first quarter 2009 chula vista in the dells to host the ... · gates open at 11:30 a.m. first pitch...

Reserve September 23rd and 24th on your calendar for the 2009 WATS Fall Conference & Golf Outings. The Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells will be our confer-ence headquarters. We’ll tee off the conference with a “Scramble” golf out-ing beginning at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning at the Coldwater Canyon Golf Course. Chula Vista has just put the finishing touches on the resort’s $2 million redesign of Coldwater Canyon Golf Course. The front nine is a tra-ditional style course that was built in 1923 and is one of the oldest nines in Wisconsin. The exciting new back nine features link-style hills, moguls and bunkers that cre-ate secluded fairways that will enhance your golf experi-ence. Coldwater Canyon offers lush greens, canyon fair-ways and breathtaking views. Lunch will be provided in the clubhouse at the turn. At 3:00 p.m., you will be able to register for the confer-ence. Get ready for something different at 4:00 p.m. be-cause we have scheduled a Boat Cruise on the Wisconsin River with a complimentary bar for refreshments; this is a terrific time for networking and socializing.

At 6:30 we’ll enjoy a Banquet Dinner followed by our annual auction extravaganza capping off the evening. We wonder if the black leather bag with the mysterious con-tents will make yet another appearance at this year’s auc-tion. The new product showcase presented by our Allied Trades members will follow Thursday’s General Member-

ship meeting and a full breakfast. See what’s new and exciting in the marketplace! Special guest speakers will also be on tap for our mem-bers to complete the morning’s session. At noon on Thursday, we’ll have lunch and a “play your own ball” golf event at Coldwater Canyon Stay tuned to WATS-News and e-mail an-nouncements for more details! Registration forms will be available soon.

First Quarter 2009

WATSNews A Publication of the Wisconsin Association of Textile Services

Thursday, June 25th Brewers vs. Twins

Gates Open at 11:30 a.m. First Pitch at 1:05 p.m.

Thursday, June 25th Brewers vs. Twins

Gates Open at 11:30 a.m. First Pitch at 1:05 p.m.

Save the Date for the WATS Outing at Miller Park

Chula Vista in the Dells to Host the Fall Conference and Golf Outings September 23 & 24

See pages 9 and 10 for ticket ordering and sponsorship information.

___ WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION OF TEXTILE SERVICES / First Quarter 2009

As 2008 has come to a close, we tend to look back at the year and compare it to other years as well as to start planning for and anticipating what’s ahead. Wow, what a strange year 2008 was! The U.S. economy is in turmoil. Every day we hear about financial bailouts backed by our government - first Wall Street, now the auto industry. Where will it end? We all know of people who are out of work and busi-

nesses that have closed. We also now know we have been in recession since last December. But gas prices are the lowest we’ve seen in years – go figure. The economic challenges facing our businesses, our nation and the world are at the front of every debate as we begin 2009. How and when we emerge from this economic recession cannot be forecasted, and our businesses face the same challenges as all companies in America. We must ensure that our business inter-ests are adequately represented, heard and applied on the national, state and local levels of government. What’s the point of trudging through this mostly dismal news? We are still here. Even though 2008 was very challenging, we can look back as survivors and know that even though it is hard to see now, lean times can make us better. We can’t and shouldn’t al-ways count on things being as they were. We need to run our businesses in a way that, when these times come, we can somehow get through them – a backup plan is always a good idea. Most of you know that WATS provides a terrific conduit for our member laundries and allied trades to network and socialize, but the universal voice for our industry that WATS provides in Wisconsin is invalu-able. We need to make sure that the debate at the na-tional and state levels includes our interests and our voices. Changes made at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. matter a lot to our businesses, but so do deci-sions on the state and local levels. WATS exists for times like these. Thanks for joining us in these ef-forts. We also want to acknowledge and welcome our newest WATS members: Dave’s Magikist, Imperial Laundry, Norris Linen, Superior Health Linens and Wisconsin Hospitality Linen Service. Jim Leef

President’s Message

WATS News This quarterly publication is the official newsletter of the Wisconsin Association of Textile Services. It is published for the informational and educational use of its members.

