Just last month, two members of the Association's Board of Directors and CAWA President and CEO, Rodney Pierini, attended the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association's Legislative Summit in Washington D.C.  The purpose of the Summit was to educate members of Congress on the importance of a viable automotive aftermarket industry and to discuss specific legislative proposals. The CAWA delegation had meetings scheduled California, Nevada and Arizona legislators and/or their staff person who was responsible for automotive and transportation issues joined in the meeting.

Here is what we said:

• The automotive aftermarket, which represents manufacturing through repair, is vital to the American economy and is in the public interest because it provides consumers the option of where they purchase their parts and repair their vehicles. It's a $294 billion industry that employs 4.5 million people at more than 500,000 locations. It's viability is critical to the American economy.
  
• We would appreciate their support of the "Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act". This legislation would assure that the independent repair garages receives the same diagnostic and repair information from the vehicle manufacturer (as well as tools) that the new car dealers receive. This bill would give the consumer the choice of where they take their vehicles for repair and where they purchase their parts to do their own repairs.
  
• We encouraged them to oppose the "Employee Free Choice Act" commonly referred to as "card check" legislation. This bill would eliminate the private ballot in union organizing, allow the government to arbitrate between employer and employees and create harsh penalties for businesses for violations during the union recognition process. This is a bad bill for business generally and job growth opportunities specifically.
  
• We also asked them to oppose the "Accelerated Retirement of Inefficient Vehicles Act of 2009" or commonly referred to as "vehicle scrappage" legislation. These programs have been tried unsuccessfully in states and there is no empirical evidence to support the notion that as a result of the program there is a reduction in tail pipe emissions or better fuel economy performance. We suggested that rather than crush older vehicles, encourage owners to retrofit and repair them to achieve the desired results, i.e., maintenance results in lower tail pipe emissions and better fuel economy.

We know that as a result of these meetings, the legislators and their staffs have a better understanding of the automotive aftermarket industry and the issues important to its continued viability.  They have also heard from their constituents which is essential as our industry reaches out to both state and federal legislators to tell the industry's story.

This is just another example of how the Association promotes and protects the interests of its members and the industry it serves.  Should you be interested in becoming involved in the Association's government affairs processes please call Rodney Pierini, CAWA’s President & CEO at 800.332.2292, ext. 1 or our Director of Government Affairs, Jennifer Zins at Jennifer@pzallc.com or 916.781.3903. 

Founded in 1955, CAWA is a nonprofit trade organization representing automotive jobbers, warehouse distributors, retailers, manufacturers and manufacturer representatives in California, Nevada, and Arizona.  CAWA's mission is to provide communicatiions, education, legislative and regulatory advocacy and group purchasing of services for its members while promoting the automotive aftermarket industry.

For more information and for industry and Association updates, visit our web site at www.cawa.org.