SCRS Joins Industry in Outreach to U.S. Attorney General

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has joined efforts currently supported by a number of collision repair organizations across the country in a request to the Department of Justice, and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, to investigate violations of federal antitrust laws that seemingly take place in today's marketplace. *

"Stemming from the circulation of a petition designed for leaders of state associations, SCRS felt compelled to offer our support of the efforts underway," stated Barry Dorn, SCRS Chairman. "Our board believed that a letter from the only national trade association dedicated to representing the collision repairer which articulated similar perspectives as those outlined in the petition would help to highlight the importance of the issues raised."

SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg added, "SCRS has long claimed that our members and affiliate associations are the heartbeat of our organization. We are very confident in our approach and support of this issue because direct correspondences with those members have confirmed the importance of such efforts, and we believe that grassroots efforts such as those that demonstrate the unified voice of the collision repairer are an imperative element in moving this industry forward."

The SCRS letter, which will be sent directly to Attorney General Holder, is as follows:

Dear Attorney General Holder:

In the early 1960's, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy directed the United States Department of Justice to investigate the market conduct activity of certain insurers and insurance sponsored associations with respect to appraisals and repairs of insured damaged automobiles. The investigation found that 265 insurance companies, represented primarily by three national associations, were in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Department of Justice filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court in New York against the insurers, and charged them with violation of Sections 1 and 3 of the Sherman Act.

Prior to trial, the parties agreed to a Consent Order which was approved by the court and signed on October 23, 1963. Section IV of the Final Judgment, as approved by the court, stated the defendants and co-conspirators would not operate or participate in any plan, program or practice that recommended appraisers, steer to any business or person, or away from any appraiser or repairer, control activities of appraisers, allocate customers-markets-business of appraisers, or fix, establish or control prices paid for appraisals or charged by repair shops for the repair of damage to automotive vehicles or for replacement parts or labor in connection therewith, whether by coercion, boycott or intimidation or by the use of flat rate or parts manuals or otherwise.

Below is the relevant passage.

(A) Each defendant is enjoined from placing into effect any plan, program or practice which has the purpose or effect of: (1) sponsoring, endorsing or otherwise recommending any appraiser of damage to automobile vehicles: (2) directing, advising or otherwise suggesting that any person or firm do business or refuse to do business with (a) any appraiser of damage to automobile vehicles with respect to the appraisal of such damage, or (b) any independent or dealer franchised automotive repair shop with respect to the repair of damage to automobile vehicles; (3) exercising any control over the activities of any appraiser of damage to automotive vehicles; (4) allocating or dividing customers, territories, markets or business among any appraisers of damage to automotive vehicles; or (5) fixing, establishing, maintaining or otherwise controlling the prices to be paid for the appraisal of damage to automotive vehicles, or to be charged by independent or dealer franchised automotive repair shops for the repair of damage to automotive vehicles or for replacement parts or labor in connection therewith, whether by coercion, boycott or intimidation or by the use of flat rate or parts manuals or otherwise .

It is our understanding the 1963 Consent Decree, so-called, remains in effect today and is enforceable by the Department of Justice, who has sole standing privileges. As such, we also understand that several organizations and individuals have tried to get the U.S. Department of Justice to enforce the Decree over the years, and that a renewed effort is underway by many representatives of the collision repair industry. We wish to express to you our support of the concerns of these entities, and make a request of our own.

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) is a twenty-seven year old national collision repair association, and the only national association in the United States dedicated solely to advance the collision repair professional. Through its direct members and 35 affiliate associations, SCRS is comprised of over 6,000 collision repair businesses and 58,500 specialized professionals who work with consumers and insurance companies to repair collision-damaged vehicles. On behalf of our membership, we are asking that you not only investigate whether the tenants of the 1963 Consent Decree are being violated, but initiate a parallel investigation into probable violations of the Sherman Act and related federal anti-trust and/or restraint of trade statutes by entities which are operating within the collision repair industry currently. Today's market conduct seemingly is unfortunately very similar to that of the 1960's.

It is not the intention of SCRS to accuse all who participate in the collision repair process of illegal behavior; however such participants may include, but are not limited to, insurance companies, appraisers, repair facilities, dealers, and more, and there is no doubt that certain entities today operate in a manner that is clearly inconsistent with the intent, if not the letter, of the law. In part, our industry is being held captive by the market conduct practices of certain insurers who seemingly control almost all facets of the collision repair process. In addition to steering, or deceptively referring, consumers to shops they favor, they dictate what they will pay for labor, parts, procedures, storage, sublet items, towing, and more; with no regulatory accountability or intervention. These practices, in fact, are those which the insurers who signed the 1963 Consent Decree agreed were unacceptable and illegal behavior which they would not resort to in the future.