Officers President ..............................................................................James Leef

ITU, Inc., New Berlin Vice President .................................................................. Robert Miller

Spic and Span, Milwaukee Secretary/Treasurer ..................................................William Vaudreuil

Huebsch Rental Services, Eau Claire

Directors David Corfman, Unifirst Corp., Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Rob Wilson, Aramark Uniform Services, Inc., LaCrosse, WI Gary Gunderson/Gunderson, Inc., Menasha, WI

Associate Representatives Julie Feldhaus, VF Imagewear, Green Bay, WI

Craig Marti/Baltic Linen, Maryville, IL Rich Neiner/Regent Apparel, Lake Ozark, MO

Wisconsin Association of Textile Services 12342 West Layton Avenue

Greenfield, WI 53228 t: 414-529-4703 f: 414-529-4722

Brian Swingle, Executive Director/Sr. Editor: [email protected]

Kari Foster, Executive Assistant Marlene Grossert, Financial Manager

Janet Johnson, Membership Coordinator: [email protected]

Jill Fennimore, Communications Director: [email protected]

Bob White, Communications & Project Management [email protected]

Judy Wied, Program and Projects Coordinator: [email protected]

The Wisconsin Association of Textile Services disclaims liability of statements by

the editors, contributors & advertisers.

Please contact the WATS Office if you have meeting notices or news items to be included in this newsletter.

708-949-8387

WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION OF TEXTILE SERVICES / First Quarter 2009 __

sector employees employed within the city will ac-crue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, but no more than 72 hours of paid sick leave per calendar year (i.e., nine paid sick days per year with accruals to be carried over from year to year to a maximum of 72 hours). Employees of a “small busi-ness,” defined as a company with fewer than 10

workers (including part-time and temporary workers), accrue a maximum bank of 40 hours per calendar year (i.e., five paid sick days per year). Employees begin to accrue paid sick leave immediately upon beginning

(Continued on page 4)

Members Attend Association-sponsored Milwaukee Sick Leave Seminar Our members attended a seminar on February 6th, on complying with the proposed Milwaukee Sick Leave Ordinance. Numerous industry trade associa-tions and the law firm of Godfrey & Kahn sponsored the seminar. Labor law attorney Daniel Finerty of Godfrey & Kahn presented the seminar and answered numerous questions from the 100 business owners and managers in attendance. Finerty, who has been working with the Metropoli-tan Milwaukee Association of Commerce on the is-sue, detailed how the ordinance came to become intro-duced and adopted in a binding referendum in last No-vember’s general election. He focused on what em-ployers need to do to comply with the ordinance scheduled to go into effect February 10th.

However, businesses got a reprieve later that same day when Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas R. Cooper granted the Metropolitan Milwau-kee Association of Commerce’s (MMAC) motion for a temporary injunction, preventing Milwaukee’s paid sick leave ordinance from taking effect on February 10 until the court has the opportunity to rule on MMAC's complaint on the merits. On November 4, 2008, Milwaukee became the third city in the United States, after San Francisco and the District of Columbia, to require that all city businesses provide their employees with paid sick leave through the passage of a binding referendum. The binding referendum provides that all private

25th


Obama Budget Includes 34% Increase for EPA, Big Boost for Water Programs

President Obama called for $10.5 billion for Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA) programs in the upcom-ing fiscal, 34 percent more than the current EPA spending total. The budget plan for 2010 includes major increases in specific areas of EPA spending compared with the House-passed omnibus appropriations bill for 2009. The increases include $3.9 billion for clean and drinking water state revolving funds, compared with $1.5 billion in the appropriations measure for fiscal 2009; $475 million for a new EPA-led interagency Great Lakes restoration, compared with $154 million in the House measure for the Great Lakes, Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay. The administration also proposed $3.9 billion for agency operating costs, $1.1 billion in grants for states and tribal agencies to administer environmental programs, and called for reinstating in 2011 superfund excise taxes that expired in 1995. “We are no longer faced with the false choice of a strong economy or a clean environment,” EPA Ad-ministrator Lisa Jackson, said in a Feb. 26 statement. “The president's budget shows that making critical and responsible investments in protecting the health and environment of all Americans will also lead to a more vibrant and stable economy,” she said. Funding proposed for EPA’s clean water programs would support 1,000 state, tribal and territorial clean water and nearly 700 drinking water projects annually, according to the budget documents. These programs provide matching grants (80 percent federal; 20 per-cent state) to states for capitalizing their own revolv-ing funds for wastewater and drinking water treatment systems.

