State Chamber/AIA President & CEO Randy Zook said that he’s sticking with President Trump’s trade wars on faith, for now, and he hopes the ultimate outcome is fairer trade practices that benefit the U.S.

Appearing on this week’s edition of Talk Business & Politics, Zook said trade policies need correction, but there will be pain for some of the state’s business interests. Read more at this link.

The State Chamber/AIA recently published a 2018 Impact Statement showing evidence of State Chamber/AIA efforts and initiatives that are providing half a billion dollars in annual savings to employers in Arkansas.

Efforts and initiatives covered on the sheet include Tort Reform, Workers’ Compensation, Unemployment Insurance Taxes, Manufacturing Tax Reductions, Education & Workforce Quality, Infrastructure and Taxpayer Fairness.

To access a copy of the 2018 Impact Statement, click https://www.arkansasstatechamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Revised_ASCC_ImpactStatement_BragSheet_2018.pdf

Applications are now being accepted through July 27 for Class XIII of Leadership Arkansas, a program of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas. Highly motivated individuals are sought to experience firsthand the dynamic interactions between cities, industries, governmental units and the people they serve.

Leadership Arkansas is a unique program designed to take a comprehensive view of the economic, social and political challenges facing Arkansas. More than 600 Arkansans from all walks of life have graduated from Leadership Arkansas since its inception in 2005.

Leadership Arkansas offers leadership opportunities to participants by training them with the passion and commitment to become personally engaged in issues, programs and activities aimed at building a better Arkansas.

To apply for Leadership Arkansas Class XIII, click https://www.arkansasstatechamber.com/partners-links/leadership-arkansas/application-requirements/.

For more information on Leadership Arkansas, contact Toni Lindsey at tlindsey@arkansasstatechamber.com or 479-409-4389.

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, Caterpillar Inc., First Community Bank, McKee Foods Corporation and XTO Energy, Inc., an ExxonMobil subsidiary.

Supporting – AEP Southwestern Electric Power Co., Central Moloney Inc., Edwards Food Giant, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Stephens Production Company, U.S. Bank and Wright Lindsey & Jennings LLP.

Table – Arvest Bank, Barber Law Firm, 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 – Arkansas Business

Silver – Gerdau Special Steel, FutureFuel Chemical Company and Signature Bank of Arkansas.
Bronze – CDI Contractors LLC

If your company or organization would like to help sponsor 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.