Reprinted from The Sacramento Bee (July 21, 2015)

What once was old is new again. This old adage rings true, especially with regards to California public policy. Assembly Bill (AB) 359 authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), which is on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk awaiting signature or veto, is just that. It is simply a retread of a long line of failed attempts to force new burdensome regulations on California businesses.

Specifically, AB 359 would impose mandatory worker retention standards upon change of ownership for traditional grocery stores over 15,000 square feet.  This measure may make for a catchy sound bite or fall in line with a campaign platform—but AB 359 is an unnecessary proposal riddled with unintended consequences that will limit food access, lead to job loss and hurt family-owned companies.

AB 359 is at the top of the California Chamber of Commerce “Job Killers” list, and rightfully so. Prior attempts to establish the unprecedented policy of taking away a private employer’s right to choose their own workforce have either been rejected by the Legislature or has been vetoed by the sitting Governor.

AB 359 won’t create stability, and instead will cause blight when failing grocery stores are forced to close their doors rather than sell to a company whose format and business model better reflect the needs of the community they serve.

If the demographics in a neighborhood change, the original store format may no longer be suited for that community. Generally speaking, grocery store owners look for a buyer whose business model meets the needs of the changing community. AB 359 will stall transactions or, worse, scare off potential buyers who would be subject to a host of new regulations including burdensome record keeping requirements, different workforce standards and greater potential for frivolous litigation. All the while big-box retailers, chain pharmacies and others would not be subject to the same set of standards.

The average size of a traditional supermarket, regardless of ownership, is about 45,000 square feet according to the Food Marketing Institute. With razor thin profit margins, often 1 to 2 percent, sales volume is essential to success in the traditional grocery industry. To yield a profitable volume a store must have tens of thousands of products. Setting aside a few uniquely positioned business models, traditional grocers must operate at a larger footprint in order to offer the variety of products customers are seeking; this includes many independent and family owned companies. AB 359’s arbitrary footprint threshold of 15,000 square feet reflects a lack of experience and knowledge of the grocery industry.

The author has failed to produce any substantial evidence that warrants this targeted attack on the industry.  In fact, on the contrary, the grocery industry saw one of the largest and most successful California-based mergers earlier this year between two major grocery chains. The merger resulted in 83 store locations sold in Southern California, purchased by a single buyer, who voluntarily retained store employees. The buyer even honored the collective bargaining agreements already in place.

AB 359 creates an unlevel playing field for small family-owned businesses by exempting out some of the largest retailers in the country and the author never produced examples of Californians being put out of work explicitly due to grocery companies merging.

The answer is clear – AB 359 is nothing more than a Trojan horse designed to assist labor groups in their organizing efforts.

If a new employer is forced to retain a 50 percent plus one unionized workforce for 90 days, a federal statute known as the “Successor Employer Doctrine” is triggered. This means that the existing workforce is automatically recognized as the bargaining unit – without a vote by the employees.

One of the chief responsibilities of the legislature is to pass responsible, economically viable policies aimed at balancing the needs of its citizens, not green-lighting policies that will make it easier for big labor to organize.  AB 359 is bad public policy and is a solution in search of a problem that simply has not been identified. We urge Governor Brown to veto this bad legislation.

Ronald K. Fong
President  & CEO, California Grocers Association

Rex S. Hime
President  & CEO, California Business Properties Association

Unusually cool weather made for perfect golf conditions at the 2015 CGA Educational Foundation Southern California Golf Classic at Pacific Palms Resort in Industry, Calif., on July 8.

This year’s event was nearly 20 degrees cooler than in 2014 – a statistic that did not go unnoticed by the full field of grocery retailers and suppliers playing in this year’s tournament.

“The weather couldn’t have been better,” said CGAEF President Ron Fong. “Perfect weather for a perfect event to help raise funds for the Foundation’s college scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs. Thank you to all those who played and to the many event sponsors.”

In addition to a great day of golf, attendees heard from Dan Benart, a grocery supervisor for Stater Bros. Markets, who shared how the Foundation’s programs helped his children reach their education dreams and how he now is utilizing the Foundation to further his professional career.

Dan was introduced by newly elected Foundation Board of Trustee Tom Seaton, Stater Bros. Markets.

The Foundation’s Northern California tournament is July 21, 2015 at Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif.

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

First Place
Michael Robinson
Lee Deminski
Alex Corsaro
Scott Anderson

Second Place
John Bonicatto
Diana Godfrey
Michael Paul
Mike Mortensen

Third Place
Mike Casazza
Sheryl Salazar
Rick Cruz
Pat McDowell

Closest to the Pin
Women – Diane Davilla
Men – Bob Kenneoy

Longest Drive
Women – Elizabeth Cherry
Men – Mike Paul

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Reprinted from Lodi News-Sentinel

Lodi Athlete Chris Podesto Will Take on the World at Reebok CrossFit Games

There are times when Chris Podesto doesn’t know how to quit.

The 50-year-old spends his lunch hour doing cardio work at In Shape City, then does intense workouts for another hour and a half after work at Lodi CrossFit Gym six days a week.

“I’m supposed to take one day off. Sometimes I go for a 10-mile run on that day. I’m not supposed to,” Podesto said. “I struggle with that. It’s not recommended for the sport. The body needs recovery. There are active recoveries — I swim and I jog slow.”

That relentless training has its rewards. Podesto is one of 20 men worldwide who have qualified for the Reebok CrossFit Games in the 50-54 division. The competition takes place from July 21 to 26 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., and Podesto is ranked 16th out of those 20.