their employment, but are not entitled to use the ac-crued sick leave until the 90th calendar day following the start of employment. The referendum applies to full, part-time and temporary employees, salaried or hourly workers. Paid sick leave can be used by an employee for his or her own physical or mental condition and for any preventative medical care. It can also be used for a family member’s physical or mental condition or pre-ventative medical care. A “family member” is broadly defined to cover the child, spouse, parent, grandpar-ent, grandchild, “spouse of a biological, foster or adopted sibling,” “domestic partner,” and “any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.” The referendum also guarantees leave for employees dealing with domestic abuse, sex-ual assault or stalking. Further, “an employer may not require disclosure of information relating to...the de-tails of an employee’s medical condition as a condi-tion of providing sick leave.” The ordinance also con-tains notice posting, anti-retaliation and enforcement provisions. On November 5, 2008, MMAC filed a notice of claim stating that ordinance: (1) is inconsistent with federal (Family and Medical Leave Act) and state laws (Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act) gov-erning family and medical leave; (2) exceeds the leg-islative powers conferred upon the city of Milwaukee as it is an attempt to set a living or minimum wage; and (3) exceeds the legislative powers conferred upon the city of Milwaukee as it improperly attempts to regulate employers located outside the geographic boundaries of the city (i.e., it would require paid sick leave from employers outside the city that have em-ployees living in Milwaukee). On November 17, 2008, MMAC’s Board of Direc-tors authorized a legal challenge to the mandate. MMAC is represented by the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. The complaint asserts declara-tory judgment and injunctive relief. As part of its suit, MMAC also requested that the Circuit Court of Milwaukee County enter a temporary injunction blocking the city from enforcing the mandate while the court considers its validity.

(Continued from page 3)


UniFirst Wins Awards for ‘Green’ Laundering Processes by Jason Hicks, Web Editor, American Laundry News UniFirst Corp. has won a variety of awards recently for its environmentally friendly laundering processes, the company reports. The Missouri Water Environment Association, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of wa-ter resources throughout the state, gave the company a top “Gold” award for “outstanding achievement” in water safety. In Austin, Texas, the Water & Wastewater Utility Special Service Division presented UniFirst its Excel-lence in Pretreatment award for maintaining “a prop-erly designed, operated and maintained pretreatment system” that continually passes unannounced sam-pling inspections. In addition, Houston’s Industrial Wastewater Service awarded the company a Gold

Award for “enviro-friendly” water treatment proc-esses. UniFirst also received similar awards from the Hampton Roads Sanitation District in Virginia, the Kansas Water Environment Association in Topeka and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities in North Carolina. Exelon Corp., one of the nation’s largest nuclear power providers, presented UniFirst its Environmental Leadership Award for its “lengthy record of [processes and] services that are environmentally re-sponsible, safe and of superior quality.” Reprinted from http://www.americanlaundrynews.com To contact the author, send an email to: [email protected]


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Aramark Uniform Services Opens Environmentally Friendly Laundry Facility Jason Hicks, Web Editor, American Laundry News

