SkillPath Seminars, a company that offers over 12,000 seminars annually, will be hosting several upcoming sessions throughout Virginia and Pennsylvania, focusing on topics of customer service and how to deal with unacceptable employee behavior.
Two dates have been set for the company's "Conference on Customer Service," a one-day educational opportunity that teaches techniques and skills that lead to extraordinary customer service and satisfaction.
Attendees will learn how to keep customers cool when they become angry and how to deliver bad news to customers without anxiety, among other things.
The first seminar is scheduled for May 21 at the Allentown Hilton, 904 Hamilton Mall, in Allentown, PA. The next day, the session will be held at the Sheraton Harrisburg at 800 E. Park Dr. in Harrisburg, PA.
Both one-day conferences will begin at 9 a.m. and run until 4 p.m. The cost is $199 per person, or $189 per person if groups of four or more people register concurrently.
SkillPath will also be offering a seminar that demonstrates how employers can effectively deal with unacceptable behavior from their employees.
The session will handle each step of the process -- how to recognize a problem, assess its severity, intervene and implement formal termination procedures. The focus will be to improve productivity and cooperation in your workplace while avoiding fostered resentment by employees.
A seminar is scheduled to take place on May 10 at the Hyatt Regency Reston, 1800 Presidents St., in Reston, VA.
Another session is set to be on May 16 at the Cathedral Foundation at 10 E. Lincoln Ave. in New Castle, PA. An additional seminar will be at the Holiday Inn at 260 Mall Boulevard in King of Prussia, PA, on May 29.
All employee behavior seminars will take place from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The cost is $149 per person, or $139 per person if four or more individuals register together.
For more information about upcoming seminars, call SkillPath Seminars at (800) 873-7545 or visit them online at www.skillpath.com.
The MidAtlantic Association of Cleaners will be springing into May with a couple of free educational opportunities that will be made available to both members and non-members alike.
On May 6, Elaine Harvey and Ann Hargrove will be presenting "Wetcleaning Works!", an original program covering techniques for wetcleaning processing and finishing.
The seminar, which is free to the public, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at Prestige Cleaners, located at 9420 Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring, MD.
On May 20, there will be a roundtable discussion, "Are we our own worst enemy?", by MAC Blue Ridge District Director Doug Wyatt.
The session, which is also offered free to the public, will run from 2 to 4 p.m. at Julian's Cleaners, 2325 N. Main St. in Danville, VA.
MAC recommends that those who plan to attend either event to call the MidAtlantic office at (800) 235-8360 and make a reservation. MAC's web site can be found at www.macla.net.
The Minnesota Legislature will be considering an environmental tax reform proposal by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency during its 2002 biennial budget sessions.
MPCA's proposal seeks to combine all of the state's individual environmental clean-up funds into one large remediation fund.
Cathy Moeger, MPCA's acting chief financial officer, has indicated that the reasoning behind the proposal is to ensure that the state's highest priority environmental issues will be taken care of first.
In a press release, Moeger said, "The environmental tax reform concept doesn't involve asking for new money. Its goal is to establish broad based, stable funding sources for environmental protection and allow the governor and legislature the flexibility to fund programs that we need."
One group that is opposing MPCA's proposal is the Minnesota Cleaners Association.
Eric Ewald, MCA's executive director, warned association members in its Spring 2001 newsletter that the legislation would have an adverse effect on the state's drycleaning remediation fund.
He wrote: "Funds like ours (that have a positive balance) would be used to fund programs that have a negative balance. So, while the actual dollars are tracked separately, and will ultimately be spent on drycleaner projects, the money in our account on any given day might be going towards other projects."
Ewald also pointed out that the state drycleaning remediation fund would lose all of the interest income that the fund generates when the money in the account remains idle.
MCA believes that if all of the funds are combined, then there will be too many projects that need to use the funds, so there won't be a superfluous balance left to accrue interest. Last year, MCA estimates that the fund received $90,000 in interest income alone.
"Think of this a bit like Social Security or a bank," Ewald added. "What we pay in today is often put to use in other areas, while in principle the money is ours."
Cleaners who want to help MCA combat the environmental tax reform proposal may call the association at (651) 290-6266.
Additional information on MPCA's proposed legislation can be found at www.pca.state.mn.us.
According to the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute and Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources, the state's Drycleaners Environmental Response Fund remains fiscally strong.
The latest statistical data indicates that almost $4 million has been paid into the Fund overall since its inception in 1998.
The annual collection rate for DERF has been estimated at about $1.3 million annually.
