ISSA: Updates from the Leading Association for the Cleaning Industry Worldwide

ISSA Foundation Responds To Katrina

The ISSA Foundation is working with two highly reputable and effective emergency response organizations, AmeriCares and Gifts In Kind International, to collect monetary and product donations to help repair the devastation wrought in the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina.

Also through the foundation, ISSA has established an ISSA Katrina Web page and online registry to help ISSA-member companies affected by the hurricane stay in touch with business associates, employees, customers, suppliers, friends, and others.

ISSA alliance partner the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) also has developed a resource page at called “Prepare and Recover,” where various links to emergency planning information can be found.

To have an affected company’s information posted on the ISSA Katrina Web page, please provide the following information:

1. Status of operations (i.e., shut down temporarily, fully operational, operating out of another location, etc.).
   
   
2. Key contact information (operating phone numbers, e-mail, and Web site addresses, etc.).
   
   
3. Messages (communications for employees, suppliers, customers, family, friends, etc.).
   

For more information on contributing to Katrina victims through AmeriCares or posting a company on the ISSA Katrina Web page, please contact ISSA Foundation Operations Manager Tracy Weber at 800-225-4772 (North America) or 847-982-0800. To donate product to the Katrina disaster relief effort through Gifts in Kind, please contact Doyle Delph at 703-836-2121.

The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Basic Pilot Verification Program (BP) has been extended to November 2008. Also, it’s now available to employers in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and can be accessed from the Internet. SAVE-BP is a voluntary employee-verification program that enables employers to quickly verify the work authorization of their newly hired employees, free of charge.

Among other things, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) prohibits the hire or continued employment in the United States of an alien the employer knows to be unauthorized for employment. Through the IRCA, employers must use a specified process of checking documentation to verify the identity and work authorization or eligibility of all those they hire. Since the Immigration and Naturalization Service became part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the basic pilot program now falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration SAVE program.

SAVE-BP allows employers to check the databases of both the Social Security Administration (SSA) and DHS to verify the employment authorization of all newly hired employees. The program is voluntary and available free to participating employers. To participate in the program, employers must register and sign a Memorandum of Understanding that sets forth the responsibilities of the SSA, DHS, and the employer.

ISSA encourages employers to use the SAVE-BP program. It’s an excellent resource to ensure your compliance with the spirit and intent of the IRCA and is crucial in these times of heightened security awareness, where background checks are now the accepted norm.

When you think of training in the cleaning industry, many things come to mind, and fun is not usually one of them. In fact, the terms that more likely come to mind are "boring" and "monotonous." One of the ways ISSA has tried to counter this is by developing products that are colorful and meaningful while delivering a short message that’s straight to the point. And now ISSA has developed an ace in training fun — the ISSA EZ Deck of Cards.

The EZ Deck is a “regular” deck of cards — but with a twist. Each card contains a short cleaning tip along with a full-color picture that illustrates the tip. These cards make great training tools and are a terrific addition to any training program. Best of all, the tips are from the reputable Official ISSA EZ Trainer Custodial Training Manual — an ISSA best seller for several years running.

CP reader special: The ISSA-member price for the ISSA EZ Deck of Cards is $5 per deck; $10, nonmembers.

ISSA will send a free ISSA EZ Deck of Cards to the first 20 callers who contact the ISSA Customer Service Department at 800-225-4772 and request one.*

*Supplies are limited; one deck per call; offer valid to the first 20 callers only.

Welcome New ISSA Members!