Manufacturing Makes Virginia Town Halls

Brett Vassey, President & CEO, VMA, gave members a recap of the 2021 General Assembly and shared Wrap Up Report results. The VMA Wrap Up Report is produced annually to detail the highlights of each Virginia legislative session from the VMA’s perspective.

Do you want to know all the new taxes and fees the Virginia General Assembly passed this year? View this webinar find out why the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy’s Stephen Haner has labeled the Commonwealth as “Taxaginia.”

Representatives from Mitchell Wiggins and Williams Mullen share about upcoming tax changes, and Tracy Tate from Vrain shares about their programs for saving your business money.

COVID-19 will continue to restrict “in person” meetings and trade show in 2021.  The VMA is dedicated to expanding supply chain opportunities across the Commonwealth. View this Town Hall to learn about our 2021 Virtual Supply Chain event, sponsored by Heritage-Crystal Clean, and new group metals purchasing program with Sparks Material Sourcing.

Celebrate International Women’s Day with the VMA and WiM Virginia! Program highlights included the WiM Virginia Mentoring Program, Virtual Learning Center, Women and Welding Project, as well as WiM National’s Hall of Fame Award Program and Virtual Career Fair.

Mike Lord & Alexandra Gabriel with Williams Mullen joined us to discuss a multitude of liability risks to manufacturers, including:

• Managing employee refusal to return to work
• Liability waivers for employees, visitors, and business partners
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issues including reasonably safe work environment during global pandemic
• Employee medical screening (temperature checks, questionnaires, virus, antibody, etc.)
• Worker’s compensation bar to COVID-19 claims against employers
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) liability for employers that failed to provide Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) leave

As we continue to confront the COVID-19 crisis, the VMA and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) teamed up to make sure that Virginia manufacturers are aware of SBA resources at their disposal:

• VEDP International Trade Resources & Update – Stephanie Agee, VP, Virginia International Trade
• Debt Relief component of the CARES Act and implications for SBA Export finance products and other resources available to Virginia Manufacturers – Michele Schimpp, Acting Associate Administrator, SBA Office of International Trade
• Growing Global Sales with help of SBA Export Financing – Bill Houck, SBA Regional Export Finance Manager
• Local Resources for Small Business Exporters – Aaron Miller, VA SBDC
• Trade Builds Virginia Campaign – Brett Vassey, President & CEO, VMA

Brett Vassey, President & CEO, VMA, gave members a recap of the 2021 General Assembly and shared Wrap Up Report results. The VMA Wrap Up Report is produced annually to detail the highlights of each Virginia legislative session from the VMA’s perspective.

“This session was a demonstration of hyper-partisanship. It was not unexpected because it has been 27 years since the Democratic party had a political trifecta in Virginia. By the first day of session, it became clear that the political dam had burst, and everyone downstream better grab a raft. As is the VMA tradition, regardless of political party in power, we grabbed a boat, put a motor on it and started back upstream immediately.”