Aramark Uniform Services has opened a new 52,000-square-foot laundry facility designed for envi-ronmental friendliness in Van Ormy, Texas. Aramark has provided services to the San Antonio, Texas, area from its Dallas plant for the past 15 years. To underscore its commitment to the local community and reduce its fleet’s fuel consumption, the company worked with GMA Design Group and Arco-Murray Construction Co. to build the new energy-efficient facility, Aramark says. The new facility serves 4,000 customers in the South Texas region and employs 67 new workers. It’s capable of processing 400,000 pounds of laundry per week. Aramark estimates that it will be able to cut fuel consumption by 32,000 gallons per year, thanks to the location of the site, which reduces the mileage neces-sary to transport laundry to and from the Dallas plant. The company also estimates savings on water use of 1.5-3 million gallons per year — 15-30% — thanks to the plant’s reusable water system. The plant also utilizes a heat reclaimer to recover and reuse heat from wastewater, reducing the plant’s gas use by 25%. The plant will save approximately 3 million cubic feet of natural gas each year, the com-pany says.

Ecolab Announces Restructuring for Cost Savings, Efficiency by Jason Hicks, Web Editor, American Laundry News Ecolab Inc. has announced that it plans to under-take restructuring and other cost-saving actions as it streamlines and improves its global business. This will result in a special charge in the fourth quarter of 2008 and a restructuring special charge in 2009. It will produce significant annual cost savings and cre-ate a more efficient organization, Ecolab says. “The restructuring steps we’re taking are designed to better position the company for today’s economic conditions and the future,” says Douglas M. Baker Jr., Ecolab’s chairman, president and chief executive offi-cer. The restructuring is intended to optimize Eco-lab’s workforce, facilities, product lines and business portfolios in order to adjust to the current economy while positioning to leverage future growth, he ex-plains. These changes include:

• A reduction of the company’s global workforce by approximately 1,000 positions, or 4%. Those whose jobs are eliminated will be of-fered severance and outplacement as appropri-ate.

• An acceleration of product line initiatives re-ducing finished goods’ SKUs by 40% and opti-mizing formulations to reduce environmental and cost impact.

• Further optimization of the company’s supply chain, including the planned reduction of plant and distribution center locations.

• The closure of two small, nonstrategic health-care businesses and the write-down of invest-ments in an energy management business.

“While we are confident these steps are the right ones for Ecolab, we regret that circumstances re-quired associates to leave the company,” Baker says. “We appreciate their contributions and we’ve worked hard to do this in a respectful way, but understand the pain it causes as well.” Ecolab expects to record a special charge in the fourth quarter of 2008 that will include a pretax

(Continued on page 8)


charge of approximately $19 million ($18 million af-ter tax) related to the write-down and exiting of the businesses mentioned. In 2009, Ecolab expects to incur a pretax restructur-ing special charge of $65-75 million ($42-49 million after tax) as a result of these actions. These actions are expected to provide annualized pretax savings of ap-proximately $70-80 million ($45-50 million after tax, or approximately $0.20 per share), with pretax savings of approximately $50 million (or about $0.13 per share) to be realized in 2009. “Our unwavering commitment is to strengthen our businesses, our leading market positions, and our op-portunities for future growth,” Baker says. “In spite of the tough decisions we’ve had to make and the tough economic environment in which we find ourselves, we believe we are now even better positioned for the fu-ture. We have great growth prospects, a robust busi-ness model, the industry’s leading customer service, an opportunity to substantially increase our market share, and a strong balance sheet. And most impor-tantly, we have a strong and experienced team ready to drive our business forward.”

(Continued from page 7)

Steve Tinker Named Vice President at Gurtler Industries

Gurtler Industries, Inc. is pleased to announce the promotion of Steven Tinker to Vice President of Re-search & Development. For the last seven years he has been the Director of Research & Development for Gurtler Industries, Inc. Gurtler is a North American manufacturer of institutional and industrial laundry detergents and processing chemicals. Tinker has over 35 years experience in the professional laundry indus-try as a product development scientist and marketing executive. During this time he has developed and brought to market numerous institutional and indus-trial laundry detergents and specialty chemicals. Cur-rently Tinker and his staff are responsible for new

