Content about Social Issues

CHICAGO — A majority of dry cleaners report they have given raises in the last six months, according to data from this month’s unscientific American Drycleaner Wire survey.

When asked if they’ve reviewed employee compensation in the last six months, 64.7% of respondents replied yes, saying they “raised pay on an individual basis,” while 23.5% “raised pay across the board.” Only 11.8% replied no, saying that they “did not raise pay.”

Coinciding with this trend, more than half of cleaners (52.9%) report that they pay their employees more than other plants in their market area. Roughly 41% of respondents have kept their pay rates about the same as other area plants. Just 5.9% report paying their staffers less than other plants in their area.

Just 17.6% of respondents report having had to lay off employees in the last 12 months for financial reasons.

SAN FRANCISCO — America’s Best Cleaners (ABC) Affiliates from across the United States gathered in Scottsdale, Ariz., last month for three days of networking and presentations around industry and general business best practices.

The March 13-15 meeting included presentations by consultants from various industries and businesses that support dry cleaning, as well as a tour of local Affiliate Z Cleaners’ new production facility and a dinner hosted by Frank Dubasik of Metalprogetti.

Speakers included Nicholas Regine, technical design and application specialist from Swarovski Crystals, who discussed the latest trends in fashion embellishments and application techniques. He also talked about how Swarovski supports ABC Affiliates across the country and applied a custom ABC’s crystal transfer to a shirt owned by ABC’s executive director, Christopher White.

CHICAGO — Quick. Easy. Efficient. Who doesn’t love online banking? Be aware, though, of the danger: Hackers can access your account, drain your funds and threaten the survival of your business.

The risk is growing. Cyber attacks increased some 24% in the first half of 2012 over the same period the previous year, according to a new report from security firm Symantec. Reason? “Any time the economy goes down, white collar crime goes up,” says Bill McDermott, CEO of Atlanta-based McDermott Financial Solutions. “We’re seeing an increase in corporate account takeovers. It’s a huge problem.”

Banks commonly refuse to indemnify companies for funds stolen from commercial accounts. “A lot of people have the misunderstanding that banks offer to business accounts the protection offered to consumers,” says McDermott. “In fact, banks will not hold business account holders harmless for losses from cyber-fraud.”

ARDMORE, Pa. — The so-called “fiscal cliff” tax package recently signed into law renewed more than 50 temporary tax breaks through 2013, saving individuals and businesses an estimated $76 billion. For the owners and operators of small- and medium-sized dry cleaning businesses, there is good news and bad news contained in the fiscal cliff tax laws.

First, the good news: greater certainty in taxes. The owners and operators of dry cleaning businesses have grown used to many longstanding tax breaks but they also have had to get used to the uncertainty of whether they will be renewed each year.

On the downside, in addition to a 3.8% Net Investment Income (NII) tax and a 0.9% Additional Medicare tax that, thanks to the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, began in 2013, many dry cleaners and laundry owners discovered they are subject to new taxes. Single individuals with incomes above the $400,000 level and married couples with income higher than $450,000 will pay more in taxes in 2013.

CHICAGO — Google the terms “dry cleaner” and “robbed” and you’re likely to find several news reports of incidents that have occurred in the last month or so. Yes, dry cleaners’ cash business can be an attraction for robbers, and minimally staffed drop stores can be targeted.

In this month’s AmericanDrycleaner.com Wire survey, members of the trade audience were asked if any of their stores had ever been victimized by criminals. Nearly 43% of respondents said their businesses had been victimized in the past.

Of those incidents, 83.3% involved an “in-person robbery of cash or merchandise” and 66.7% involved a “property crime such as burglary or vandalism.” One-third of respondents also said someone in their store had been involved in a “physical assault or serious violent crime” or “another type of crime,” including receiving counterfeit bills. Just 16.7% said they had been victimized by a “fraud or confidence game that cheated the business.”

CHICAGO — The fall 2012 couture and ready-to-wear shows in Milan, New York and Paris offered up a variety of elegant, self-assured looks that were, for once, neither shockingly over-the-top nor snoozingly sedate. If anything, designers refined and reiterated the trends of the prior year, putting a pause on the march of style as if to say that these are the new staples, and all hell can break loose next season.

That’s not to say that the new fall styles are easy-care—they aren’t. Designers opted for some of the most difficult constructions and embellishments for this year’s collections, ensuring that what was once the reserve of the fashion revolutionary will soon be the purview of the mall and the middle class.

