OTA Dispatch Issue 1 2020

4 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch FROM THE PRESIDENT Jana Jarvis OTA President/CEO JANUARY 2020. A new decade with both new challenges and new opportunities. For the trucking industry, the expectation is that business volume should increase by the end of the second quarter, signaling more growth in the American economy. How that will play into one of the most polarizing elections in recent history remains to be seen. Here at home in Oregon, those polarizing issues are fully on display as we finish Week two of our short 35-day legislative session. In fewer than 10 business days, we have witnessed the largest trucking/logging industry rally ever at Oregon’s Capitol, only to be followed a few days later with a large rally of opponents on the Capitol’s front steps. This same battle is being fought inside the building featured in the background of these rallies. It is likely no surprise to you that the political atmosphere in Oregon is becoming significantly more progressive. The majority party is intent on finding new revenue from the business sector as evidenced by the Commercial Activity Tax imposed on all businesses with revenue over $1 million beginning January of this year. Much confusion arises over this tax, and the rules won’t be finalized until June of this year, but you can hear frequent victory chants about what they have done for education in our great state. In this short session, they are turning yet again to the business sector to solve the world’s climate crisis. A multitude of bills were proposed, but one is moving quickly through the process that would significantly increase the cost of doing business in Oregon for many businesses, most significantly for Oregon’s trucking industry. And the activism doesn’t stop at the legislative front. Environmentalists are now going directly around the legislative process to appeal directly to state agencies, asking them to impose new regulatory requirements not supported by new laws. New diesel regulations imposed through negotiations last year didn’t go far enough by their standards, so they are now appealing directly to the Environmental Quality Commission for the standards they were unable to get through legislation. This is new battleground on the environmental front that requires a different strategy to overcome. Add in new labor laws through minimum wage increases and paid family leave—the bill in Oregon is only going to grow as long as the business checkbook is thought of as the best solution. What can we do? Actually…quite a bit! Not to travel too far down the warfare analogy path, but we need “boots on the ground.” We need to grow our Key Contact program so that every Oregon legislator has a trucking company contact who will work to build a business relationship with them, with the goal of increasing their understanding of how various policies affect our industry. It has been easy to build this program in areas of the state outside of the heavily populated urban areas like Portland-metro and Eugene. But we have trucking company owners, managers and staff that live and work in those regions, too. It may seem like an uphill battle, but that’s why we need more power to reach the top— namely you. Switching to a sports analogy, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” (Wayne Gretzky). We will be providing regional training later this spring to help our Key Contact program grow. So, if you have seen how your industry and your livelihood have been repeatedly threatened and you feel compelled to step up in support of trucking in Oregon, please reach out to me. As you saw in the newspaper, or on the television, or in person at the Timber Unity rally—a strong grassroots effort is invaluable in educating and informing decision makers. OTA needs YOU! We can also get more financially engaged in campaigns. Whether it’s a local or national election, money makes the political world go ‘round. Why do our friends in the majority party promote environmental and labor agendas? OTA Needs You!