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LABOR — AAFA SIGNS ON TO COMMENTS OPPOSING CHANGES TO UNION REPRESENTATION ELECTION PROCESS AAFA joined with 278 national and state trade associations in submitting comments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on August 22 opposing the proposed rule changes to their union representation election process, or "ambush elections." The comments state that the proposed changes would significantly reduce the time period in which an election is held, thus hindering an employer's opportunity to speak with his or her employees before the election and preventing employees from making an informed decision. They would also require employers to provide union leaders with personal phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses of employees, violating their privacy. (Marie D'Avignon)
LABOR — AAFA URGES EEOC TO PRESERVE CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AAFA joined with several dozen other national trade associations in sending an August 10 letter urging the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to reject a proposal that would limit the ability of companies to perform background criminal checks as part of the hiring process. The letter argues that businesses are unable to keep workplaces safe if such background checks are disallowed during the hiring process. (Steve Lamar) PRODUCT SAFETY — CPSC RECALLS CHILDREN'S SAFETY TOE BOOTS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY FAIL TO PROTECT AGAINST COMPRESSION AND IMPACT The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on August 18 announced a voluntary recall of Itasca Fusion Hiker boots, model name Fusion, style number 45513 and order numbers 22215, 22216 or 22217. The boots have been recalled because they could possibly fail to provide the intended protection against compression and impact, posing the risk of a foot injury to consumers. The black leather boots were designed with nylon upper and a thermoplastic rubber (TPR) outsole. This hard composite toe material rather than steel was used by the company because the steel material could not consistently meet the new 100PPM lead content limit set by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). No incidents or injuries have been reported. The shoes were manufactured in China and sold exclusively at Big 5 Sporting Goods Stores. (Aneesa Browne/Michael McDonald) RETAIL PRICES — APPAREL RETAIL PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE IN JULY WHILE FOOTWEAR RETAIL PRICES EXPERIENCE SOME RELIEF According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics August 18 release of the July 2011 Consumer Price Index (CPI), retail prices for apparel rose for the fourth consecutive month, reflecting steady increases in material costs, while footwear prices remained flat. Seasonally-adjusted retail prices for apparel in July rose 1.2 percent over June. July retail prices surged for infants and toddlers' apparel (+3.6 percent), men and boys' apparel (+1.7 percent), and women and girls' apparel (+1.4 percent). When compared to July 2010, July apparel prices grew 3.0 percent, led by increases in men and boys' apparel (+3.9 percent) and women and girls' apparel (+2.7 percent). These gains were partially offset by the 1.2 percent decline in prices for infants and toddlers' apparel. Overall retail footwear prices in July remained unchanged from June. Men's footwear prices experienced the only increase (+0.3 percent) for July. Women's shoes prices declined (-0.8 percent) for the second straight month. Juvenile footwear prices slipped (-0.9 percent) as well. Footwear prices in July were 0.7 percent higher than in July 2010, led by increases in prices for juvenile footwear (+5.4 percent) and men's footwear (+1.7 percent). These increases were moderately offset by a 2.1 percent decline in women's footwear prices from July 2010. Overall retail prices were up by 0.5 percent in July on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Overall retail prices in July rose 3.6 percent from July 2010. (Jeanene Medley/Nate Herman) FOOTWEAR — NEW RULES ON TEXTILE OUTSOLES STILL AWAITING SIGNATURE New rules governing the ability to use textile/fabric outsoles to lower the duty-rates on imports of footwear are still awaiting President Barack Obama's signature. As a result of the delay in President Obama signing the presidential proclamation implementing the new rules, the earliest that the new rules can now be implemented is September 26, 2011. The new footwear textile outsole rules will go into effect 30-days after the signed presidential proclamation is published in the Federal Register. AAFA will report the publication of the Federal Register notice as soon as it becomes available. To help members prepare for these rule changes, AAFA and Greenberg Traurig are hosting a FREE webinar program on the pending duty adjustments and tariff classification changes for U.S. imports of footwear with textile/fabric outsoles on September 8, 2011. (Nate Herman) UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU...TO COMMENT! Congress and many government agencies are soliciting comments on a range of issues that may affect your business. For a list of upcoming comments, please click here.
AAFA WELCOMES NEW MEMBER: SHOEDAZZLE.COM
Opinion: The Biggest Trade Barrier from The Wall Street Journal President Obama says he wants to get the U.S. economy growing, so here's a tip that may help: In order for Congress to ratify free trade agreements, the White House must first send the signed deals to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. More Opinion: Blame Regulations for Joblessness from Politico So what's to blame for joblessness in America: Bad luck or bad policies? More Camo Envy: Airmen Jealous of Roy's Threads from Air Force Times Airmen are so in love with the Army's lightweight MultiCam-patterned combat uniform that they went bananas when they spotted the Air Force's top enlisted leader wearing it. More |
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