Associations

New York – The National Labor Relations Board has issued a ruling that workers in the cosmetics and fragrances department in a Macy’s store located in Saugus, Massachusetts, have the right to attempt to unionize. According to the Wall Street Journal, the 3-1 ruling sided with the United Food and Commercial Workers union and said the 41 Macy’s employees form a community of interest.

Indianapolis - Julie Lyle, chief marketing officer of Hhgregg, has been named the 2015 chairperson for the Global Retail Marketing Association (GRMA) Advisory Board, an association for C-level executives from global retailers. As chairperson, Lyle will lead the GRMA Advisory Board and play a key role in the development of the organization’s strategic initiatives and thought leadership.

The Global Retail Marketing Association (GRMA) advisory board has named Hhgregg’s chief marketing officer Julie Lyle chairperson for 2015. Lyle succeeds Brian Beitler, EVP and chief marketing officer, David’s Bridal, who served as chairman from 2012 to 2014.

Washington, D.C. -- The NRF says the members of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety have made tremendous progress in the past year, demonstrating their true commitment to safer working conditions in the Bangladesh ready-made garment industry. In an official statement, NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said the group has made many achievements to improve the safety of Bangladeshi factory workers.

Washington, D.C. - The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), the standards and technology division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), has released the Compliance Audit Interchange. The CAI is a specification that allows organizations to share compliance audit results securely with other companies who source from the same supplier location.

Walmart chief information officer Karenann Terrell will headline a first of its kind technology conference next month in Northwest Arkansas organized by the Bentonville Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce.

Washington, D.C. -- The House has passed legislation broadening a federal tax law that makes it cheaper for retailers to remodel their stores, the National Retail Federation said.

Lawmakers voted 258-160 today to make “bonus depreciation” permanent, and granted NRF’s request that it be expanded to include stores that are owned rather than just those that are leased. The measure now heads to the Senate.

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is supporting the Marketplace and Internet Tax Freedom Act. The legislation was introduced by Senators Michael Enzi, Richard Durbin, Lamar Alexander, Heidi Heitkamp, Susan Collins and Mark Pryor.