The quarterly 1.8% licensing fee of gross receipts on drycleaning services has brought in $2,879,298 so far.
Additionally, solvent purchasing fees ($5 per gallon for perc, $0.75 per gallon for hydrocarbon) have produced $632,677 for the Fund and the initial solvent inventory fees paid in 1998 also added over $120,000.
DERF has also generated $266,901 from interest.
According to DNR, approximately $520,000 has been officially processed and paid to remediation sites.
The total dollar amount of requested reimbursement still pending from remediation sites has been tallied at over $1.3 million dollars. Currently, 29 companies have filed potential claim notices.
In its March/April 2001 Impressions publication, WFI informed its members that the Department of Revenue has reported that 293 drycleaning firms have paid the appropriate DERF fees.
In all, it is estimated that there are currently around 325 businesses that offer drycleaning services throughout Wisconsin, suggesting that at least 90% of the state's cleaners have complied with the law.
For more information on the DERF program, visit DNR's web site at www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/aw/rr/financial/dryclean.html.
The Ohio Cleaners Association recently remodeled its Internet web site to be more helpful to visitors.
The site, which can be found at www.ohiocleaners.org, is designed to appeal to OCA members, as well as drycleaning customers.
There are links that offer drycleaning tips to consumers, as well as a section that defines some cleaning terms and explains helpful information, such as "The Importance of Care Labels."
Customers can also use the site to locate member cleaners in their vicinity by typing a city name or zip code on the site's search engine.
Cleaners can utilize the site to get updated on current news and upcoming OCA events.
The site includes directories for board members and trustees, as well as Allied Trades members and drycleaners. Membership information can also be accessed.
In addition to unveiling its redesigned web site, OCA also announced that it will be working in conjunction with the Ohio Association of Textile Services Association to offer a management seminar on May 10 at the Hilton Hotel in Columbus, OH.
The seminar, titled "Avoiding Legal Pitfalls," will be conducted by Bill Coe of Unifirst. It will take place from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
For more information, contact OCA by calling (614) 221-1900.
White-Sun Cleaners Corp., which operates a large drycleaning plant out of Queens, NY, was formally issued $134,988 in penalties last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for environmental violations.
Combined with all of the other environmentally-related fines that the EPA has discharged against drycleaners in New York and New Jersey since January, 2000, the total amount of penalties is over $450,000.
The EPA levied 10 counts of violations against White-Sun Cleaners and its president, Insun Yun, for improper management of hazardous waste containing perc drycleaning solvent.
"The conditions our inspectors observed at this facility were quite troubling," noted William J. Muszynski, EPA Acting Regional Administrator. "It is widely known -- especially within the drycleaning industry -- that perc evaporates very easily into the air and can cause significant damage to humans if inhaled over long periods of time.
"There is no excuse for drycleaners to ignore the federal, state and local regulations that were put into place to protect their workers and the surrounding community from the potentially toxic effects of this chemical."
EPA first inspected White-Sun Cleaners' drycleaning facility back in August 2000, citing numerous conditions that violated both federal and state hazardous waste regulations.
Some of the EPA's charges against the company include: improperly allowing perc wastewater to evaporate into the air every month; storing at least 19 perc waste containers for longer than permissible by law; mislabeling those 19 perc waste containers; failing to keep 13 of those containers closed except when waste is added or removed; improperly storing lint contaminated with perc in a cardboard box; failing to minimize the amount of perc released into the air; and failing to respond to an EPA request for information after two separate notices.
EPA also cited the company for not determining whether fluorescent light bulbs were hazardous waste before disposing of them and not informing local emergency response groups of which chemicals were contained in the plant and how they were laid out. Such information is vital in the event of an accident.
In addition to seeking over $130,000 in fines, EPA has also ordered White-Sun to immediately achieve compliance with issues relating to the labeling, storage and management of hazardous wastes containing perc so that no more "routine leaks or spills" occur at the plant.
EPA has been offering drycleaning assistance since 1996, offering to review facilities with a temporary amnesty from penalties for environmental regulation violations. So far, the organization has helped over 400 drycleaners in New York and New Jersey. For more information, call EPA's Drycleaning Compliance Assistance number at (212) 637-4050.
Connecticut cleaner Michael Rosenberg plead guilty to two counts of violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) on March 23.
Rosenberg, who owned Avenue Cleaners in Naugatuck, CT, from 1995 to 1999, had been charged for illegal disposal of perc.
About a year prior to Rosenberg's guilty plea, two Avenue Cleaners' barrels containing tetrachloroethylene waste were discovered near the Farmington, Connecticut Reservoir, where they had been dumped originally in 1999.