product development, corporate quality assur-ance, product mainte-nance, and field techni-cal service support. In addition, Tinker is re-sponsible for Gurtler’s marketing programs. Tinker is one of the founding members of the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) and has served as the Vice Chairman of the new organization. The HLAC mission is to publish a set of standards for processing healthcare textiles which were developed by a panel of industry experts with input from laundry professionals, healthcare ad-ministrators, end-users and government officials; and to inspect and accredit laundries using the standards. In 2006 HLAC began to provide an inspection and accreditation process that recognizes those laundries seeking accreditation on a voluntary basis. Tinker is also the current President of the American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA), an organiza-tion dedicated to the promotion of the appreciation of reusable textiles over disposables. He was a founding member and currently serves on the Healthcare Com-mittee of TRSA, the Textile Rental Services Associa-tion. Over the years Tinker has been a key presenter at industry seminars, most recently at the 2008 ARTA Reusable Surgical Textiles Seminar and the 2008 TRSA Healthcare Seminar. He has published numer-ous articles on a wide variety of laundering technol-ogy in several industry publications. His article in the November, 1998 Textile Rental, “Do We Need Stan-dards” was awarded the TRSA Supplier Article of the Year award in 1998. Gurtler Industries, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of advanced detergents and specialty chemicals for the commercial laundry industry. A privately held, family owned and operated business, Gurtler has grown into one of the largest specialists in the laundry chemical supply industry, offering a full line processing chemi-cals, injection systems and personalized service across North America.


The Brewers are Relevant Again!

With the Brewers coming off their first playoff season in years, it’s a great time to link your company’s name to the team.

For sponsoring the WATS outing, you get your company logo displayed in the Airtran Airways Landing Zone We’ll also have an acknowledgement of your sponsorship in WATSNews, the quarterly electronic newsletter distributed to WATS members.

Thursday June 25th, 2009

Miller Park Airtran Airways Landing Zone

VS.

Sign me up as a sponsor of the 2009 WATS Brewers Outing! Two levels of sponsorship are available:

Gold Level Gold Level -- $200$200 Silver Level Silver Level -- $100$100

My check is enclosed I will email my company’s logo to [email protected]

Please invoice me! (Members Only) My logo artwork is enclosed

Company Name Contact Person

Mailing Address

Phone Fax

E-MailPlease fax or mail this form to the WATS office

no later than Friday, June 12, 2009. WATS Office: Attention Bob White

12342 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield, WI 53228 Phone (414) 529-4703 Fax (414) 529-4722


2009WATS Baseball Outing Registration Once we receive your registration and payment, we will mail a confirmation letter with the

tickets to the Contact Person listed on the form.


Address City/State/Zip

Phone Fax E-Mail

Attendees

Complete and return registration to the WATS Office: 12342 West Layton Avenue Greenfield, WI 53228

T: (414) 529-4703 F: (414) 529-4722 E: [email protected]

Join your WATS colleagues as they enjoy our national pastime at the exciting Miller Park where the Milwaukee Brewers and the Minnesota Twins hook up in an inter-league game.

WATS has reserved a group of tickets in the AirTran Airways Landing Zone, the same private location as last year with a great field-level view, but with a new name!

$79 Per

Person!

All-you-can-eat buffet includes:

Grilled Bratwurst with Sauerkraut Kosher Hot Dogs

Pulled Barbeque Chicken Sandwiches Hamburgers

Corn-on-the-Cob Baked Beans

Cookies

The private bar in the Landing Zone offers complimentary soda and two beers per person. Mixed

drinks and additional beer are available from the bar on a cash basis.

Game Day Details

Gates open at 11:30 a.m.

WATS Attendees should enter Miller Park at the right field entrance.

The buffet will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

First pitch is at 1:05 p.m.

Parking is additional.

There are a limited number of tickets, so make your reservation early!

Game Time1:05 p.m.

Thursday, June 25, 2009 Gates Open at 11:30 a.m.!

AirTran Airways Landing Zone

(formerly the Mercedes-Benz Field Haus)

The cost is $79 per person and includes a game ticket and

an all-you-can-eat buffet!