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CAR USED AS BATTERING RAM AT COLLISION REPAIR SHOP

May 26, 2009

Police have issued an arrest warrant for a man who used a vehicle as a battering ram to drive although vehicle through the front window of an collision repair shop in Ontario yesterday.

Police say the man arrived at a collision repair shop to get back his pickup truck but the store staff would not turn it over because the plates did not match the vehicle and the man was a suspended driver. According to police, the enraged man used a vehicle as a battering ram to drive another vehicle through the store while employees threw themselves out of the way.

Automakers and Repair Shops Commit to
Voluntary Agreement on Service and Repair Information

TORONTO, ONTARIO and VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 13, 2009) - Canada's automobile manufacturers and distributors today confirmed their pledge to create a voluntary agreement with independent vehicle repair shops to provide access to emissions and non-emissions-related service information, diagnostic tools, and training information and training needed to service Canadian's vehicles.

"The vehicle manufacturers and distributors have overcome some major hurdles to get to a position where we can address legitimate service, repair, training and tooling information needs of the automotive aftermarket through a voluntary solution" said Mark Nantais, CVMA's President. "When Bill C-273 was first introduced, our industry was challenged by the Minister of Industry to develop a voluntary framework to address the concerns being raised by the aftermarket automotive industry. We have responded aggressively and positively towards creating this voluntary framework that will ensure that all automotive manufacturers are providing this information in the near future. In fact, many companies are already making this information available today."

Dale Finch, NATA's Executive Vice President stated that "a voluntary agreement is much better suited to the complex realities and constant change in the automotive business. The reality is that the legislation, while well intended, will take several years to operationalize, and then be fairly limited and static because of its prescriptive approach. The voluntary agreement we are crafting will be fully implemented in less than year to the benefit of all in the automotive aftermarket. The voluntary solution will be flexible enough to quickly address industry and any consumer issues moving forward that may not be contemplated under the legislation. Unfortunately legislation does not work in this manner, nor does it recognize how much of this information is already available in Canada today."

"We look forward to meeting with the Parliamentary Committee to discuss our voluntary agreement as a much more effective solution to the issues that created the need for this Bill in the first place," said David Adams, President of the AIAMC. "A myth has been perpetrated that voluntary agreements require legislative backstops or they are ineffective. The truth is that our industry in Canada has a history of pragmatism in meeting regulatory objectives through voluntary initiatives with a variety of partners, including the federal government. In this current situation legislation is not required to force the release of the information from the many manufacturers that are making it available today, and this voluntary MOU will mean that legislation will not be necessary to ensure that all manufacturers offer this information in the near future."

For more information, please contact

Association of International Automobile
Manufacturers of Canada
David Adams, President
(416) 595-8251
dadams@aiamc.com

or

Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association
Mark Nantais
President
(416) 560-4157
mnantais@cvma.ca

or

National Automotive Trade Association
Dale Finch
Executive Vice President
(604) 432-7987
dalefinch@ara.bc.ca

(See Headlines)

A longtime body shop owner is found dead at his Beaver Dam shop after a car fell on him.

Town of Beaver Dam Police said a race car rolled off four weight monitors at Falbe Crash 1 Collision Center and fell on 50-year-old man.

Two customers came to the shop arond 9 p.m. and found the Beaver Dam man trapped.

Police said the death appears to be an accident.

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MANDATORY RIGHT TO REPAIR OR VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT?

May 11, 2009

Member shops can easily get confused with the messages they are receiving. They are hearing that "Right to Repair" legislation is the answer to their difficulties in accessing OEM information, tools and training. The same shop then gets a notice from their collision repair trade association supporting a voluntary agreement instead.

At noon today (Monday), the House of Commons approved sending the Right to Repair Act, (Bill C-273) a private members bill mandating information transfer to the Industry, Science and Technology Committee for further study, either in this session or in the Fall.

At the same time, MPs looked forward to an industry voluntary solution that could work and the government admitted that there were fundamental problems with Bill C-273 and that they would work to remove the sections related to the Competition Act which would make the Bill's enforcement tools essentially inoperative. We also expect automakers to challenge sections of Bill C-273 and litigate for years into the future.

