Tell your state rep to back fair pay for auto technicians

The bill

SB 1182 is a bipartisan bill from Senators Lisa Boscola and Gene Yaw that updates Pennsylvania's franchise law, the Board of Vehicles Act. That law governs the relationship between car manufacturers and the local dealerships that sell and service their vehicles. It passed the State Senate unanimously, 50–0, and now goes to the House.

Fair pay for warranty work

When a technician repairs a car under warranty, the manufacturer decides how much labor time it will pay for, and that's often less than the job actually takes. Because most technicians are paid by those hours, they end up doing work they never get paid for. SB 1182 provides for fair warranty labor time. New York and New Jersey already have similar laws, and Pennsylvania dealerships are losing skilled technicians to those states.

The direct-sales amendment

Some lawmakers want to amend the bill to let manufacturers such as Rivian and Lucid sell cars directly to consumers, bypassing dealerships. The effects would reach well beyond those two companies, opening the door for others like VW's Scout brand and Chinese manufacturers, and reshaping how vehicles are sold and serviced across the state.