COVID-19 Emergency Relief Funds
Be Smart – Be Safe
Dear CSA Members,
California Sign Association member businesses are a diverse group. Though all are related somehow to the Sign Industry, each is unique and therefore will have different needs that come with the COVID-19 Pandemic.
HERE’S HOW TO APPLY FOR COVID-19 EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDS
Three programs applicable to employers with less than 500 employees:
- The Paycheck Protection Program. Per the SBA —
“This program is for any small business with less than 500 employees (including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and self-employed persons), private non-profit organization or 501(c)(19) veterans organizations affected by coronavirus/COVID-19.” The Paycheck Protection Program is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. SBA Lenders may begin processing applications starting April 3. The Paycheck Protection Program will be available through June 30, 2020. Click Here for the details. Continue Reading
COVID-19 Construction Update
Be Smart – Be Safe
7 Bay Area Counties Shut Down Construction Jobs
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo counties, and the City of Berkeley have issued a new shelter in place order, that limits most construction. The order takes effect 11:59 p.m. March 31, 2020; and is currently effective until May 3, 2020.
Following are the limitations on construction:
Most construction-residential and commercial-is prohibited. Exceptions are made for healthcare facility construction directly related to the COVID-19 response; affordable housing; public works projects when designated as essential by the lead governmental agency; shelters and temporary housing; projects necessary to provide critical services to certain vulnerable individuals; construction necessary to secure an existing construction site; and limited essential residential or business repairs.
You can click here to see a copy of the Alameda County order, which is similar for all.
Note: ISA has created resources for those in the sign industry considered an “essential business” that must remain open to continue to serve vital infrastructure, manufacturing and retail services.
- Implement a policy to have only employees working on these “essential” projects coming into work, and designate them as essential using this template which the employee should carry with them getting to- and from work.
- Get documentation from your “essential business” customers that they are in need of signs and graphics from your business to communicate with the public using this template.
CARES ACT EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS
Be Smart – Be Safe
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Message from CSA President
Be Smart – Be Safe
CSA Members,
Whether you fall under the “Essentials” category of business, or have your facilities temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, PLEASE Be Smart, Be Safe.
Collective Humanity Will Make Us Stronger!
Your California Sign Association (CSA) staff is monitoring information coming in from Health Professionals and numerous Government Entities, that may affect your personal and professional well being. Regular email blasts will be sent to CSA members with this information. We ask that you take a moment to review this material and stay informed. If you have additional resources that you would like to share with your CSA family, please let us know.
Should you have additional contacts from your company, that you would like added to the CSA data base, please forward their names and email addresses to Cheryl Flahive at cflahive@calsign.org; she will make certain to get the Be Smart Be Safe email blasts to them as well.
Thank you,
Rob Riley
CSA President, 2019-2020
100 YEARS TO CELEBRATE FOR YESCO
YESCO, (Young Electric Sign Company) Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, a member of the California Sign Association since 1971, celebrates 100 years in business!
Ken Person, Vice President/California Region Manager / YESCO, currently serves on the California Sign Association Board of Directors as 2nd VP.
Today YESCO represents one of North America’s largest and most-recognized sign companies thanks to its historic roster of iconic signs. The family-owned and operated company began in 1920 in Ogden, Utah when founder Thomas Young borrowed $300 from his father to start the business. It began specializing in wall-painted advertisements, gold-leaf window lettering and coffin plates. Read More
To celebrate the milestone anniversary, YESCO will host one hundred-year anniversary events in cities including:
- Salt Lake City – Feb. 20
- Denver – Feb. 28
- Los Angeles – March 6
- Phoenix – March 14
- Reno, Nevada – March 16
- Las Vegas – March 20
- Boise, Idaho – March 27
Congratulations YESCO – We are proud to have you as members and we are thankful for your industry support over the years!
Take Action Against Illegal Sign Contracting
Licensed sign companies in California are competing against unlicensed full-service sign companies, and unlicensed service-installation companies. The California Sign Association (CSA) works with the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to eliminate these unlicensed companies, through CSA’s “Bandit Buster” program. If you are aware of illegal and unlicensed service or installations of signs, you can help solve the problem by notifying the CSLB and/or CSA and push back on the “underground economy.” Continue Reading
CSA Director Emeritus Gary Quiel Retires
Reflecting on a Legacy
Gary Quiel (pictured second from right, 2014 CSA Summit) along with Emeritus Skip Moore (photo, center), were the first two “second generation” offspring to receive the honor of Director Emeritus title status. The first-generation Director Emeriti preceding Gary and Skip were Ray Quiel and Bill Moore. Ray and Bill were installed as Emeriti in 1994 and Gary and Skip were installed in 2014.
