BECOMING A MEMBER OF RAM IS ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS YOU CAN MAKE FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
By joining you gain access to exclusive, money saving discounts on services and programs, legislative updates and advocacy as well as valuable educational opportunities. We aim to help you grow and protect your business, promote the retail industry and save your business money.
Grand Bargain Law
RAM Pulled Sales Tax Ballot Question to accept "Grand Bargain" Compromise - $15, Paid Family/Medical Leave, Sunday/Holiday Premium Pay Repeal, Annual Sales Tax Holiday
RAM PREDICTS LOCAL HOLIDAY SALES INCREASES OF 3.8%
Stable Consumer Confidence and Year to Date Trends Should Help Massachusetts Retailers Boost Sales
RAM is predicting a strong 3.8% gain in retail sales during the holiday period over the same period in 2017 The projected increase is not quite as high as the national projected increase of 4.3%-4.8% by the National Retail Federation (NRF) for this holiday season, but does exceed the 2017 Massachusetts increase of 3%. A separate national NRF consumer attitudes survey shows shoppers plan on spending 4.1% more than last year.
Small Business Health Premiums Keep Rising More Than Others; RAM Seeks Regulatory Fairness
Recently, the Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) presented their 2018 Annual Report. The report was widely reported in the press for showing much slower overall growth in healthcare spending: 1.6% vs. the state’s 3.1% benchmark, and recent 4 year average of 3.6% increases. Yet, totally missed by the press and general public was how the increased costs were disparately distributed among a wide variety of consumers. Dissecting how the overall healthcare “pie” is divided is extremely important for small businesses, as important questions remain whether costs are being fairly distributed across all classes of purchasers.
Commercial, fully-insured premiums increased 4.9%, yet within that market, small businesses saw an increase of 6.9%. Subsidized individuals in the Connector saw a 3.0% increase, unsubsidized individuals saw a 3.8% increase, large groups saw a 4.1% increase, and the state Group Insurance Commission (the GIC; the buying group for state & local employees) saw a 4.4% increase. Meanwhile the state’s Medicaid program saw a drop of -0.2%.
RAM's 100 Year Anniversary
Want to learn more about RAM? Who we are, what we offer and why you should join.
Hear from our members on the value of RAM.
As we reflect on our past and begin to embark on our next century of serving the retail industry, we want to learn the histories of the businesses we represent. Some of our members have been in business as long as we have, and we want to know about them. Our bi-monthly newsletter, The Retail Review has featured some long time members:
RAM and 100 Years as Voice of Retail Video
Changes to Massachusetts Wage and Hour Law Effective January 1, 2019
The Grand Bargain legislation passed last spring includes a number of changes to the Massachusetts Wage and Hour Law which will become effective on January 1, 2019. Click here for a table which provides a summary of the key changes you should be aware of heading into the new year. Also below please find RAM’s 2019 Retail Holiday Schedule which reflects these changes.
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