In the meantime, the associations and manufacturers of vehicles in Canada along with members of the National Automotive Trades Association (NATA) of which your collision repair association is a member, are meeting weekly to work out the details of a framework agreement signed recently that obligates ALL auto manufacturers prior to September 2009 to complete the agreement and to have available access to information, tools and training for any repair shop by May 1, 2010. We forwarded an e-mail to you announcing this last week.

On April 29, your collision repair association and our NATA representatives, spent 10 hours in negotiations with invited manufacturers and distributors in order to perfect an agreement that we could all sign. Representatives from Industry Canada, Environment Canada and Competition Bureau observed. The trade associations for the vehicle manufacturers and distributors and staff from the Automotive Industries Association (AIA), also attended. We welcomed senior staff from Toyota, BMW, Subaru, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Kia, Volkswagen, Mazda, Porsche, General Motors, Hyundai, and Ford. An agreement was reached and can be viewed at: http://www.natacanada.com/Industry_LOI.pdf

Your association will continue to meet regularly with the manufacturers to ensure the voluntary agreement framework and details are successful, regardless of what happens in Ottawa. The anticipation is that even if the Bill is in court, tied up at the House of Commons or watered down to meaningless existence, that through your association's efforts in signing the voluntary agreement, our member shops will still receive clear and unfettered OEM access, tools and training from ALL manufacturers completed before or by March 1, 2010.

Please call the association at 1 866 309 4272 with any questions.

Best wishes,
John Norris

(See Headlines)

A GUEST EDITORIAL FROM BILL BURKIMSHER,
AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET RETAILERS of ONTARIO (AARO)

Something I consider noteworthy, if not momentous, has taken place: On May 1st, 2009, two days following an April 29th 'Right to Repair' conference in Toronto hosted by the National Automotive Trades Association (NATA), Canada's vehicle manufacturers co-signed an important Letter of Intent (LOI) with us. In the letter sent to federal Industry minister Tony Clement, representatives of the automakers committed to enter into a Voluntary Agreement that will ensure Canadian technicians full access to the OEM technical information and tools they require to repair vehicles. (See 'Canadian Automakers Sign VISTA Letter of Intent'.)

Central to the letter's content are clear timelines that have been arranged for the crafting of the agreement and its implementation. This should all happen sooner rather than later. The signatories to the LOI have pledged to "complete the Voluntary Agreement by September 30, 2009, and implement (it) across all Canadian automobile manufacturers and distributors by no later than May 1, 2010." Who would argue that this isn't wonderful news?

Preparations are indeed moving ahead swiftly. Initial meetings of technical and non-technical committees comprised of association members - whose function will be to ascertain the needs of all stakeholders - are being set up as I write this. Moreover, an associations' working group to monitor the implementation and ongoing effectiveness of the Voluntary Agreement, and ensure its continued industry support, is also being organized.

Having been close to the service information access problem from its onset, the true significance of these developments is not lost on me. And I feel certain that everyone else who is intimately familiar with the issue will regard what has recently transpired to be a marvelous turn of events. AARO and the other major 'grassroots' trade associations in Canada have worked together through NATA to "right this wrong" for many years. I think the automakers have finally come to realize that our service provider members have never been interested in accessing their intellectual property; all they want to do is fix cars. Is it any wonder if we're borderline euphoric that impasses on the technical information highway may soon open to us?

The way I see things, there is only one dark cloud on the horizon. The so-called Right to Repair legislative movement could derail the pending Voluntary Agreement for a NASTF-like Canadian solution. There's no reason to reinvent the wheel. Our U.S. peers have full access to OEM technical information and service tools, and the LOI we secured May 1st proves that we are now on the brink of getting that, too.

Through AARO, I have been privileged to be associated with Independent garage operators since 1971. And unless I've totally misread you, your entrepreneurial instincts would not make you fans of 'big government', let alone political intervention in your affairs. That's why I find it puzzling that some automotive service providers have been supporting Right to Repair legislation. They seem not to understand that an attempted legislative solution would lead to years of litigation between the OEMs and the government, and prolong the service information access problem for another ten years, perhaps longer.

Service providers who have signed electronic petitions and/or form letters supporting R2R legislation have failed to think the issue through. By farming out their names in this manner, they are allowing someone with a different agenda to speak on their behalf. Let's reach out and remind them that we garage operators and the vehicle manufacturers are all in the automotive industry together. We must convince them that we're big boys who are capable of working together, cooperatively, to resolve our sectoral differences without the need for government intervention.

