The past and the future collided at the 2015 Tire Industry Association (TIA) Membership Meeting. Held Nov. 2 prior to the start of the Global Tire Expo in Las Vegas, the annual meeting featured the passing of the gavel from outgoing President Freda Pratt-Boyer to new President Glen Nicholson.
Nicholson, senior director of retail training for TBC Corp., will reign as president for one year.
In addition, Tom Formanek, regional sales manager for Stellar Industries, was voted in as vice president; he will replace Nicholson at next year’s annual meeting. David Martin, director of sales for tire supplies and specialty rubber for American Tire Distributors Inc., was named TIA’s secretary.
Also on the agenda, TIA passed the following two resolutions.
1. Proposed overtime changes: opposed. “Whereas, the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Labor Department has delivered a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to raise the salary threshold for overtime pay from $23,660 to $50,440; and whereas, workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must be paid at least time-and-a-half (or 1.5 times their regular pay) for each hour of work per week beyond 40 hours; and whereas, this proposal is specifically targeting managers and assistant managers; and whereas, overtime regulations do not provide an exemption for small businesses, now therefore be it resolved by the Tire Industry Association assembled this 2nd day of November 2015, in General Assembly, that the association will actively oppose the Department of Labor proposed rulemaking and will reach out to members of Congress to publicly oppose the proposed rulemaking.
2. Working families social legislation: wait and see. “Whereas, small businesses are the backbone of America; and whereas the small business sector is responsible for the majority of new jobs in America; and whereas, social legislation is being introduced on all levels of government; and whereas, the President (of the United States) is calling on Congress, the cities and the states to pass legislation giving all workers up to seven days of paid sick time per year; and whereas, the Department of Labor is proposing Congress to pay billions of dollars to encourage states to conduct feasibility studies to develop paid family and medical leave programs; and whereas, a Presidential Memorandum calls for Congress to pass legislation giving workers up to 12 weeks of sick pay for parents with a new child; and whereas, legislation is continually being considered on the city, county, state and federal levels to raise the minimum wage; and whereas, the unintended result of these proposals could be serious job loss because of staff reduction, the stifling of current business growth and limited expansion of new business, now therefore be it resolved by the Tire Industry Association assembled this 2nd day of November 2015, in General Assembly, that the association urges lawmakers to carefully consider the financial impact of social legislation ranging from minimum wage, to equal pay, to workplace flexibility, to child care to paid leave on the economic well-being of small businesses; and that the association will oppose legislation that will cause economic hardships on its members.
The Global Tire Expo is part of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show. The SEMA Show is run in conjunction with the Automotive Aftermarket Parts Expo (AAPEX); both are part of Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week.
