairly healthy economy and a rapidly tightening labor market, and highlight the dilemma Fed officials face as they contemplate raising interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade."
 
Sales
Retail Sales in U.S. Rise As Consumers Unshaken By Turmoil
 
From BloombergBusiness, Victoria Stilwell, September 15, 2015

"Retail sales in the U.S. climbed for a second straight month, a sign consumers may be looking past recent volatility in financial markets.

The 0.2 percent increase in August followed a 0.7 percent gain in July that was larger than previously reported, Commerce Department figures showed Tuesday in Washington. The median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.3 percent advance.

Although confidence has taken a hit from stock-market turmoil and global-growth concerns, the data show households are still putting their savings from cheap energy to work. More jobs and higher pay would go a long way in supporting household spending, which Federal Reserve policy makers are watching as they consider raising interest rates as soon as this week.

"The trend is strong and robust," said Gregory Daco, head of U.S. macroeconomics at Oxford Economics USA in New York, who correctly forecast the increase in retail sales. Tuesday's data shows spending is "resistant to outside shocks, and that's quite important at this point in time."

Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from a decrease of 0.1 percent to a 0.6 percent gain. July retail sales were previously reported as up 0.6 percent. June data was unrevised at little changed."
 
Plastic Bags
Most Speakers Oppose St. Louis Park Plastic Bag Regulation
 
From Sun Sailor, Seth Rowe, September 19 2015

"One after another, business owners and St. Louis Park residents lined up at an open forum to oppose a ban on single-use plastic bags at cash registers.

No one at the listening session Sept. 2 spoke in favor of the ban. One speaker said she had supported the concept but changed her mind after learning more while another said he had supported the ban but is now undecided.

"Typically, I'd be a person who would come down on the side of banning plastic bags for symbolic reasons," resident Margaret Rog said, noting that she had heard a story on the radio about an island of plastic bags and bottles in an ocean.

However, she said other speakers at the session at St. Louis Park Recreation Center spoke eloquently about reasons why the city should not institute a ban.

"I look for solutions that are positive rather than maybe condemning," Rog said.

She suggested that the city could provide "fun, jazzy" reusable bags with as an alternative to instituting a ban on plastic bags.

"Maybe you folks would be interested in investing a little money along those lines," Rog suggested.

The undecided speaker, Steve Parsons, said he believes the issue is important to his and future generations.

"I was very much in favor of banning plastic bags," he said. "I've learned a lot."

While he said he is not so sure about a ban anymore after studying the issue, he said he wanted to encourage city leaders to continue to think about ways to address environmental concerns."
 
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Minnesota Retailers Associaiton
400 Robert Street North, suite 1540
St. Paul, MN 55101
Tel. (651) 227-6631 - mnretail.org - [email protected]