OTA Dispatch Issue 1 2020

5 www.ortrucking.org Issue 1 | 2020 ADVOCATING, EDUCATING, AND PROMOTING THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS Because they help get them elected with large donations and vocal support! It’s time for OTA to be a major player in the election process. That means that you need to help support this effort in addition to what your company is doing. We will be interviewing candidates after the filing deadline in March and will be looking for those that can not only support our agenda, but can win if given the right campaign tools. Many of the moderate Democrats are retiring this year, so this election cycle is critical. Will they be replaced by business-friendly candidates from either party? Or, will we see an Oregon-grown version of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ascend to power? Republicans were willing to walk out of last year’s session to protect your interests in the Cap & Trade fight, leaving their families and homes and being threatened with arrest. What are you willing to do? Your involvement is no longer just encouraged, it’s required. You, along with other OTA members and like-minded organizations, can and will make a difference in Oregon’s future! OTA has a slate of great events scheduled for the coming year. We have a comprehensive list of available training. We have new programming with our drug and alcohol consortium and our workers’ comp insurance program through OTA. And, we are building our advocacy program to fortify our legislative and regulatory efforts. These are the tools that OTA provides to help strengthen your business, giving you a solid foundation and the means to defend what you’ve built. How the 2020 Legislative Session will end is anyone’s guess at the moment. Whether Republicans walk out again, or the Governor declares a climate emergency remains to be seen. It is always difficult to predict the outcome of any battle. Just remember, as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said, “A week is a long time in politics.”