In keeping with the Association’s strict adherence to and enforcement of its Antitrust Compliance Policy, the following topics are not to be discussed at any meeting, function or event either in joint session among all attendees or in any smaller group meeting or information gatherings: 

 

1. Current or future prices. Do not discuss pricing with other attendees or your competitors at all. 

2. Matters related to prices, such as discounts, credit terms, profit levels or volume of service shall not be discussed. Do not discuss customers, territories, bids, promotions, marketing support, payments or any other similar matter with other attendees or your competitors. 

3. Never discuss or obtain competitive price information from a competitor. Obtain this information only from your customer in the marketplace. 

4. Never communicate your prices to any of your competitors, either orally or in writing, and never attempt to receive from them their prices, either orally or in writing. 

5. Do not discuss special pricing programs with any other attendee at any meeting, function or event or with any of your competitors at any time. 

6. Do not discuss dividing up, allocating or rationalizing markets, bids, geographic areas, types of business or customers. 

7. Do not discuss fees, wages and salary rates, equipment prices or other actual costs of individual companies. These costs are an element of price and shall not be discussed. 

8. Do not discuss refusals to deal with any suppliers, customers or other competitors. For example, if you were to agree with any other attendee to boycott a certain supplier for the purpose of forcing the supplier to lower its prices, such an agreement could violate the antitrust laws. Avoid all discussions that could lead to an unlawful group boycott of any supplier, customer or competitor. 

9. Do not discuss present or future competitive plans and strategies nor any specific customer information or specific costs. 

10. In any discussion of industry “best practices”, discussions should be limited to efforts to reduce costs or realize some other efficiency and should further be limited to what is reasonably necessary to accomplish these legitimate goals. No agreement should be reached to use a particular practice to deal with suppliers or customers on particular terms or to exclude a member or other competitor for using a different practice. 

11. “Best practices” discussions should be limited to technical personnel rather than marketing personnel. 

12. If any question arises during any discussion of industry “best practices” concerning the propriety of any topic proposed discussion, prior to any such discussion legal counsel must be consulted. Pricing and other competitively sensitive terms of trade should not be discussed in the “best practices” content. 

 

If anyone has any questions about the forgoing policies and prohibitions concerning our association’s strict adherence to and enforcement of its antitrust policies, please ask an Officer or the Association’s Legal Counsel.

 

Applying for membership to the Association and upon acceptance of the application the applicant acknowledges they have read and will comply with this policy.