From the

WATS Board

President Jim Leef called the meeting to order at 12:04 p.m. The Board reviewed the Minutes of the 11-11-08 meeting and they were approved as submitted. The Board also approved the 2008 Year-End Finan-cial Statement. Brian Swingle noted that we now have 42 paid members including the 5 new Textile Rental/Commercial Laundries that took advantage of our spe-cial membership promotion. Brian thanked the Board for all their feedback in updating and correcting our prospective list. It was noted that we now have to reach out to these new members and get them to par-ticipate. Our Brewers Game date has been confirmed for June 25th, the Brewers vs. the Twins at 1:05 p.m. in the AirTran Airways Landing Zone (formerly the Mercedes-Benz Field Haus). Staff will send out a spe-cial sponsor letter. Brian also mentioned we usually have some extra tickets and he asked the Board if they would like him to invite special guests Scott Manley and Jim Haney from WMC to at-tend and they agreed. The Fall Conference has been scheduled for September 23rd and 24th at the Chula Vista Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. The Board agreed to the following: Scramble golf outing at the Coldwater Canyon Golf Course at the Chula Vista on 9-23 at 9:30 a.m.; Two Hour Cruise on the River loading at the Chula Vista around 4:00 p.m. A Board of Directors telephone confer-ence call will be scheduled a week after the conference so we will have sufficient time for the cruise and not be rushed during the conference; Dinner and Auction to follow the Cruise at the hotel; Breakfast, General Membership Meeting, Product Showcase

and Business Sessions on the morning of the 24th; and close the conference with a “Play Your Own Ball” golf outing at Coldwater Canyon. Ron Evans, a linen consultant with Kleen-Tex, was suggested as a speaker for the Conference, possibly addressing the subject of “Doing Well in Tough Eco-nomic Times,” as well as a possible speaker from WMC. Brian noted that he saw a couple of our WATS members at the recently held meeting he arranged on the City of Milwaukee Sick Pay issue. He also said that since the judge issued an injunction on this issue, it will take a lot of time to go through the courts be-fore a final decision is rendered. Brian talked about some of the legislators that are now chairing committees which have impact on our industry such as the Natural Resources Committee. He mentioned that with the budget deficit, this is not a favorable time to try to get property tax exemptions. Old Business: None New Business: None The Board agreed to schedule the next Board Meet-ing on May 19th at noon as a telephone conference call. There being no further business, the meeting ad-journed at 12:50 p.m. Kari Foster


Calendar of Events 2009 June 18-21 Clean Show ‘09 Morial Convention Center New Orleans, La. www.cleanshow.com June 25 Brewers Game Outing 1:05 p.m. vs. Minnesota AirTran Airways Landing Zone (Formerly Mercedes-Benz Field Haus) Info: Brian Swingle 414-529-4703 [email protected]

Sep 23-24 WATS Fall Conference & Golf Outing Chula Vista Resort Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965 414-529-4703

New Bill Would Protect Secret Ballot Elections Three members of Congress attended a meeting last week of the Steering Committee of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), the group leading ef-forts to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) also know as “card check.” TRSA is a member of this select CDW committee and Director of Federal Af-fairs Tony Wagner attended. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) House Minority Leader, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Rep. John Kline (R-MN) each made brief remarks to CDW members. They each pledged their support to protect the rights of workers to a secret ballot election when deciding whether to form a union. During House Minority Leader Boehner’s remarks, he said, “I want to do eve-rything I can do to defeat (EFCA).” Likewise, McKeon said that the principle of a secret ballot is so important that we have to win this and that there was no room for compromise. Then, Rep. Kline announced that he would be spon-soring “The Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2009” (SBPA) as a counter measure to the EFCA. As promised, two days after this announcement, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) introduced the bill in the Senate and Reps. John Kline (R-MN), Tom Price (R-GA), and Buck McKeon (R-CA) introduced it in the House. At this time the bill has 16 co-sponsors in the Senate and approximately 100 in the House with Rep. Mitch Ja-cobs (D-NJ) the lone Democratic co-sponsor. The bill would preserve a secret ballot vote for all union elections. It would amend the National Labor Relations Act to make it an unfair labor practice for an employer to recognize or bargain with a union that has not been selected through a secret ballot election con-ducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It would also be an unfair labor practice for a union to cause or attempt to cause an employer to recognize or bargain with a union that has not been selected in a secret ballot election conducted by the NLRB. On the bill, Sen. DeMint said, “Voting by secret ballot is a fundamental principle of American democ-

