Vol. 25 No. 09 September, 2013 *800-452-6023* PO Box 12339 Salem, OR 97309 *www.oregonloggers.org* The AOL Mainline - September, 2013 AOL - NEW WEBSITE ONLINE by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager W elcome to the Associated Oregon Loggers, is the front page headline introducing visi- tors to AOL’s new website. In- stalled in June, a new and im- proved version of the AOL website is available to internet visitors worldwide, online at www .or egonloggers.org. AOL invites members and others to visit this great online information resource, which should be useful for loggers and the general public alike. While the upgraded “Member Login” site includes even more downloadable AOL forms and publications just for AOL mem- bers, the public site is packed with practical forestry and har- vesting information intended to inform all Oregonians. Key features of the website include a user-friendly front page, nine subject tabs for navi- gating to different categories of information, hundreds of pic- tures illustrating contemporary Oregon logging and forestry, and factual articles of just about every forestry topic. The site aims to accurately portray mod- ern harvesting and forestry through a blend of pictures, sto- ries, descriptions, technology, machines, science, and by put- ting a human face on the hard- working professionals who man- age and protect Oregon forests every day. Really, there’s something for everyone on the site! The ‘I Own Forestland’ pages describe how to harvest timber and where to find a logger. The ‘All About Logging’ tab has nearly 100 sto- ries about different logging ma- chines and technology improve- ment in logging. The ‘Continu- ous Safety Improvement’ page tells of impressive advances in technology over the last century that have improved harvesting workplace safety. And the, ‘For- est Careers’ tab illustrates many rewarding job opportunities, ca- reer types, and printable Oregon forest career publications. The AOL website is truly an information resource not just for loggers, but complete with use- ful knowledge for all Orego- nians. Another helpful feature of AOL’s website is how it pro- vides links to even more infor- mation from other sources and organizations. The many pages include printable document links and valuable internet links, which with a mouse-click will take the visitor to additional publications or websites else- where. Site visitors of all kinds - such as students, educators, career seekers, small woodland owners, policymakers, media, employees, family, and neigh- bors, opinion leaders, investors, business folks, or interested citi- zens - should find informative material about our proud Or- egon logging and forestry pro- fessions. An added bonus of our site is online availability of the illus- trated ‘ Oregon Professional Loggers’ brochure, located on the Loggers Are...Brief tab. Visitors can view and download their own copy of AOL’s color- ful 8-page brochure, which shows and tells how today’s log- ger skillfully manages and har- vests Oregon’s forests. The bro- chure is a great tool for contrac- tor use in describing logging to small forest landowners, stu- dents or others. The 8.5”x11” full-color brochure can be printed in PDF format from the website, or printed copies may be requested by contacting the AOL office at 503-364-1330. AOL member companies in- terested in accessing the ‘Member’s Login’ site - acces- sible from a tab located in the upper, right-hand corner of AOL’s website front-page should contact the AOL office to receive a username and pass- word, by calling: 503-364-1330. September, 2013 Logging Supervisor Training.................................Page 2 Equipment Electrical Fires....................................Page 4 Health Insurance Exchange....................................Page 8 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS A FINAL FRIENDLY REMINDER I f you have not sent in your 2013-2014 membership dues, please do so today. The final renewal billing went out last month and in just a few days the cancellation pro- cess will be starting. We don’t want you to lose any of the ser- vices that are tied to your mem- bership. So if you’ve been busy and haven’t renewed your mem- bership yet, please send in your renewal payment today. If you have any questions on your renewals, please give us a call. THANK YOU.
