A
Note from Executive Director Stan Sorkin
On the legislative front, the 2008 Legislative session entered it
critical stage in late April and an unexpected bombshell hit the Capital.
In a surprise announcement, Jim Amann. Speaker of the House, announced
his retirement from the legislature in January to concentrate on a
run for Govenor. Amann, a moderate Democrat, has been an accessible
leader and has been fair and balanced in his relationship with the
CFA. The loss of his leadership, to say the least, is not a positive
development. Speaker Amann recognized the need for a balance between
labor and business priorities and the role the business community
plays in the development of Connecticut’s economy. House Majority
Leader, Chris Donavan is expected to succeed Amann. Donavan has strong
ties with organized labor and this could prove problematic in 2009.
However, CFA has had a cordial relationship with Donavan having worked
with Chris on our 15 year-old in supermarket legislation and his minimum
wage legislation. Moreover, Chris Stone, Chairman of the General Law
Commmittee and strong supporter of CFA positions on key issues, announced
his retirement. With both Amann and Stone out of the picture in 2009,
CFA will be devoting the off-season to detailed planning for a potentially
difficult 2009. It will be important to participate in the election
process in November to help elect legislators with pro-business positions.
While many bills affecting the industry are still in play, the Connecticut
Food Association can claim victories on some key issues:
Minimum Wage: A CFA negotiated compromise bill
on the Minimum Wage passed the House. While a new $8.00 per hour
rate will be in effect on Jan 1, 2009, we were able to hold the
planned 35 cent increase in 2010 to 25 cents resulting in an $8.25
rate per hour. Bill expected to pass the Senate.
Bottle Bill Expansion: Now paired back to include
water and flavored waters less than 11/2 liters only. CFA will be
running spots on WTIC during morning drive time to let legislators
and consumers know that in addition to the high cost of food some
legislators now want to tax bottled water to the tune of $1.20 per
case and that single-stream curbside recycling is a better alternative.
We have also collected 10,000 postcards which we plan on delivering
to the legislature if needed. To help blunt bottle expansion, CFA
supported legislation authorizing single-stream recycling pilot
projects and publicized the benefits of single-stream on its www.21stcenturyrecycling.org
web-site and by supporting the National Recycling Coalition's Hartford
single-stream project.
Plastic Bag Ban: CFA successfully worked to prevent
the bill banning all but biodegradable plastic bags from coming
to a vote. CFA is committed to develop a voluntary program to convert
consumers to reusable grocery bags.
Locked Beer Coolers: CFA initiated legislation
that no longer requires grocers to lock cold beer coolers during
hours when beer sales are prohibited passed.
Meat and Poultry Recalls: CFA worked with the
state to insure that language for mandatory Class1 and Class 2 recall
procedures mirrored those in FSIS regulations.
On the trade relations front, the Connecticut Food Industry turned
out in full-force to pay tribute to Tim DeVanney of Highland Park
Markets and Harry Garafalo of the Shop-Rite of Milford as they were
inducted to the CFA Hall of Fame on Thursday night, April 10th,
at the AquaTurf. Over 350 people heard CFA Chairman, George Motel
administer the oath of induction to Tim and Harry honoring them
for their years of service to the food industry and their communities.
Tim was introduced by WTIC morning news show personality Ray Dunaway
and Harry by Wakefern’s Raymond Miller, Senior Manager of
Retail Operations and Merchandising. The remarks by both Harry and
Tim were from the heart and gave everyone insights into their unique
personalities. In addition, silent auctions of sports memorbellia,
art, and donated merchandise raised over $4000 to fund the Connecticut
Food Foundation Scholarship program. Starting this year, the Hall
of Fame dinner will be held annually.
The next event on the CFA calendar, the Annual Golf Tournament
will be held Monday, June 2nd at the Laurel View Golf Club in Hamden.
Contact the CFA office for information.
CFA membership continues its growth trend. We are pleased to welcome
Whole Foods, West Haven IGA, and the Connecticut- based independently
owned Bravo and C-Town supermarkets to the organization. On the
associate member side, Direct Energy and Adlife Marketing and Communications,Inc.
were added.