During Gary’s time on the CSA Board of Directors, he served as president of the association in 1998, chair and co-chair of numerous committees, and most notably as Chairman of the Annual Fishing Trip, which set sail out of Dana Point Harbor for 17 years under Gary’s leadership. He concluded his last voyage in 2019, giving us many fond memories of this annual expedition, and hundreds of great stories about whose fish was the biggest, or which one fought the hardest and longest. The fishing trip has also served as one of the best venues for developing true camaraderie with fellow CSA members.
To say Gary will be missed on the board of directors is an understatement – he will be sorely missed. But we look forward to Gary’s continued involvement as a Director Emeritus. CSA wishes Gary and his brothers Larry and Jerry the best of luck and health in their collective retirements. It is hard to imagine the Inland Empire of California without Quiel Brothers Signs and all its employees; their involvement in CSA, ISA and WSA leaves a legacy like no other.
A WONDERFUL ARTICLE ON THE QUIEL BROTHERS SIGN COMPANY IS AVAILABLE – READ STORY.
The Great Fishing Trip August 8, 2020!
Back for the 18th voyage off the coast of Dana Point, Captain Neal Tibbs and 29 lucky fishermen, women & children will set sail early, early Saturday, August 8th! This event sells out every year, so book early! This is an all-day cruise launching at 5:00 am (please check-in by 4:30 am) out of Dana Point Harbor and returning around 5:00 pm that afternoon.
Cost: $120 per person (license, equipment, food, drink or fish cleaning are NOT included in this fee). Payment is required to hold reservations. Registration form & payment are due by Friday, July 10, 2020. After this date, no refunds will be given for cancellations. The boat could hold 60, but we limit the total number of guests to 45 give everyone plenty of room to stretch out.
For more information about the fishing, call Call Neal Tibbs at (209) 603-0629. For information about registration, call CSA at (916) 932-0021 or email cflahive@calsign.org.
License, equipment, food, drink or fish cleaning is NOT included in your registration fee.
Saturday, August 8, 2020 – Sailing on the Clemente
Check-in at 4:30 am, boat departs at 5:00 am sharp!
Dana Wharf Sportfishing in Dana Point Harbor
34675 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, CA
Return approximately 5:00 PM.
10 Action Steps to Protect Designs
10 Action Steps Sign Contractors Can Take To Protect Signs and Designs in the Cut-and-Paste World of Social Media
Have you ever driven down the street only to spot a sign you designed constructed and installed by a competitor? Or did a photo of your work get uploaded to Facebook, LinkedIn or another sign company’s website? CSA Legal Counsel recently presented two seminars on trademark and copyright protection for members in a world of social media, where a simple cut-and paste can result in infringement and loss of business. Here are helpful key Action Steps discussed at the sessions.
OSHA ENFORCEMENT ALERT!
OSHA is Planning to Increase Enforcement on Crane Operators in early 2020
Over the past few years, CSA and ISA have been advising sign companies about new requirements for crane operators. Though the deadlines for compliance have occurred in the last two years, few sign companies have encountered enforcement by OSHA inspectors.
CSA and ISA expect enforcement to ramp up significantly in early 2020. The reason for this increased enforcement is that OSHA often needs time after the effective date of a regulation to draft internal policies, compliance manuals, and to train its inspectors and enforcement personnel who are based in the regional OSHA offices. In November 2019, the head of OSHA’s Directorate of Construction spoke to a key conference of construction training personnel; he forecast that by January 2020 the agency would complete their Compliance Guide that will assist OSHA compliance officers in their application of the requirements on construction sites across the country.
Once the Compliance Guide is distributed, OSHA inspectors will move forward in asserting the federal Cranes in Construction standard and applying it uniformly across all regions.
What sign companies should know: The Cranes in Construction rule is a massive document, with numerous provisions that have been adopted in stages since 2010. For sign companies, the two most significant deadlines were November 2018 (third-party certification of crane operators) and February 2019 (employer evaluation of crane operators). A key part of both these deadlines is requirements to maintain documentation of compliance that is available on the worksite upon request by an OSHA officer. If a sign company’s personnel are not compliant in 2020, OSHA will not accept the claim that the sign company/employer did not have enough advance notice to obtain certification or complete the employer evaluation. At this point, all employers will have had at least one year after the effective date to ensure compliance.
Available resources: ISA has developed many resources (www.signs.org/crane) that explain the rule and answer common questions. ISA has developed a free Mobile Crane Operator Evaluation Form, that can help an employer assess their employees. ISA also has hosted numerous webinars on the topic; these webinars are archived and are free to access for ISA/affiliate members:
Employer Evaluation of Crane Operators
CSA staff is available to answer questions you may have on Qualifying and/or Certifying your crane operators. For information, contact Cheryl at 916-932-0021 or email (cflahive@calsign.org).