Transcript
Vol. 25 No. 09 September, 2013 *800-452-6023* PO Box 12339 Salem, OR 97309 *www.oregonloggers.org*
The AOL Mainline - September, 2013
AOL - NEW WEBSITE ONLINEby Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager
Welcome to theAssociated OregonLoggers, is the front
page headline introducing visi-tors to AOL’s new website. In-stalled in June, a new and im-proved version of the AOLwebsite is available to internetvisitors worldwide, online atwww.oregonloggers.org. AOL invites members andothers to visit this great onlineinformation resource, whichshould be useful for loggers andthe general public alike. Whilethe upgraded “Member Login”site includes even moredownloadable AOL forms andpublications just for AOL mem-bers, the public site is packedwith practical forestry and har-vesting information intended toinform all Oregonians. Key features of the websiteinclude a user-friendly frontpage, nine subject tabs for navi-gating to different categories ofinformation, hundreds of pic-
tures illustrating contemporaryOregon logging and forestry,and factual articles of just aboutevery forestry topic. The siteaims to accurately portray mod-ern harvesting and forestrythrough a blend of pictures, sto-ries, descriptions, technology,machines, science, and by put-ting a human face on the hard-working professionals who man-age and protect Oregon forestsevery day. Really, there’s something foreveryone on the site! The ‘IOwn Forestland’ pages describehow to harvest timber and whereto find a logger. The ‘All AboutLogging’ tab has nearly 100 sto-ries about different logging ma-chines and technology improve-ment in logging. The ‘Continu-ous Safety Improvement’ pagetells of impressive advances intechnology over the last centurythat have improved harvestingworkplace safety. And the, ‘For-est Careers’ tab illustrates many
rewarding job opportunities, ca-reer types, and printable Oregonforest career publications. The AOL website is truly aninformation resource not just forloggers, but complete with use-ful knowledge for all Orego-nians. Another helpful featureof AOL’s website is how it pro-vides links to even more infor-mation from other sources andorganizations. The many pagesinclude printable documentlinks and valuable internet links,which with a mouse-click willtake the visitor to additionalpublications or websites else-where. Site visitors of all kinds- such as students, educators,career seekers, small woodlandowners, policymakers, media,employees, family, and neigh-bors, opinion leaders, investors,business folks, or interested citi-zens - should find informativematerial about our proud Or-egon logging and forestry pro-fessions.
An added bonus of our siteis online availability of the illus-trated ‘Oregon ProfessionalLoggers’ brochure, located onthe Loggers Are...Brief tab.Visitors can view and downloadtheir own copy of AOL’s color-ful 8-page brochure, whichshows and tells how today’s log-ger skillfully manages and har-vests Oregon’s forests. The bro-chure is a great tool for contrac-tor use in describing logging tosmall forest landowners, stu-dents or others. The 8.5”x11”full-color brochure can beprinted in PDF format from thewebsite, or printed copies maybe requested by contacting theAOL office at 503-364-1330. AOL member companies in-terested in accessing the‘Member’s Login’ site - acces-sible from a tab located in theupper, right-hand corner ofAOL’s website front-pageshould contact the AOL officeto receive a username and pass-word, by calling: 503-364-1330.
Health Insurance Exchange....................................Page 8
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALSA FINAL FRIENDLY REMINDER
If you have not sent in your2013-2014 membershipdues, please do so today.
The final renewal billingwent out last month and in justa few days the cancellation pro-cess will be starting. We don’twant you to lose any of the ser-vices that are tied to your mem-
bership. So if you’ve been busyand haven’t renewed your mem-bership yet, please send in yourrenewal payment today. If you have any questions onyour renewals, please give us acall. THANK YOU.
The AOL Mainline - September, 2013
PAGE 2 “The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”
AOLTAKES TO TV AIRWAVES
by Jim Geisinger, Executive Vice President
Associated Oregon Log-gers, Inc. has launched a three month advertis-
ing campaign to promote thelogging profession and remindOregonians of the important so-cial, environmental and eco-nomic contributions the loggingsector makes to the State of Or-egon. The ads will be runningon KEZI-TV, the ABC affiliatecovering Linn, Benton, Lane,Douglas and Coos Counties.The ads are expected to reachover 500,000 viewers. Four fifteen second ads willrun during highly watched timeperiods, a web banner will ap-pear on the KEZI 9 website pro-moting key logging industry sta-tistics and five second “sponsortags” will appear during newsand weather updates. One ad will highlight thecontributions Oregon Loggershave made to the social well-being of our state through theLog A Load for Kids program,the Friends of Paul BunyanFoundation and the AOL collegescholarship program. Another ad focuses on oursupport for a $12.7 billion indus-
try that supports 76,000 jobswhile protecting the environ-ment and sustaining the forestresource. The third ad describes theevolution of our industry. Whilelogging is one of Oregon’s old-est professions, beginningnearly 200 years ago, it is alsoone of our “newest” industriesthat utilizes “high technology”to produce wood products in anefficient and sustainable manner. Finally, one ad highlights atimeline of our industry begin-ning with the first saw mill andcontinuing to modern day pro-fessional logging. The common theme in eachad is that logging is “Part of ourHistory, and Part of our Future.”The public needs to be remindedthat even though our industryhas undergone many changes, itis still a substantial part ofOregon’s economy and is notgoing away any time soon!There is a future for our indus-try in Oregon. If we make theright decisions, it will continueto be an important part of whatmakes Oregon a special placefor many decades to come.
