The New York State Movers & Warehousemen’s Association held Annual Spring meetings this past April 22nd and 23rd, at the Embassy Suites, in Syracuse, NY.  The event started on the 22nd, with the Association’s Board of Directors & Annual meetings.  Following the meetings, attendees got together for dinner at Daniella’s Steakhouse.  The event concluded with a safety and regulatory program and lunch on the 23rd.

Elections were held during the Annual meeting and the Association welcomes the following individuals to its Board of Directors:  Michael Beckett with USI Insurance, Eric Scorzelli with Packaging Exchange, Kevin Eschbacher with Triangle Movers and Jocelyn Bos-Fisher with Fisher North American.

The Association’s educational program took place on the following day when guest speakers discussed industry safety and regulatory issues. Attendees first heard from Michael Beckett, with USI Insurance.  Michael talked about many issues currently impacting the insurance market, including the cost of reinsurance, rising inflation and nuclear verdicts.  Michael discussed the CAB report and how what’s in the report can directly affect a carrier’s cost of insurance.  You can obtain your CAB report by contacting the Central Analysis Bureau at https://cabadvantage.com/contactcab     Next, attendees heard from Jonathan Nicastro, Director, Motor Carrier Compliance Bureau for the NYS Department of Transportation.  Jonathan gave an overview of the industry, including the status of complaints and also reviewed the recent credit card surcharge law, which went into effect in February.  Lastly, Jonathan mentioned that the NYS DOT will be available to visit a carrier and conduct a mock vehicle inspection, or review general safety compliance, if the carrier requests.

For the next part of our program attendees listened to Robert LaBombard and Annette Malpica, representatives from Lovell Safety Management Company, managers of NYS Movers & Warehousemen’s Safety Group 251.  Bob discussed measures movers can take to reduce injuries and save on worker’s compensation claims, including proper ladder use, control of warehouse debris and other techniques.  Annette talked about worker’s compensation fraud, citing specific cases and letting attendees know what they can do, if they suspect an employee of fraud.

Our educational program was followed by lunch, where attendees had a chance to relax and discuss industry issues with their peers.  The event concluded with the group participating in a friendly axe throwing competition!  Overall, this year’s meetings were successful in many ways, from attendees gaining valuable insight on important issues affecting their businesses to catching up with friends and having some downtime.

The Association’s conference committee is currently at work creating the program for this year’s Fall event, which will be held October 21st through 23rd, at The Fox Hollow Inn, Woodbury, NY.  Stay tuned for details, and if you missed the Spring meeting, I hope you’ll join us in October!!