OTA Dispatch Issue 2 2020

4 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch FROM THE PRESIDENT Jana Jarvis OTA President/CEO AS I WRITE this column, 35 counties in Oregon have begun to open up or taken the first steps to do so soon. Only Multnomah County is waiting to satisfy the criteria before filing an application. In most circumstances, people are cautiously emerging from their homes to venture out beyond the grocery store. Spring is well underway, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and a new season is upon us. And we are left wondering when things will get back to “normal”—or at least what the “new normal” will allow. It only seemed fitting that this edition of the Dispatch would be dedicated to the worldwide pandemic that brought country after country to their knees. I couldn’t have imagined what was coming to us this past January—even when I started hearing what was happening in China. To think that we would close so many businesses and order people to stay inside and work from home on this scale is mind boggling. And yet…that’s exactly what happened. Selective trips to the grocery store or the pharmacy are now the highlight of our days, just so we can get out of the house. Air travel cancelled, restaurants closed except for takeout, and hotels limiting guests to “essential workers.” All this while the sun was shining, and we are not at war with others, but rather against a microscopic organism. Unimaginable. And yet, this pandemic has allowed us to focus on what is truly important in our lives and who we truly depend on. A modern, largely urban and technologically advanced society was forced to depend on health care workers, grocery store employees, and truckers ! As people retreated to their homes, they depended on our industry to keep them supplied—first with toilet paper and food—and then with all the goods they ordered online. I received notes from individuals I have negotiated with over the years on policy matters, thanking me for the drivers that were bringing them what they needed and asking me to share their gratitude. Some mentioned that they had I ’ ve said it to hundreds of truck drivers as I handed them a boxed lunch — “ Thanks for showing up when we needed you most. ” What a privilege I have to represent you. never stopped to think about how important that driver is to their well-being and how integral trucking is to the economy. Now they understand, and they are grateful that our drivers showed up. That appreciation is extended to our entire industry—including the technicians that keep those trucks running and the carrier staff that keeps the industry moving. At OTA, we have been immersed in working through the issues that have impacted you during this crisis. From regulatory issues to policy proposals at the state and federal level, we have worked to bring you information and resources to assist you with your business challenges as this health crisis progressed. We built a COVID-19 page on our website to provide you with the information you needed to make informed choices. We scheduled weekly calls with experts that allowed you to better understand the business challenges before you and query those who could help. We built partnerships with other business organizations to coordinate the business response to policy issues. We continued to offer the ongoing training every trucking company needs. The world may have appeared to stop, but our industry never did. We also turned the spotlight on the value our industry brings to Oregon’s economy. Our “Free Lunch” program at four of Oregon’s weigh stations allowed us to not only thank those brave truck drivers that showed up when they were needed most, but the publicity we received allowed us to help inform Oregonians about our valuable industry. Our frequent social media posts have expanded our outreach and highlight what our industry is doing daily to address this crisis. Our visibility has risen—so much so that President Trump invited truck drivers to the White House so that he could thank them and his words say it best, “Thank God for truck drivers!” There is still a long road ahead for us. Between March 15 and May 9, 30 million jobs were lost— one-quarter of the entire workforce in the U.S. lost their job in this eight-week period. At this point, the economy is down 7%, the worst year since 1946. National unemployment is at 14.7%, the worst rate since the Great Depression. Eighty-eight thousand trucking jobs have been lost and it is likely going to take until the third quarter of 2021