racy and it’s time to guarantee this basic right for every American worker.” "Make no mistake, workers must have the right to unionize, but they should be free to do so without in-timidation and coercion from either union officials or company management,” Boehner added. Opposing the measure, the American Rights at Work expressed outrage. “It is unconscionable that these congressmen with six-figure salaries and guar-anteed pensions choose to kick America’s workers when they are down,” said Executive Director Mary Beth Maxwell. While the bill deals with only one aspect of the EFCA and remains silent on other potentially eco-nomically damaging provisions such as binding arbi-tration, TRSA believes the measure would serve as a counterbalance to EFCA and protect the rights of in-dustry workers. While EFCA has been called a top Democratic pri-ority, the bill has not been introduced in either House or the Senate. One thing is sure; President Obama’s campaign relied heavily on his support of EFCA to court various labor groups such as the AFL-CIO and those groups continue to state that passage of the EFCA is their top priority.


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Address City/State/Zip

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Rev. 11/03/08

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Issues of Insertion* Second Quarter 2009 Third Quarter 2009 Fourth Quarter 2009 First Quarter 2010

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of hospitals are saying, ‘Is there a way we can peel off certain services and move them off-site as a way to save money?” David Klumpe, executive vice president of enter-prise accounts for Broadlane, a group-purchasing or-ganization based in Dallas, said of hospitals that “they are increasingly looking for any source of competitive advantage that they can find.” If you’d like more information on opportunities in healthcare laundering, contact Cocivera or TRSA’s Bill Mann at 877/770-9274. Reprinted with permission from Textile Rental Weekly.

New I-9 Form Delayed for 60 Days The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a 60-day delay in implement-ing the new Form I-9 for employment eligibility veri-fication for new hires. The new I-9 forms were to take effect February 2, but a seemingly last-minute decision was made on January 30 to delay implementation of the I-9 forms and their accompanying rules. The delay comes in re-sponse to a January memorandum from President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. In that memorandum, Emanuel directed all federal agen-cies to put a freeze on certain unimplemented federal regulations, recommending that these regulations be subject to a 60-day hold for further agency considera-tion. The rules detailing the new I-9 form process will now be on hold until April 3, and the public comment period regarding these rules has been reopened until March 4. At this time, USCIS has not officially stated which Form I-9 employers should use. Until further instruc-tion is given, however, some employment law attor-neys recommend that employers use the 2007 revision of Form I-9, which has an expiration date of June 30, 2009. Employers may want to check with their em-ployment law attorney. Further information about the delayed implementation of these rules may be found at http://www.uscis.gov.

Still No. 1 - Healthcare Laundry Outsourcing For those of you already in healthcare laundering, or considering a shift to that market, there’s reason for optimism in an otherwise dreary economy. Modern Healthcare magazine’s recently released 30th Annual Outsourcing Survey has once again ranked laundry services as the top outsourcing item among 19 categories, including pharmacy, security and clinical/diagnostic equipment maintenance ser-vices. The magazine describes its Survey as an unsci-entific look at hospital outsourcing practices based on self-reported information from vendors that provide department management services to healthcare provid-ers. The Survey findings, released on Oct. 6, 2008, did-n’t uncover any major trends among the various ser-vices it tracks, though the general thrust was that out-sourcing continues to provide an “important and evolving resource” to healthcare providers. “As the recession forces everyone to tighten their belts, healthcare providers will continue to outsource laundry services,” said TRSA President and CEO Roger Cocivera. “It simply makes sense to let quali-fied textile service companies handle laundry services because this frees up healthcare professionals to con-centrate on what they do best: Taking care of patients. While our industry is already well established in the healthcare market, I predict that it will continue to ex-perience growth.” The 2008 Survey results appear to validate Cociv-era’s view. Ranked for a second consecutive year at No. 1 among outsourced healthcare services, growth in 2007 stood at 3.2%. That’s not surprising, given that outsourcing laundry work is a well-established practice among healthcare providers. However, the current economic downturn could create opportunities for textile service companies to convince reluctant hospitals that now is the time for them to save money and improve services by outsourcing their laundry. Randy Walter, executive vice president of enterprise solutions and contracts for GPO Amerinet, St. Louis, said the economy is making hospitals more conscious than ever of the need to control costs. He told Modern Healthcare that given today’s recession, “A multitude