Although it has been reported that the Farmington, Connecticut Reservoir is no longer used as a drinking water source, the well of two local homes had been contaminated with the waste, according to authorities.
As part of his plea, Rosenberg agreed to pay the two home owners a total of $20,000 each. Additionally, he has opted to pay $200,000 in cleanup costs, which will be used to clear up the reservoir area, as well as a business site in Naugatuck, CT, where Rosenberg also improperly disposed of perc.
When the court sentences Rosenberg, who turned himself in to federal authorities on Dec. 6, he could face an additional fine of up to $250,000 for each of the two RCRA violations. He also faces a maximum of up to five years imprisonment.
The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and the Environmental Crime Unit of the Connecticut Chief State's Attorney's Office.
Additional assistance was provided by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the Town of Farmington Police Department.
Two identical bills have been proposed in Massachusetts that could force business owners to fund temporary disability insurance for employees who take a leave of absence as the result of serious illness, the birth or adoption of a child, or the serious health condition of a family member.
Testimonies on SB 744, proposed by State Senator Susan C. Fargo, and HB 4005, proposed by State Representative Patricia D. Jehlen, have already been given to members of the Committee on Insurance as of March 21.
Both bills seek to require that full-time employees be made eligible for up to 26 weeks of paid leave during one benefit year in the case of a temporary disability. Part-time employees would also be able to receive benefits for up to 52 weeks as long as the total benefit amount issued to them never exceeds 26 times the designated weekly benefit amount.
According to SB 744, the weekly benefit amount for employees would be "equal to 66 percent of the individual's average weekly wage, but not to exceed 57 1/2 percent of the state average weekly wage."
If the proposed legislation were to pass, employees could earn another $25 a week for each benefit, provided the total weekly benefit amount never exceeds 75 percent of their average weekly wage.
Both bills also propose paid leave for temporary family disability, which would include cases where an employee's family member is serious ill or when a child is born or adopted into the employee's immediate family.
In such cases, employees may receive up to 12 weeks of family temporary disability insurance.
The National Federation of Independent Business voiced its disapproval for SB 744 and HB 4005, citing that the legislation doesn't provide an exemption based on the size of business.
Bill Vernon, NFIB's director in Massachusetts, told the press, "More than one million of the Commonwealth's 3.2 million workers are employed at businesses with less than 50 employees. For small businesses, the duration of leave called for in these bills has an operational impact, as well as a financial impact."
Vernon also added, "These proposals would impose a broad, job-killing mandate on business owners in our state, costing at least $1.3 billion."
If you want to read the actual text of the bill, go to www.state.ma.us/legis and click on either "Text of Senate Bills" or "Text of House Bills." In the search engine box, type "744" for the Senate Bill and "4005" for the House Bill.
For more information on the NFIB, go to www.nfib.com.
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association will be offering two educational courses in May at the New York School of Drycleaning.
On May 7, "Principles and Practices of Drycleaning" will begin. It will run from 7 to 11 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday evenings for ten weeks.
"Principles and Practices of Pressing" will start on May 8, and run from 7 to 11 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday night for a four-week period.
Tuition is $760 for the drycleaning course and $380 for the pressing course.
Call NCA at (212) 967-3000, ext. 224 for more information.
In Texas, House Bill 303 is seeking to amend the state's Labor Code in order to require employers to pay each employee based on a "living wage" need.
The current federal law stipulates that minimum wage is $5.15 an hour; however, proponents of HB 303 believe that minimum wage is often insufficient for those classified as "working poor" to pay their monthly living expenses.
In such a case, HB 303 would require employers to pay their workers a "living wage," or a salary based on the average weekly salary divided by 40.
The average weekly salary is calculated by determining the fair market rent area where the employee lives and dividing that figure by 30% (or .3); then, the number derived from that is divided once again by 4.3.
Coincidentally, the fair market rent value is determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a one-bedroom apartment in an appropriately-defined metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area.
Additionally, if the bill is passed, then it will repeal provisions of the law that allow for employers to pay employees less than minimum wage if that person is over 65 years old or has an impaired earning or productive capacity due to age, injury or a physical or mental deficiency.
If HB 303 passes, the new legislation would be effective as of September 1, 2001.
The National Federation of Independent Business spoke out against the bill to the House Economic Development Center on March 22, citing that the bill "will tie the hands of small businesses and mandate they pay a wage that is unaffordable and arbitrary."
If you are interested in reading HB 303 in its entirety, go to www.capitol.state.tx.us and type "HB 303" in the search engine designated for bill information.