LOGGINGSUPERVISOR TRAINING
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER
by Rod Huffman, Training Director
SEPTEMBER 28TH,DAYS INN BLACK BEAR CONFERENCE CENTER
SALEM, OR
company. Training provided for thissupervisor course is specific tothe logging industry. The train-ing will contain supervisor andcompetent person duties foundin OR-OSHA Division-7 ForestActivities rules. Fill out the Supervisor Train-ing insert and fax to 503-364-0836, or call the AOL office at503-364-1330 to reserve yourseat.
Fall Board Meeting September 6 - 7......................The Riverside Inn, Grants Pass Reservations.......................................AOL Registration Form Room Reservations..............................................541-476-6873 Standard Room Rate....................................................$105.00 Deluxe Room Rate........................................................$115.00 Group Code.......................................................................AOL Room Block held until................................................August 6 (Hells Gate Jet Boat Excursion)
Logging Supervisor Training September 28.................................................9:00am - 1:00pm Days Inn Black Bear Conference Center........................Salem Reservations.......................................AOL Registration Form
Statewide Safety Conference November 8 - 9............................The Riverhouse Hotel, Bend Basic Forest Practices Workshop..(10am - 5pm)..November 8 Forest Practices Seminar.....(6:30pm - 9:00pm)...November 8 Statewide Safety Conference.....(8am - 4pm)........November 9 Reservations.......................................AOL Registration Form Room Reservations..............................................866-558-9893 Standard Room Rate.........................................................TBA Group Code.......................................................................AOL Room Block held until.......................................................TBA
Events CalendarFor 2013
T ime is running out to reg-ister for the AOL LoggingSupervisor Training
course to be held Saturday, Sep-tember 28th at the Days InnBlack Bear Conference Center,in Salem, Oregon. Registration is free for mem-bers and includes coffee, waterand pastries. The training be-gins at 9:00 am and lasts until1:00 pm. Participants receive acertificate of completion and canearn up to 4 OPL credits for your
2014 Calendar44th Annual Convention
January 16 - 18................................Valley River Inn, Eugene
PAGE 3“The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”
CONGRESS ADVANCESFOREST REFORM BILLby Jim Geisinger, Executive Vice President
The House ResourcesCommittee passed a ma-jor forest reform legisla-
tion on July 31, 2013 that wouldrestore a reasonable timber saleprogram on federal forest lands.H.R. 1526, the RestoringHealthy Forests for HealthyCommunities Act, was intro-duced by Committee Chairman,Doc Hastings (R-WA) and wasamended to include legislationproposed by Oregon Congress-men Walden, DeFazio, andSchrader for the O & C landsmanaged by the Bureau of LandManagement in Western Or-egon. The comprehensive billis expected to be considered onthe floor of the House of Repre-sentatives when Congress re-turns from its August recess inearly September. Title I of the bill, Restoringthe Commitment to Rural Coun-ties and Schools, is intended torestore a timber sale programand a revenue stream to thecounties from national forestlands. It would replace the con-tinuation of federal subsidiesunder the Secure Rural Schoolsprogram. Key features include:• Require the Secretary of Ag-riculture to designate at least50% of the national forest landscapable of commercial timberproduction as Forest ReserveRevenue Areas within 60 daysof enactment of the bill.• The Secretary would have afiduciary responsibility to ben-eficiary counties and would berequired to offer a volume oftimber not less than 50% of thesustained yield from those lands.• Projects within the Forest Re-serve Revenue Areas would besubject to streamlined environ-
mental review procedures in-tended to minimize delayscaused by appeals and litigation,including the posting of a bondequal to the costs, expenses andattorney fees incurred by thegovernment. The governmentwould retrieve these costs fromappellants if it prevails in thelegal challenge. Title III of the bill, the O &C Trust, Conservation and JobsAct, would place over half of theO & C lands into trust manage-ment with a clear requirement togenerate revenue and timber forlocal communities in WesternOregon. The balance of the landwould be transferred to the For-est Service to be managed for avariety of conservation objec-tives. The title would also des-ignate approximately 90,000acres as new Wilderness andWild & Scenic Rivers set asides.Much of the land designated forthese purposes is currently burn-ing in Southern Oregon. Other amendments to the billwould expand and improve pro-grams to restore forest healthand prevent catastrophic forestfires, and increase the ability oflocal jurisdictions to influencemanagement decisions on localforest lands. Finally, there is aprovision to extend the SecureRural School payment subsidiesfor a period of time, sufficientto allow the implementation ofthe bill. Assuming H.R. 1526 passesthe U.S. House of Representa-tives, it will then go over to theSenate where it will be ad-dressed by the Senate Energyand Natural Resources Commit-tee, Chaired by Oregon SenatorRon Wyden.
