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Trump, Congress Agree on New Stimulus Package by Dan McCaleb, The Center Square
President Donald Trump and congressional leaders have agreed on a new, nearly $500 billion stimulus package to help small businesses im-
pacted by stay-at-home orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The $484 billion deal includes $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program so businesses can continue paying employees. It also includes an additional $60 billion for a small business emergency grant and loan program, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for a new coronavirus testing program. “I urge the Senate and House to pass the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act with additional funding for PPP, Hospitals, and Testing,” Trump wrote See New Stimulus Package, Page 16
As Part of U.S. COVID-19 Reopening Steps, Midwest Governors Form Coalition by Stephanie Soucheray, CIDRAP News
President Donald Trump during his daily coronavirus task force briefing on April 16 announced the first plans for reopening the economy and transitioning from widespread stay-athome efforts. During the briefing April 15, the president said America had likely passed the peak of its infections, and physical distancing measures were working. Deborah Birx, M.D., White House coordinator of COVID-19 response, said the country had noted
declining case counts for nine days, but still said the physical (social) distancing measures implemented by the White House should be followed through April 30, at a minimum. Meanwhile, in phone calls with governors April 16, Trump was reported to say each state had to call its own shots on when to open up, according to a recording obtained by the New York Times. “You’re going to be calling the shots. We’ll be standing right alongside of you, and we’re going to get our country open and get it working. See Reopening Steps, Page 22
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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 9 / Issue 8 / May 2020
Michigan Returning to Work Will be ‘Phased in Carefully,’ Whitmer Says by Rose White, WZZM News
Re-engaging the Michigan economy will take time, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer emphasized during her press briefing April 17. “There’s a lot of anxiety and the most important thing that anyone with a platform can do is to try to use that platform to tell people we’re going to get through this,” Whitmer said. “And we will re-engage our economy when it’s safe.” It’s been just over a month since Michigan officials starting taking aggressive action to rein in the threat of
COVID-19, which has put 1 million Michiganders out of work and shuttered countless businesses. The state is faced with both a health crisis and an economic crisis, the governor has said. Meanwhile, the case count remains high; the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 30,000 positive cases of the virus April 17 and the death toll has reached over 2,200. “We’re not there yet,” Whitmer said. “The rate of infection remains high, especially in certain parts of See Michigan Returning to Work, Page 20
Most Shops Weathering The Storm – So Far by Gary Ledoux
On April 17, 18, and 19, Autobody News used its 19,000 shop email subscribers and also social media channels to conduct a survey of collision shops across the country to see how they were coping with the COVID 19 pandemic. The majority of shops responding were independently owned singe-point shops, those perhaps the most vulnerable to volatile market swings. Despite that, and a wide range of available work, (most shops operating at 25% to 75% capacity) most seem to be faring reasonably well. The majority of shops (59%) have not laid off any workers although 21% have laid off three-quarters of their people. Most shops have taken a number of precautions to protect employees and customers including use of gloves and masks, frequent hand-washing, etc. It is surmised that not many shops think the pandemic situation will last very long because only 19% have taken on work other than traditional collision repair.
The majority of shops have applied for financial assistance through the government’s CARES Act but have not received their funds yet. The sad truth is, those funds may never come because as of this writing, the funds have been exhausted. There are, however, other measures being debated to replenish the program (see related stories.) Wayne Stevens, owner of Stevens Collision in western New York is a single-point shop, certified with FCA, Hyundai, and Kia but with no DRP arrangements. At present he hasn’t laid-off any employees because he has a two-week backlog of work. He says, “My father always told me, ‘Take care of the people that come through your door, no matter what they want, and you’ll build your business.’” Doug Hassell owns Hassell Auto Body on Long Island in New York, another single-point shop that has been in business since 1963, and has enough work to stay busy—so far. The shop has no DRP arrangements and no dealer relationships although they See Body Shop Survey, Page 12
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