Don’t miss the State Chamber/AIA 90th Annual Meeting, which will be held Wednesday, Nov. 14 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

Thanks to the following Annual Meeting sponsors:

Presenting – BKD, LLP, Southland Park Gaming & Racing and Walmart Inc.

Partner – Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance, First Community Bank and XTO Energy, Inc., an ExxonMobil subsidiary.

Supporting – AEP Southwestern Electric Power Co., Edwards Food Giant, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, Stephens Production Company, U.S. Bank and Wright Lindsey & Jennings LLP.

Table – Arvest Bank, CJRW, Farm Credit Services of Arkansas, International Paper Company, Kutak Rock LLP, Pain Treatment Centers of America, Regions Insurance, Riceland Foods Inc., Rose Law Firm, Southwest Power Pool and W&W/AFCO Steel LLC.

Gold $750 – Arkansas Business Publishing Group

Silver $500 – Gerdau Special Steel

Bronze $250 – CDI Contractors LLC

If your company or organization would like to be a sponsor for the 90^th Annual Meeting, contact Bill Watson at bwatson@arkansasstatechamber.com or 501-802-1740.

The Supreme Court issued its decision in NLRB v Murphy Oil USA . The case, which was consolidated with Epic Systems Corp v Lewis and Ernst & Young v Morris, deals with the legality of arbitration agreements that waive employees’ ability to file class action lawsuits.

In its decision, which was reached on a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court decided that these arbitration agreements are in fact ­­­legal. Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion and was joined by Chief Justice Roberts as well as Justices Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito. Justice Ginsburg dissented, and was joined by Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan.

The decision states that “Congress has instructed in the Arbitration Act that arbitration agreements providing for individualized proceedings must be enforced, and neither the Arbitration Act’s saving clause nor the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) suggests otherwise.”

The case was originally heard by the NLRB in 2014; the Board’s decision claimed the right to file a class action lawsuit is protected concerted activity under the NLRA and therefore arbitration agreements with class action waivers violate employees’ Section 7 right to act collectively.

The case was then appealed to the Fifth Circuit in 2015. In its decision the Fifth Circuit disagreed with the NLRB’s assertion, believing that class action waivers in arbitration agreements did not violate the NLRA.

Justice Gorsuch similarly writes in his opinion that Section 7 “focuses on the right to organize unions and bargain collectively. It does not mention class or collective action procedures or even hint at a clear and manifest wish to displace the Arbitration Act. It is unlikely that Congress wished to confer a right to class or collective actions in Section 7, since those procedures were hardly known when the NLRA was adopted in 1935.”

CDW’s amicus brief before the Supreme Court was filed in June 2017 and can be found here . Oral arguments before the Supreme Court were heard on October 2, 2017.

 

Our House, U.S. Pizza and Lost Forty are collaborating on Project Swim to provide 150 homeless and near homeless children the supplies they need to go swimming this summer. Help make sure that these kids have the best summer ever.

Join them at a Pool Party from 6 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22nd on the U.S. Pizza Hillcrest patio where they will be collecting summer swim items for the children and families at Our House. Items most needed are new swimsuits for boys and girls, sizes toddler to teen; flip flops, beach towels, swim caps and reusable water bottles.

There are three additional ways that you can help with this effort:

1. Drop off new swimsuits, flip flops, beach towels, swim caps, or reusable water bottles at any U.S. Pizza location

2. Eat at any U.S. Pizza location and buy a Lost Forty beer! Lost Forty will donate $1 for every beer sold during the month of May.

3. Drop off a check at U.S. Pizza or mail directly to Our House, P.O. Box 34155, Little Rock, AR 72203, Memo: Project Swim

 

The 2017 Economic Census is officially underway after the U.S. Census Bureau began notifying businesses nationwide by mail with instructions on how to complete the survey online. Conducted once every five years, this is the first time the Census Bureau will conduct the survey almost entirely online. Only small businesses in U.S. territories will receive a paper form.

The economic census collects data for approximately 3.7 million business locations. U.S. businesses nationwide, including those in U.S. territories, are asked to report their 2017 year-end numbers for each business location, including sales or revenue, employment, payroll, and industry-specific information. Classification initial mailings went out Feb. 1 to selected single-location businesses requesting industry classification information.

The economic census serves as the most comprehensive source of data related to business activity and serves as the foundation for the measurement of U.S. businesses and their economic impact.

The deadline for response is June 12 with the first set of data to be released in September 2019. All data will be released by December 2021. See this graphic for reference.

For more information, visit the economic census page or the Census Bureau’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

Don’t miss the opportunity to promote your company or service to thousands of manufacturers throughout Arkansas. Place an ad in the 2018 Arkansas Manufacturers Directory, which will be published in late June by the State Chamber/AIA. For more information, contact Jeff Thatcher at 501-210-4205 or jthatcher@arkansasstatechamber.com.

To see an ad specifications sheet, click https://www.arkansasstatechamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-Manufacturer-ad-specs.pdf