April 2025

Northwestern Lumber Association and Mid-America Lumbermens Association are now BLD Connection. Read About Our Transformation!

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BLD Connection News

U.S. Tariff Policy Shifts – Lumber Exempted

In a significant advocacy win, Canadian softwood lumber has been exempted from the White House’s newly announced round of tariffs. NLBMDA played a key role in influencing this decision, which aims to address trade imbalances through a “half-reciprocal” tariff approach.

Corporate Transparency Act –
Recap and Latest Ruling 

Since last summer, we’ve kept members informed on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) with help from NLBMDA. From shifting deadlines to court rulings and revised guidance, this reporting rule has created a lot of questions. Our latest blog article recaps the major milestones, links to helpful member alerts, and outlines where things stand now.

Read the full article for:

• An overview of key federal developments
• Links to past CTA updates and NLBMDA alerts
• The latest Treasury rule and reporting guidance

Join the Federated Risk Management Academy – June 3–5

Federated Insurance invites BLD Connection members to a complimentary 2½-day Risk Management Academy, held in Owatonna, MN. This valuable event brings together business owners to explore best practices in risk management, from building a strong safety culture to planning for succession and employee retention.

Members are only responsible for the cost of travel and lodging. Space is limited, so we encourage you to learn more and register early.

Articles & Publications

Welcoming Our Newest Associate Members

In the lumber and building material world, relationships build more than structures – they build community. In that spirit, BLD Connection is excited to welcome and thank our newest Associate Members. These businesses market the products and services that help our retailers succeed, and they play a vital role in creating the network of support that defines our association.

Are You Underpaying Your Sales Team?

Rikka Brandon, Building Gurus

How to Tell If Your Compensation Plan Is Helping or Hurting Your Hiring & Retention

When top sales reps leave for a competitor or refuse your job offers, many leaders assume it’s about a better paycheck.

The truth? Compensation is about more than just salary—it’s about opportunity.

• If your pay isn’t competitive, you won’t attract top performers.
• If your commission structure is unclear, reps won’t stay.
• If your comp plan doesn’t match today’s market, you’ll lose talent to competitors who “get it.”

So, how do you know if you’re underpaying your sales team? Let’s dive into what the market says, where companies go wrong, and how to fix it.

HR Question of the Month

Arrest Record

From Federated Insurance

Question

As a last step in our hiring process, we require a candidate to pass a background check after they have been interviewed. Recently, a background check came back with an arrest listed. Are we allowed to turn down the candidate due to the arrest?

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