Disruption continues to be a driving force in our industry and one of the core elements of the work the Association does on a daily basis. The 2019 peak season has come and gone, but there are several large issues on the horizon that have and continue to occupy our energies and resources. Chairman McCarthy’s column goes into some detail on his perceptions and opinions of the Global Household Goods Contract, US TransCom’s initiative to outsource the entire DOD program to a single entity. In partnership with the International Association of Movers (IAM) and the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA), we continue to address this issue with both the Military and Congress. Our concerns are for the Agents and Drivers, what General Lyon’s would call the “boots at the curb.” The General repeatedly states that a new program will be better for those who actually do the work, it is difficult to have any confidence in this statement when no one in government seems to have a firm grasp on how to support agents in the current program. One thing is clear, US TransCom has not engaged with Agents without authority since at least the beginning of DP3. As I have said on several occasions, local agents play no part in the current program, other than survey, pack, load, move, and store the military member’s goods.

The other issue is AB 5 and the California Legislature’s desire to eliminate the independent contractor model from the state. In September, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 5 into law and it is scheduled to become law effective January 1, 2020. The new law will make it far more challenging for independent contractors to operate in California. The impetus for the bill was the Gig economy and what the author and other like-minded legislators saw as employers taking advantage of workers and avoiding taxes. Stories circulated about Uber drivers having to sleep in their cars in San Francisco while the “Tech Bro” founders and upper management swigged French champagne at lavish parties. While I have little doubt that this is true, it has no connection to the type of long-standing relationships that exist in our industry. Unfortunately, once the legislative process began, it was a juggernaut that gobbled up good and bad with the support of organized labor who had been waiting for the opportunity. Our industry’s engagement with independent contracts shares almost no similarities to the freshly minted Gig economy freelancers. We continue to lobby for relief for an industry model we call the “righteous contractor,” a model that CMSA has long proposed and shared with our members in several independent contractor workshops over the last 15 years.

Page 7 of this issue includes an updated MAX 4 Tariff Item 465 form (in a slightly smaller than full-page form). This required form includes the Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS) toll-free number. Please feel free to copy this form or contact CMSA.

October 2019 - CMSA Communicator