Let us all do our part to get this message out there on the street.

Access to Technical Information and Service Tools May Be Imminent:

CANADIAN AUTOMAKERS
SIGN VISTA LETTER OF INTENT
April 29, '09: Representatives of the Automakers, Industry Associations and Federal Government at NATA-hosted VISTA Meeting

AARO has long held that Independent auto technicians in Canada have a "right to repair" vehicles and should have full access to OEM technical data and related service tools like their U.S. peers do. Being of a like mind, for some five years now Canada's other major 'grassroots' service provider associations have worked together with us on a project known as the Vehicle Information and Service Tool Agreement (VISTA) initiative.

Acting collectively under the umbrella of NATA, the National Automotive Trades Association of Canada, our objective has been straight forward. We have strived to secure a voluntary agreement for access to emissions and non-emissions-related service data, diagnostic tools, and training information in a similar manner to that offered in the United States through the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF).

On Wednesday April 29th 2009 at an industry meeting in Toronto hosted by NATA we took a giant step toward achieving our goal: a Letter of Intent (LOI) to set up a Voluntary Agreement was signed by the Canadian auto manufacturers.

The ground-breaking meeting was attended by 70 people representing Canadian auto manufacturers, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada (AIAMC), the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association (CVMA), the Automotive Industries Association (AIA), Industry Canada, Environment Canada, the Competition Bureau and of course, NATA.

Following opening remarks from NATA, AIA, CVMA and AIAMC, a proposal for a voluntary agreement was presented by NATA. The presentation was followed by a question and answer and negotiation period that lasted the rest of the afternoon.

No formal agreement was reached at the meeting; however, over the course of the next two days a letter of intent was crafted and agreed to by AIAMC, CVMA and NATA. After some deliberation, the AIA decided to decline further participation in a voluntary process. The LOI and a cover letter signed by the three remaining associations were subsequently sent to federal Industry Minister, Honourable Tony Clement.

The LOI expresses a commitment on the part of Canadian OEMs to partner with the independent auto industry in "a proactive process with clear timelines to arrive not only a formal agreement but also the implementation of that agreement."

This is arguably the most important issue ever to be tackled by a Canadian independent automotive industry association. The VISTA initiative has involved countless hours of work including drafting letters, information packages, numerous telephone conference calls, travel and meetings. The cost of taking on such a project has been significant, but the alternative was unthinkable.

By consistently approaching the service information access problem in a respectful, amicable and professional manner, NATA has not only succeeded in securing a commitment to a voluntary agreement, but also has set the stage for ongoing positive relations as a respected partner with Canadian OEMs.

GOLF WINNERS AND A GREAT DAY AT HARA'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY
GOLDEN HORSESHOE TOURNAMENT IN DUNDAS

May 5, 2009

A great day, good friends and food and the 40th Anniversary Golden Horseshoe Tournament was a success.

Almost eighty golfers enjoyed a private course outing at Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club, and finished off a steak dinner cooked on the balcony.

A donation from the day's golfers will be made to the Don McLaughlin Automotive Scholarship Trust at Mohawk College to help financially needy students enter or stay in automotive apprenticeships.Don, former owner of Goodturn Ride Centres, was remembered as a great golfer and friend, and his passion for both the industry and for bringing new students into the trade will long be remembered after his tragic passing.

Three $100 gift certifies for the Keg Restaurant donated by Co-Auto Co-operative and State Realty Royal LePage were won by Chad Cunningham of OSS Environmental, Andy Molnar of A-1 Auto Parts and John Aird for Ontario Service Safety Alliance.

Closest to the fender winner of $100 LKQ gift certificate was Scott Herchak from Goodturn.

Closest to the Pin winner with a special gift from OSS Environmental was Val Letterio from Newmarket Autobody

Longest Drive prize donated by Rush's Auto Parts was taken by Kevin Gruza

Best low score prizes went to Art Berlingeri, Kevin Gruza, Garth Solak and Alan Boyle. Ladies winners (mixed) were Scott Herchak, Ryan Garrick, Marvin Gunderman and Laurie Gunderman. Most Honest Team (and no one announced their score) was Rob Rezo, JP Kleniewski, Steve Gunjilac and Roger Turmel.

