WSA Member Update 4.1.23

April 1, 2023  Dear WSA Members,  We welcome new California-based WSA member All-Pro Sweeping, Inc.   As I relayed in the previous WSA Member Update, I talked to the Lowe’s project lead for Transblue, Chavon Cotterell, during which I provided him with an overview of WSA as well as the concerns we had about the Transblue/Lowe’s contract. Mr. Cotterell said he would review the information within the next couple of days and call me back. Since he didn’t do so I took the initiative to call him but he has not answered. I have been unable to leave a message since Mr. Cotterell’s voicemail has been full.  Shauna Huntington, CPA, CEO of Fortiviti, and operator of “The Small Business Bootcamp” was very gracious to make herself available to our WSA members via Zoomcast last Tuesday. Although she and I had a very productive discussion, which was recorded and will be made available at some time in the future, it was disappointing to me that only two WSA members joined us in real time. If there are topics you would be more interested in seeing in the future please let me know.  The N.E.L.T.S. saga continues… A few days ago I discovered an email from an attorney representing N.E.L.T.S., Eric Sussman. His message had apparently been seen as spam by my system. As you are welcome to read, Mr. Sussman insists that I retract all aspects of my previous message that were based upon allegations by a former N.E.L.T.S. employee. Since so far I only have documented those allegations from one former employee I am fine with doing so. I hereby retract all of the wording concerning his/her allegations about N.E.L.T.S. from the previous WSA Member Update, all of which you may read here.  One of Mr. Sussman’s statements I especially take to heart, which is: “While you purport to attribute the foregoing allegations to an unidentified former NELTS employee, your failure to conduct any investigation whatsoever into the veracity of these false allegations demonstrates your reckless disregard for the truth.”  Even though I was clear that I was transmitting ONLY information alleged by a former employee, in order to provide our WSA members with an update, I certainly DO NOT want to be in the position of providing inaccurate information.  So, I am willing to agree that all of the published statements alleged by the employee should be retracted – and without question consider that I am now doing so. However, the retraction does not include the investigatory article WSA did in collaboration with WorldSweeper. The information in that article was well documented and should not be considered to be a component of the above unequivocal retraction statement.  However, as Mr. Sussman suggested, more investigation is warranted. So, I am requesting that any of our WSA members or others who have any direct knowledge that the N.E.L.T.S. organization did any of the following, please contact our office: • Self-performed any sweeping for Home Depot or other national clients without the use of machine sweepers. • Told its employees and/or contractors they could make extra money by ‘placing’ large debris on a Home Depot lot, then charging for ‘removal.’ • Required any employees that had been fired to sign a statement they had quit in order to collect their last check. • Operated in Connecticut or any other states without following DOT rules. • Required any employees to operate vehicles with safety-related equipment not working. • Instructed any employees to operate a sweeper that required a CDL operator even though the employee did not have a CDL license. • Notified any contractor they could not be paid (or were back-charged), because Home Depot would not pay N.E.L.T.S. due to required photos or GPS call-ins not being done correctly between August 2022 and the present. • Performed any other action that you have reason to believe did not conform to standard business practices. Equipment World recently provided an excellent article entitled “Springtime Lubricant Checks and Changes: What You Need to Know.” If you aren’t entirely on top of what you need to know in terms of seasonal lubrications and fluids, I suggest you check the article out.  As always, if you have questions or comments about this WSA Member Update, or anything else to do with the World Sweeping Association or power sweeping in general, please let me know.  Good Sweeping,  Ranger Kidwell-Ross, Executive Director World Sweeping Association