We are definitely living in interesting times. While our general economy has shown signs of strengthening, and household moving remains well above seasonal norms, there is nothing to indicate that an end to the pandemic is imminent. Reported cases of COVID-19 continue to escalate in a time when we also are starting to have concerns about seasonal flu virus outbreaks. Members of the California Moving and Storage Association (CMSA) continue to be on the front line providing essential services to those in need of moving services.

Chairman John Chipman, Jr., in his column (starting on page 2) has provided a thoughtful and detailed review of recent actions related to the Global Household Goods Contract (GHC), the dissolution of the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) and the development of the American Trucking Association (ATA) Moving Conference. That being said, I want to reinforce the fact that the CMSA, while we work with and support all relevant industry groups, has never had any direct connection to AMSA or ATA. We are a 103-year-old, stand-alone trade association representing California movers, suppliers and other interested parties and intend to stay that way.

Early in November, the CMSA Board of Directors conducted meetings over two days via Zoom (see back cover for a photo). In addition to the regular business conducted and committee reports regularly reviewed in a CMSA board meeting, a significant amount of time was spent on California legislative issues. While we had some success in the 2019-2020 session, we know that we have a lot of work ahead of us. The good news is that as we prepare for the 2021-2022 session, we move forward with our strong team of CMSA staff and leadership, our lobbyist Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange (SYASL), and legal counsel Mark Hegarty. Proposition 22 success leads us to believe that issues related to AB 5 and the ABC test for independent contractors will be back in the California legislature in the next session.

As stated in an email to membership, you may or may not know that CMSA has a Political Action Committee (PAC) to support candidates and issues important to our industry. At our November board meeting the CMSA Board of Directors approved a legislative action plan that will require significant funding from our currently depleted PAC. The board agreed that if each CMSA member company, mover and associate, would contribute $200 to our PAC we would be able to move forward with our planned legislative support.

We believe that this action is critical and necessary, have you made your contribution yet?

With all that change, some things remain the same. This issue includes an application for the CMSA educational scholarship, the vocational scholarship application is also available on our website. We encourage you to distribute applications broadly among qualified individuals within your organization. We will once again be awarding $51,000.00 in scholarships to young people from within our Association at our 103rd annual convention in May 2021.

November 2020 - CMSA Communicator