As a supporting organization for ICUEE 2017, CRA would like to extend an invitation to join them at the show in Louisville, KY, October 3-5! The International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition (ICUEE), also known as The Demo Expo, is the premiere event for utility industry professionals to gain comprehensive insight into the latest technologies, innovations, insights, and trends affecting their industry.

Hilco Industrial has announced the immediate private treaty sale process for the tenting assets of Classic Party Rentals, the nation's largest event and party equipment rental company. Following a recent strategic decision by Classic Party Rentals (www.classicpartyrentals.com) to exit the third-party event rental services business, the company hired Hilco Industrial to run a private treaty sale process that begins immediately. With over 25 locations, Classic Party Rental, the nation's leading event rental and services provider, has been contracted to run, on average, over 150,000 events and celebrations per year. This sale will feature an unparalleled range of tenting assets.

You consider your company’s safety incentive program an effective way to promote safe behavior among your employees. But OSHA could see the very same program as unlawful discrimination and a violation of OSHA recordkeeping regulations and whistleblower protections. According to an OSHA memorandum to compliance officers, certain incentive programs discourage the reporting of injuries and encourage discrimination against workers who report injuries.

We are pleased to announce our 2018 CRA Wall Calendar as an excellent opportunity to bring your company's products and services to the attention of CRA rental center members. Use the calendar advertisement to keep your company's name and logo in front of our members for an entire year!

Sonsray Machinery is hosting a golfing event on July 21 in Northern California. Heavy equipment CRA Members are invited to attend. The event is completely free to all Sonsray customers and prospects. Details follow...

CRA’s 2018 Equipment and Party Rental Rally Tradeshow will be held at the South Point Casino Hotel & Convention Center, featuring 80,000 sq. feet of exhibit space, allowing for 353 10’ x 10’ booths. The South Point is a great venue choice with the convenience of having the convention center and hotel on the same property! Click on "Learn More" to see the list of exhibitors signed up for the show to date.

JLG Industries, Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company and a leading global manufacturer of aerial work platforms and telehandlers, announced that during the week of July 10, 2017, employees worldwide were able to give four hours of their time to volunteer at charities. The "Good 2 Give Back Program" was part of the celebration of Oshkosh Corporation’s 100th anniversary. Approximately 700 employees participated in the Good 2 Give Back (G2GB) program, globally. Participating locations included North America, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Middle East, Romania, Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands.

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and the city’s Office of Wage Standards (OWS) announced this week that they are demanding $1.45 million in penalties from Carl’s Jr. Restaurants for the alleged failure to comply with the city’s minimum wage laws at several Los Angeles locations. On July 1, 2016, the City of Los Angeles implemented a minimum wage rate of $10.50 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $10 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees. These rates will increase this week.

A costly job killer proposal to establish a government-run, single-payer health care system in California has been put on hold in the California Assembly at the direction of the Assembly Speaker. In a June 23 statement, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said SB 562 (Lara; D-Bell Gardens/Atkins; D-San Diego) was "woefully incomplete" as sent to the Assembly and he had decided the bill "will remain in the Assembly Rules Committee until further notice."

Joel Fox, editor and co-publisher of Fox and Hounds Daily, recently commented on Attorney General Xavier Beccera's performance in facing his first test of approving the title and summary of a controversial and highly watched ballot initiative when the gas tax repeal measure came before him. How did he fare, according to Fox?

EIA’s review of first-quarter 2017 financial results for 54 publicly traded U.S. oil and gas producers indicates that these companies, in aggregate, are paying off debt while funding investment through the sale of assets and the issuance of equity. In recent years, investment had been more heavily funded through the issuance of debt. Although revenue for these companies has grown over the past year with higher oil prices, net cash from operations has grown more slowly because of increased upstream costs.The 54 companies included in the analysis are listed on U.S. stock exchanges and are required to submit financial reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They operate largely in U.S. onshore basins, but some also have operations in the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and various other regions across the globe. Aggregate global crude oil and other liquids production for these companies averaged 5.3 million barrels per day (b/d) during the first quarter of 2017.

This month we are interested in seasonal labor. Here are the responses to the July survey.