President's Budget Blueprint Sends Clear Signals Obama's EPA Budget The Obama budget includes $10.5 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the largest funding level in the agency’s 39-year history. The $3 billion increase from 2008 funding levels will further ensure the protection of public health and the environment for all Americans. “The president’s budget proposes critical resources to protect the American people and the places where they live, work and play,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We are no longer faced with the false choice of a strong economy or a clean environment. With these proposed resources, and the president’s strong envi-ronmental agenda, it should be overwhelmingly clear that EPA is back on the job.” Some key highlights of 2010 budget initiatives in-clude:

• $3.9 billion for the Clean Water State Revolv-ing Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund grants to support approximately 1,000 clean water projects and 700 drinking water projects - this year’s largest single investment.

• A new $475 million, multi-agency Great Lakes Initiative to protect the world’s largest fresh water resource.

• A $19 million increase for the greenhouse gas emissions inventory and related activities that will provide data critical for implementing a comprehensive climate change bill.

• EPA’s funding for climate change investments is the foundation for working with key stake-holders and Congress to develop an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce green-house gas emissions approximately 83% below 2005 levels by 2050.

• Strengthening EPA’s core research, enforce-ment and regulatory capabilities.

Obama's Cap-and-Trade Program The president plans on using revenues generated from a cap-and-trade program - where companies pay to emit carbon dioxide - to fund "investments in clean energy" to the tune of $15 billion a year. He also pro-poses using another $64 billion a year of cap-and-trade revenues to make tax cuts for the middle class permanent. In a cap-and-trade program, companies must ini-tially buy permits from the government to emit carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Companies trade these permits among themselves, which are expected to get more expensive as the number decreases. Com-panies can either pay to install cleaner equipment, or buy permits from other companies that have them. Ac-cording to tables released by the White House, the cap-and-trade law is expected to generate $79 billion a year in 2012. A separate analysis of last year's bill by the Energy Information Agency said enacting the leg-islation would raise the price of gasoline by about 41 cents a gallon and the price of electricity by about 11% by 2030. The administration's current budget proposal calls for a 14% reduction in carbon dioxide from 2005 levels by 2020 and an 83% reduction by 2050. Increase in OSHA Funding Obama's budget seeks to increase funding to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Though both houses of Congress will write their own appropriations bills in coming months, law-makers have shown signs that they’ll make OSHA a bigger priority. A 2009 appropriations bill now before Congress boosts spending and requires the agency to do a better job of tracking injuries and illnesses. Excerpts from TRSA's Washington Advocacy Insider March 5, 2009


Superior Health Linens 2905 Syene Rd. Madison, WI 53713 608-270-1870 F: 608-270-1705 www.superiorhealthlinens.com Greg Schermerhorn Wisconsin Hospitality Linen Service 130 W. Edgerton Ave., Suite 200 Milwaukee, WI 53207 414-482-0840 F: 414-482-0850 www.wisconsinlaundry.com Keith Scheffler

Welcome New Members! Dave’s Magikist 1844 W Fond du Lac Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53205 414-344-4380 F: 414-344-4576 David Schopf Imperial Laundry Systems 1236 13th St. Racine, WI 53403 262-632-7997 F: 262-632-9959 www.imperiallaundrysystems.com Jeff Jordan Norris Linen Service, Inc. 2255 S. 170th St. New Berlin, WI 53151 262-786-7660 F: 262-786-7503 www.norrislinen.com Tim MacInnes

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