Fluorescent furs, mannish, matchy pantsuits, and origami-style outerwear are just a few of the trends that are moving quickly from catwalk to street, meaning that dry cleaners will soon face the specific challenges they pose—if they aren’t facing them already.

CHICAGO — The fall 2012 couture and ready-to-wear shows in Milan, New York and Paris offered up a variety of elegant, self-assured looks that were, for once, neither shockingly over-the-top nor snoozingly sedate. If anything, designers refined and reiterated the trends of the prior year, putting a pause on the march of style as if to say that these are the new staples, and all hell can break loose next season.

That’s not to say that the new fall styles are easy-care—they aren’t. Designers opted for some of the most difficult constructions and embellishments for this year’s collections, ensuring that what was once the reserve of the fashion revolutionary will soon be the purview of the mall and the middle class.

Fluorescent furs, mannish, matchy pantsuits, and origami-style outerwear are just a few of the trends that are moving quickly from catwalk to street, meaning that dry cleaners will soon face the specific challenges they pose—if they aren’t facing them already.

NEW YORK CITY — It’s the nation’s most comprehensive health insurance reform since Medicare. And it’s been endorsed as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, how will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) affect your dry cleaning business? Will your premiums go down? Will it be easier to shop for insurance? Will the available policies offer better coverage? And will you be protected from those profit-busting price hikes that so often occur when one employee in a small group gets seriously ill?

We’ll answer your most important questions at the end of this article. Here’s one thing to get out of the way first, though: No employer will be required to provide health insurance. However, some employers, as you will see, will pay penalties if they do not provide insurance and their employees decide to buy insurance from the new statewide insurance pools.

CHICAGO — ECONOMIC ACTIVITY CONTINUED TO IMPROVE in July and early August, according to the 12 Federal Reserve Districts in the latest Beige Book report from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Nine districts report modest economic growth, with two reporting slow growth and the 12th indicated mixed reports with some slowdown.

Retail activity, including car sales, had increased since the previous report, although the districts showed only slight increases. Several districts – Boston, New York, Richmond, Atlanta, Minneapolis and San Francisco – indicated that tourism was on the upswing.

The tourism increase was backed by a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. International visitors, according to the commerce report, have spent more than $82 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related products since the first of the year, an increase of 11% from this time last year.

CINCINNATI — According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), more than 1,000 eye injuries occur in U.S. workplaces every day.

“Oftentimes, eye injuries can be prevented, or in many cases minimized,” says Nancy Petersen, senior marketing manager, First Aid & Safety, Cintas. “Understanding the causes of these injuries and ways to reduce their occurrence and impact will benefit both workers and businesses.”

Cintas offers these tips for promoting eye safety:

IDENTIFY WORKPLACE HAZARDS

Eye injuries can be caused by many different hazards, including chemical exposure or contact with work equipment. Conduct a safety walk-through to locate areas and tasks that pose as risks to workers.

SELECT APPROPRIATE EYEWEAR

Eyewear must protect against the specific hazards employees will encounter and be properly fitted to the individual. Since different styles have varying levels of comfort and must help protect certain eye dangers, purchase multiple types of eyewear, including prescription lenses for workers who require them.

CHICAGO — Despite the unrelenting flow of advice from people who ought to know, huge numbers of Americans just aren’t facing the truth about retirement. It would seem that those of us who are systematically planning and saving for a comfortable retirement are on the road to becoming a distinct minority.

Adding to the growing body of evidence of this national lethargy is data from the latest annual survey on retirement preparation conducted by Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBI), a non-profit organization. EBI has been gathering this data for 22 consecutive years. Among the findings of its 2011 survey:

WASHINGTON — When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted the final health assessment for tetrachloroethylene—also known as perchloroethylene, or perc—to its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database in February, it deemed the chemical to be a “likely human carcinogen.”

The assessment replaces the 1988 IRIS assessment for perc and for the first time includes a hazard characterization for cancer effects. The assessment underwent several levels of rigorous, independent peer review including: agency review, interagency review, public comment, and external peer review by the National Research Council, according to the EPA, and all major review comments were addressed.

The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance says 70% of U.S. commercial dry cleaners use perc; EPA estimates the total number to be 27,000. So what does this development mean for the future of the industry’s preferred solvent?