Sponsors were a major part of the day's success, with thanks to A-1 Auto Parts, Carcone's Auto Recycling, Co-Auto Co-operative, LKQ and Keystone Automotive, OSS Environmental, OSSA, Royal LePage, Rush's Auto Parts, Treschak Enterprises and www.ciia.com

Thank you to Collision Repair magazine, Bodyshop magazine and ciia.com for publishing photos of the event. More photos can be viewed at www.ciia.com by clicking the link on this article online.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33952268@N05/sets/72157617834348752/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/collisionrepairmagazine/sets/72157617799579252/

(See Headlines)

GOLF TOURNAMENT WINNERS ANNOUNCED- AND GAME IS NOT UNTIL MAY 5th

Draw for $100 gift certificates for early registrants

For those golfers eager to participate in the best golf game in the collision repair industry at the 40th Annual Golden Horseshoe Tournament on May 5th HARA offered a special incentive.

Any registrations and payments received by April 15, 2009 were entered into a draw for 3 Keg Restaurant gift certificate worth $100.00 each.

Winners are:

• John Molnar of A-1 Auto Parts in Hamilton
• Sandro Perruzza of Ontario Service Safety Alliance
• Chad Cunningham of OSS Environmental in Brantford

Prizes were kindly contributed by Don Teevens of Co-Auto Co-operative and Tony Nigro of Royal LePage State Realty in Hamilton.

The HARA 40th Anniversary Golden Horseshoe Tournament is again being held at Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club, in Dundas Ontario with a 1:00pm shotgun start on Tuesday, May 5, 2009.

For more information or to register please call 1 866 309 4272 or info@ciia.com.

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BASIC ESTIMATING COURSE OFFERED

NEW TRAINING LOCATIONS NOW ANNOUNCED
13th year of the popular training offered
Commencing May, 2009

The popular basic estimating collision repair training course is back to help shop or office employees, new estimators and insurance company staff who may need assistance in estimating collision damage on cars and light trucks in Ontario.

Taught by experienced apprenticeship instructor, Jim Miles, this six-night course includes, introduction to estimating, understanding vehicle construction, fundamentals of estimate writing, understanding collision manuals, additional charges and collision damage analysis.

The first evening course commences May 25th, two classes per week over a three-week period.

Time & Locations :

 *Hamilton- held at Motive Power Training Centre
                     6:30 pm to 9:30 pm Tuesday & Thursday evenings,
                     commencing Tuesday, May 26, 2009.

Cost:
Association Members - $350.00 plus GST, per person
Non-Members - $450.00 plus GST, per person

Students can register by contacting the Association and www.ciia.com office at
1-866-309-4272 or e-mailing info@ciia.com .

Prepayment is Mandatory

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COLLISION REPAIR TRADE ASSOCIATION OFFERS TRAINING
COURSES FOR LESS THAN $3 EACH

WHMIS, ISOCYANATES and AUTOMOTIVE LIFT TRAINING
are some of the courses being offered.

Calling it a major shift in how training is offered in the collision repair industry, the Collision Industry Information and Assistance.com (www.ciia.com ), representing Ontario-based collision repair associations, today started offering online training in 23 different courses for less than $3.00 each. "Our members have been asking about isocyanate and Vehicle Lift Safety in order to meet Ministry requirements in their shops, and we wanted to provide for them a quick, easy inexpensive training solution. In cooperation with E.A.G.L. Enterprises in Pickering, Ontario, we are now able to offer health, safety and management training courses online that shops and staff can access at any time," says Mark Timson, a Caledonia area shop owner and a director of www.ciia.com "Our instructor-led WHMIS course and our six-night Basic Estimating course are popular and are taken at our training centre or at a shop location. Also, we wanted to offer programs to help member shops that were more geographically distant. Vehicle Lift Safety courses are important and we could not arrange for a physical delivery of that course to date." Member shops can access the collision repair industry web site at http://www.ciia.com/provinces/ontario/itraining.html .  Registration forms can be faxed, e-mailed or completed online.  Member shops can call Monica at 1 866 309 4272 for more information.  Member shops pay $60.00 plus GST and get access to any or all of the courses for a full year.  Completion documents are provided after the member successfully completes an individual course exam online.  A training certificate identifying all courses taken is issued annually. Other courses offered include Fire Safety, Back Safety, Due Diligence, Joint Health and Safety Committee, Understanding Bill C-45, Safety Inspections, Office Ergonomics, Stretches and Heat Stress.

For more information or to access online training courses call 1 866 309 4272 or e-mail info@ciia.com

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