News & Updates

Member Spotlight: VON Consulting

Member Spotlight

January 30, 2020

VON Consulting is an IT recruitment and outsourcing company, headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, with 15 years of experience in the market and a newly established presence in San Diego, California.

Romania is known for an expanding IT sector and presently counts over 175.000 engineers in industries like Information Technology& Services, Computer Software, Computer Hardware, Semiconductors, Telecommunications and Computer& Network Security.

VON Consulting is available to provide assistance in recruiting technical teams and/or expanding teams internationally.

VON is a great partner for companies that wish to have a rapid and/or continuous growth and less suitable for startups that need just a 1-2 person team.

Services provided locally in the United States:

  • IT recruitment: positions of software development (C/C++, C#, Java, Python, Perl etc), project management, team leading and managerial positions;
  • Recruitment training for managers.

Services provided in Romania:

  • Provide technical teams, size 5-20 engineers ( or more, depending on needs and the terms of the agreement), for different development (software and hardware) or support activities;
  • Support in opening development or technical centers in Romania with accounting, recruitment and administrative services;
  • Application design and development.

Learn more about VON Consulting: www.vonconsulting.ro

Team in Romania: 140 (130 engineers, 10 recruiters)
Team in US: 1 recruiter & business development

Contact : Vivien Untaru https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivienuntaru  Email:  office@vonconsulting.ro; Phone: 619-246-9115

Locations: Bucharest, Brasov and Cluj, ROMANIA
San Diego, CA, USA

Clients: NXP Semiconductors, Dell EMC, Ixia a Keysight Business, Infineon, Everseen etc.

2020 Brings Increase to City Minimum Wage

NewsPolicySan Diego

January 15, 2020

With the beginning of the year, the City of San Diego’s minimum wage increased. As of January 1st, businesses with 25 employees or less are required to pay at least $12 per hour. Businesses with 26 employees or more are required to pay at least $13 per hour. Additional information on the city’s minimum wage program may be found here.

Call for AB 5 Feedback

NewsPolicySan Diego

January 15, 2020

Legislation that passed last year reflecting a court decision around independent contractors will continue to be addressed via “clean up” legislation in 2020. The bill, AB 5 by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, codified a more rigorous determination for worker classification. Put another way, the bill will likely reclassify many independent contractors as employees, which will have significant impacts for many industries affected.

For further information around the bill, or to provide feedback as follow-up legislation is being drafted in Sacramento, please contact Chamber VP of Public Affairs, Stefanie Benvenuto.

Chamber Supported Airport Development Plan Passes with Strong Support

NewsPolicySan Diego

January 15, 2020

San Diego International Airport will be commencing redevelopment of Terminal 1, thanks to the Airport Development Plan receiving board approval earlier this month. Supported by the Chamber in 2019, the redevelopment plan will invest $3 billion in a terminal that can accommodate the growing number of passengers, modernization of the space, and implementing major improvements to mobility around the airport that reflect the priorities of a broad group of stakeholders.

Chamber Releases Supporting Working Families Study

NewsPolicy

January 15, 2020

Sponsored by the San Diego Foundation, the San Diego Workforce Partnership, and the Neighborhood House Association, the Chamber released its Supporting Working Families Study on January 13th. Through a survey of 400 local businesses, the Chamber team assessed employer sentiments around the importance of childcare and a variety of programs that are aimed at helping working parents. Notably, almost 90 percent of employers support working parents as a high priority, and many indicated an interest in learning more. The report identifies three recommendations for employers to support working parents that come at very little or no cost.

2020 Delegation Trip to Sacramento Coming Up

NewsPolicySan Diego

January 15, 2020

The Chamber team is excited to be planning the annual Leadership Delegation to Sacramento for February 25 & 26. Already, the agenda is coming together and is sure to be an exciting and timely look at a variety of policy issues that have an impact on San Diego’s business community.

Lenny Mendonca, the Governor’s chief economic advisor will be a featured lunch speaker, as well as the Department of Health Care Services Acting Director Figueroa, and members of our own San Diego Assembly and Senate delegation.