For more information on NFIB, go to www.nfib.com.
The Southwest Drycleaners Association will be presenting a General Fabricare course from June 4-8 at the Southwest Research Center for Laundry & Drycleaning, located at Texas Tech's International Textile Center in Lubbock, TX.
The one-week class is comprehensive and suitable for those who are new to the industry, as well as long-time members.
The course covers many topics, including basic customer service, fibers and fabrics, basic stain removal, drycleaning technology, wetcleaning procedures, bleaching, finishing/pressing, and methods for productivity and quality.
Class instructor Jane Zellers will meet with students from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday.
SDA members pay $395 for the course. Other IFI members are charged $460 for tuition and non-members are charged $525. Students must register for the course by May 15 in order to attend.
Hotel rates for the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Lubbock are available at a rate of $51 a night for single occupancy.
Scholarships for the course are available for qualified applicants who are members of SDA. For more information about scholarships, the General Fabricare course or hotel reservations, contact SDA by calling (210) 826-4684.
Two classes will be held in June at the Royaltone Leather Cleaning Academy in Tulsa, OK.
A Leather Spray Finishing Class will be held June 22. The one-day course is for those who want to restore faded, worn-out suedes and leathers. Plant owners and managers will receive personal and individual instruction from Frank Lucenta, the inventor of the Royaltone leather cleaning process.
The two-day Royaltone wetcleaning and drycleaning class will be held June 28-29. Students will learn how to safely spot, wetclean, dryclean, press and refinish suedes, leathers and furs using techniques similar to the way the handle cloth garments.
Attendees each receive a complete instruction manual, written by Lucenta, in both the Korean and English, to complement the classroom and in-plant hands-on training program.
For more information, call (800) 331-5506, e-mail frank@royaltone.com or visit the Royaltone website: www.royaltone.com.
The North Carolina Association of Launderers and Cleaners will be presenting its annual convention, Carolina Clean 2001, from May 25-27 at the Blockade Runner Resort in Wrightsville Beach, NC.
IFI CEO Bill Fisher is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on "The Next 100 Years" at 9:05 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, May 27.
Marketing expert Pamela Yellen, CEO of Prospecting and Marketing Institute, Inc., will also be on hand to discuss "How to Flood Your Dry Cleaning Business with More Quality Customers Than You Can Handle!" from 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 26.
The weekend will kick off on Friday night with a NCALC board of director's meeting from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Afterwards, a Sunset Harbor Cruise will set sail from 6 to 8 p.m. for the first forty people who sign up.
At 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, Dr. Manfred Wentz, executive director of the International Drycleaning Conference, will deliver a special report on an EPA-funded study that compares the effectiveness of newer cleaning technologies carbon dioxide and GreenEarth to the old standards of perc and petroleum.
Lisa Taber, the lead person of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Drycleaning Program, will inform attendees of the status of the NC Drycleaning Solvent Contamination Program.
NCALC will also be presenting a General Membership Meeting with the association's president, John Baker, presiding over the event. It will take place at noon on Sunday.
Full registration packages for the convention cost $300 per person, which includes all educational sessions and evening dining events for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Attendees have the option of purchasing individual event registration, as well as a three-night social event package for $125 per person.
NCALC has reserved two different conference room rates at the Blockadge Runner Resort Hotel. The Harbor Deluxe conference room costs $153 per night for those who are staying a minimum of three nights. An Ocean Deluxe room rate will cost $180 per night, provided guests stay for at least three nights.
For more information on hotel accommodations or NCALC's Carolina Clean 2001 convention, contact the association by calling (336) 389-9011.
Higher taxes on perc and petroleum solvents in North Carolina could be implemented soon, the North Carolina Association of Launderers and Cleaners said.
The increases -- to $10 a gallon on perc and $1.35 a gallon on petroleum -- were supposed to have gone into effect last October but typographical error in the legislation prevented that.
NCALC said a bill will be introduced in the legislature that will establish a new effective date for the increases.
The solvent tax is one part of a comprehensive drycleaning site clean-up program approved last year in North Carolina. The fund is expected to raise upwards of $70 million over 10 years. The solvent tax will be augmented by proceeds from the sales tax, which will be earmarked for the fund beginning in 2003.
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association will be in Florida throughout the months of May and June to offer a variety of educational opportunities.
Bill Seitz, former executive director of NCA, will be offering three live spotting seminars in all. The first will be on May 20 in Orlando.