Last August, Podesto made a conscious decision to shoot for the CrossFit Games, and began increasing the intensity of his workouts. He had a setback in December when he separated his right biceps training in the event he considers his nemesis — the ring muscle-ups, where an athlete jumps and grabs the rings, then swings the body up using the arms.
It’s the only major injury he’s had during CrossFit.

“Here’s the tradeoff: I’m 50 years old, and I can do things I couldn’t do at 25,” he said. “Can you get hurt? Yeah, that possibility exists. You can get hurt walking across the street. But the benefits, it’s amazing.”

Podesto hasn’t always been this focused on fitness. He was a fullback for Tokay High, graduating in 1983, then went on to play fullback for the University of Pacific’s football team. His football career led to three knee repair surgeries.
After his playing career, he stayed more or less in shape.

“I had some chubby phases. I was bored at the gym,” he said. “I heard about CrossFit five years ago and I started doing it, and wasn’t really willing to refine my skills to get to the games. Athletically, I was always there but never got over the hurdle.

“I’m really excited. I never thought it was a big deal, but it’s gotten to be a big deal.”
Podesto works with a trainer from Canada, Mike Fitzgerald, who runs a gym and helps Podesto build his training program.

“He builds programs around people’s weaknesses,” Podesto said. “I wouldn’t have made it here without him, because I was always trying to freelance and do it on my own, but I realized that the guys at the top have specific training regimens with people that know more about the physiology of the body than I do.”

Podesto’s workout on Tuesday involved power cleans, front squats, ring muscle-ups, 10 rope climbs, wall walks, squat cleans, wall balls and box jumps.

Because the CrossFit Games entail a much more strenuous aerobic program than the regionals, Fitzgerald has Podesto losing a little weight to better approach the competition. He’s hovering around 200 pounds at the moment, about seven pounds lighter than usual.

Podesto said his career as an executive marketing director for Food4Less gives him the opportunity to maintain his eating habits.

“I’m eating much healthier than I ever have,” he said. “Mostly paleo — meat and produce, then I have oatmeal and rice with the meat and vegetable, limited fruit. It’s really changed.”

The CrossFit Games Masters event (ages 40 and older) includes competition in eight events, starting with four on July 22: the deadlift ladder, the max distance handstand, the sled sprint and the run rope, which involves a 400-meter run and two rope climbs.

Competition on July 23 starts with the 2007, which includes a 1,000-meter row, then five rounds of 20 pull-ups and seven push jerks. The day concludes with the medball burpee, which includes medicine-ball cleans over the shoulder and burpees.

The final day starts with the Down and Back Chipper, which combines seven activities into one event. The competition concludes with the Masters Final consisting of a 100-meter run, four muscle-ups and five snatches of 125 pounds.
The overall competition is scored based on how athletes place in each event.

SAN LEANDRO, Calif., June 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Local grocery store chain and California Grocers Association member Andronico’s Community Markets (ACM), based in the East Bay with five stores throughout the Bay Area, has named one of the grocery industry’s leading innovators as CEO to head up the historic brand.

Suzy Monford, CEO and Founder of Food Sport International, is recognized for her ability to innovate across key global growth markets including grocery, lifestyle retailing and health/fitness. She has been recruited internationally by leading corporations in Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S.

Monford most recently held the role of Head of Innovation for Woolworth’s, the largest retailer in Asia Pacific, where she was recruited to lead strategic change and international joint ventures. Previously she founded Food Sport International, working with Coles Supermarkets in Australia as her primary client. Other clients include Cheers Inc., a restaurant corporation in Texas, where she worked as CEO/president. A certified health coach, Monford has served on the executive board of directors for both the San Antonio Mayor’s Fitness Council and the YMCA, and actively teaches fitness and health in her community.

“At Andronico’s, one of our core merchant principles is to build healthy communities while we build our business. We believe that you can do well, by doing good. To that end, I’ll be introducing a new innovative approach to health and wellness that is a major departure from the role that the supermarket industry has traditionally played. Fitness—in all aspects from kitchen to shopping to cooking to dining—will be the way ACM delivers on its promise to advocate for community and our own corporate health. We’ll pioneer recipes for fit living for our shoppers and teammates.”

Monford takes on the role at ACM as the company looks to continue its resurgence as an innovator in the San Francisco Bay Area specialty food retail.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue the Andronico’s legacy,” said Monford. “We were born in Berkeley in 1929, and today we remain an original American market whose success has been built on dedication to quality, uniqueness, service and neighborhood. We were “local” before it was a thing. We were focused on small producers before artisanal became a tag line to rationalize high retails.”

Monford’s plans include innovating store formats with eventual store expansion and embracing and utilizing the latest technology available in the grocery industry to drive value, convenience and to energize the shopping experience.

“We may be a small company, but we’ll be brilliant with data and digital,” Monford added. “We’re going to marry traditional brick and mortar mercantile, with best of class tech in order to create a relevant shop for today.”

Monford plans to develop new products and concepts throughout the Andronico’s stores that will redefine value and serve each store’s diverse community. Chief among her priorities include an emphasis on speed and convenience, including bringing on new delivery App Instacart throughout the chain by mid-summer, and developing a new fitness and health-centric shopping portal for customers and teammates.

Andronico’s Community Markets, a privately owned grocery retailer offering a full range of specialty, organic and conventional groceries, began in Berkeley in 1929 and today has stores in Berkeley, San Francisco, San Anselmo and Los Altos.