Early bird registration ends this Saturday, January 25, so members are encouraged to register as soon as possible. 

Public Policy Committees Kick-off 2020

NewsPolicy

January 15, 2020

Beginning 2020 with an eye toward the adoption of the Chamber’s Strategic Plan, and continuing our strong advocacy presence, each committee begins the new year reviewing priorities and determining a policy platform reflecting relevant policy areas. The Public Policy Committee determined the areas of housing, homelessness, and mobility and transportation to be their top issues for the year.

Additionally, some committees welcomed new leadership, including Christine Moore of AT&T joining the Public Policy Committee as Vice-Chair where she will work with continuing Chair, Lisa Kay, President at Alta Environmental an NV5 Company.

Two committees have also refreshed their titles: Transportation & Land Development (formerly Infrastructure, Housing & Land Use), and Sustainability & Industry (formerly Energy & Water). These name changes were made to better reflect the Chamber’s policy reach and to help attract additional member participation on the committees.

2020 Spending Bill Includes Win for Border Region

InternationalNewsPolicy

January 15, 2020

The 2020 federal spending bill was approved last month which includes Chamber advocacy priorities for international business affairs such as:

  • $14.9 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which combined with fee funding, allow CBP to hire up to 1,200 field officers and 240 new agriculture specialists during fiscal year 2020.
  • A $325 million increase in Homeland Security funds which comprises funding for digital infrastructure.

San Ysidro Land Port of Entry Expansion Completed

InternationalNewsPolicy

January 15, 2020

Chamber President & CEO Jerry Sanders attended a celebration for the completion of the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry expansion and renovation project which Jerry helped to advance as Mayor and then helped to secure funding in his position at the Chamber.

The $741 million project included the reconstruction of the northbound lanes; the addition of a pedestrian crossing on the port’s eastern side and expansion of the PedWest bridge; the realignment of southbound Interstate 5 lanes into Mexico; and the demolition and reconstruction of inspection areas and administration and pedestrian buildings.

At the ceremony, Congressman Juan Vargas and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau thanked the Chamber for leading advocacy efforts for the completion of the project. The San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce also presented Jerry with special recognition for his work to advance the project as Mayor of San Diego.

The San Ysidro Land Port of entry is the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere with over 70,000 vehicles and 20,000 pedestrians commuting across the border every day. With estimates of vehicle traffic at the port of entry increasing 87 percent by 2030, the project’s completion enables border security agents to process border traffic efficiently, reduces border wait times, and supports future increases in border traffic.

The Chamber continues to work to advance border infrastructure projects that facilitate cross-border trade including the Otay Mesa East Land Port of Entry and a new rail port of entry facility in Tecate with pre-inspection capacity.

International Business Affairs Forum – Trends in Binational Health Care & Medical Tourism

EventEventsInternationalNewsPolicy

January 15, 2020

Worldwide, nearly 24 million patients and their companions travel abroad for medical tourism each year. The Cali-Baja region has been a magnet for individuals seeking medical assistance, from doctors and dentists to cosmetic surgeons and sophisticated treatments for cancer and other diseases. Many health care practitioners in Baja California were certified in the U.S. and are recognized world leaders in their specialties.

San Diego and Baja California together are also the largest medical device cluster in the world. This contributes to our leading-edge technology and state-of-the-art facilities. Major hospitals are located on both sides of the border, with hotels specially equipped to receive post-treatment patients at an already world-class binational tourism destination to welcome visitors.

With a population of 7.1 million and a binational workforce, regional health care services also look after residents that cross the border on a daily basis for work, school, or leisure. Binational healthcare plans provide quality healthcare that meets the needs of our cross-border community.

Attendees will hear from experts and regional leaders on the trends, challenges, and the evolution of binational health care. In addition, the panel will share efforts to ensure a healthy Cali-Baja region through cross-border collaboration amongst binational stakeholders.

We invite you to register for the upcoming International Business Affairs Forum taking place on Thursday, January 30th from 10:00a.m. to 11:30a.m. in Tijuana.