The seminar will take place at Metro Cleaners, located on 1220 E. Vine St. from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Seitz will present live spotting instruction again on June 3 in Jacksonville, FL. The session will be at Sand Dollar Cleaners, located at 2160 University Blvd. North.
Another seminar is scheduled to take place at Eddie's Custom Cleaners at 4528 W. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa, FL, on June 24.
Tuition for members is $125. If more than one person from the same plant attends, the cost for the second member is only $95. Non-members pay $225; however, if the attendee decides to join NCA at the seminar, then $100 of the tuition money will be applied towards membership dues.
To register for this class, contact Tony Terrell at NCA by calling (212) 967-3002, ext. 230.
NCA will also be in Florida for its "Get Acquainted" programs, designed to give Executive Director Nora Nealis a chance to discuss the current status of NCA with members.
The program also features Ann Hargrove, founder of the Professional Wetcleaners Network, who provides attendees with insight to the world of wetcleaning.
The program will be at the following dates and cities: Melbourne on May; Orlando on May 9; Tampa on June 12; and Ft. Myers on June 13.
The sessions run nightly from 7:30 to 10 p.m.
For specific details, contact NCA by calling (212) 967-3002.
The South Eastern Fabricare Association is in the process of moving from its current office location in Atlanta, GA, into the city of Savannah, GA.
The move is one of the first duties in office of the association's new executive director Barry McElveen.
McElveen assumed the position on Feb. 15, weeks after Everett Childers resigned in January.
Originally, McElveen started working in the drycleaning industry when he took a part-time job at a company in 1960, while he was still attending high school.
Seventeen years ago, he purchased the company from its owner and renamed it Savannah Chemicals. The company was a laundry and drycleaning supplier.
McElveen has served on SEFA's Board of Directors for twelve years. He also has been a board member of the Georgia Dry Cleaning Council and is a former president of the Savannah Fabricare Association. McElveen took a hiatus from the industry to sell real estate before he retired temporarily.
The address for the new SEFA office is: 7373 Hodgson Memorial Drive, Building 3, Suite C, Savannah, GA, 31406.
For more information, contact SEFA by calling (770) 998-9900 or visiting the association's web site at www.sefa.org.
The Western States Drycleaners & Launderers Association will be holding a "Big Shoes - Little Shoes" benefit golf tournament at the Biltmore Resort Golf Club on May 6.
The event, which supports The Junior Golf Association of Arizona, will have a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m.
Players will enjoy 18 holes of golf on a challenging course. The $125 per person entry fee covers the use of a golf cart, range balls, a buffet dinner and an awards ceremony.
The awards ceremony will recognize the winners of the Closest-to-the-Pin contest, a Hole-in-One contest, a putting contest, a Longest Drive contest, a "Casino" hole, and the three best teams of the day.
Teams will be made up of four people. Three paying golfers will be joined by one of Arizona's best junior players.
The field is limited to 108 players.
WSDLA is offering tee sponsorships for $250 and team sponsorships for $375.
Concurrently, the association is also selling raffle tickets for a fund-raising raffle which features a five- to seven-day cruise worth $2,000 as its grand prize.
The second place prize is a set of matching men's and women's watches, and the third place price is a 27" High Definition TV by Panasonic with a built-in VCR and DVD player.
WSDLA will be selling tickets for $50 each, or 3 for $100. No more than 500 tickets will be sold for the raffle.
The winners will be announced on June 2 at a Fund-raising Raffle event.
For more information about the golf tournament or the fund-raising raffle, contact WSDLA at (602) 971-2100.
The California Cleaners Association will be helping its members with a couple of educational opportunities in the month of May.
An Advanced Spotting and Bleaching course is set to take place at Snow Cleaners in Stockton, CA, on Saturday, May 12.
Cost for members is $75 and $125 for non-members. Call CCA at (916) 443-0986 for information.
CCA will also be working with Dallons Environmental Services, who will present a California Air Resources Board certification course on Saturday, May 26 in Long Beach, CA.
Classes are limited to 30 people and pre-registration is required. Cost is $150 for initial certification and $75 for three years re-certification.
Call (800) 347-6551 for additional information.
The Oregon Dry Cleaners Association, in conjunction with the International Fabricare Institute and the Northwest Drycleaners Association, will be presenting a stain removal seminar from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 19.
The seminar is designed to be beneficial to starters as well as those in need of a refresher course. It will take place at the Red Lion Hotel in Medford, OR, and will cover fabric identification and the proper use of bleaches, among other topics.
For more information or to register for the class, contact Claire Anchick at Town & Country Cleaners, (541) 855-1227.
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