SAIF PASSES TEST AUDITby Randy Ingraham, Insurance Manager
Audits of an employer’spayroll records help indetermining just how
much a company owes inWorkers’ Compensationinsurance premiums. Reliableaudits are needed in order toverify that proper payrollclassifications are assigned to apolicy, and that premiumscharged are based on rates onfile with the Oregon Departmentof Consumer & BusinessServices [DCBS], and thatrating plans and rating systemsused are also on file with DCBS.Accurate audits often mustconsider other payroll reportingissues like anticipated vs.unanticipated bonus’, out ofstate exposures, verifiablepayroll records, holiday pay,overtime, and rent to name justa few. Audits are also a way forinsurance carriers to protecthonest business people frombeing victimized by insurancefraud. Without audits, honestbusiness people reportingpayroll as accurately as possiblewould struggle under unfaircompetition from dishonestpeople who could undercut themby paying less than they owe.SAIF Corporation selectspolicies to be audited based onmultiple criteria including size,rating characteristics, andbusiness rules. But who audits
SAIF to ensure their audits areaccurate and reliable? The National Council onCompensation Insurance[NCCI] conducts test audits ofSAIF policy holders in accordwith Oregon AdministrativeRules [OAR]. The OARsspecify that policies to be testaudited be randomly selectedfrom a list provided quarterly byeach carrier of their entire bookof Workers’ Compensationbusiness. SAIF recentlyreported that for eight straightquarters [through 03/31/13] theyhad no errors on 108 physicalaudits tested by NCCI. Aphysical audit is one where anAuditor meets directly with apolicy holder representative toobtain audit information. Forself –audits performed by policyholders SAIF’s error ratio is11.76%, which easily beats theOregon – NCCI threshold of20%. The error ratio of all otherOregon carriers, excludingSAIF is 14.8% for physicalaudits and 12.64% for self-audits. The NCCI test auditprogram consistently showsSAIF’s audit program producesaccurate and reliable results. Italso indicates that SAIF andtheir agents like AOL providegood customer service thatincludes training on properpayroll classification ofexposures, and payrollreporting.
PAGE 4 “The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”
EQUIPMENT ELECTRICAL FIRESby Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager
Over the past few fire sea- sons there have been anincreasing number of
fires ignited by heavy equipmentelectrical system malfunctions,on logging and road operations.Although often times they burnvery few acres, just the loss ofthe valuable piece of equipmentis alarming. The proliferationof equipment mechanization andprocess control systems meansthat complex wiring is common-place in today’s logging machin-ery - feller bunchers, shovels,processors, skidders, dozers,excavators, and carriages. Thenormal logging wear and tear onwiring systems can lead to wornwires, broken switches, shorts,temporary “fixes,” electricalarcing, and sparking that couldreadily ignite debris on the ma-chine or nearby slash. Logging operators are urgedto adapt new daily routines thatminimize the potential of equip-ment starting an operation firefrom electrical sparks. It is goodbusiness practice for every con-tractor to reexamine their equip-
ment operations to better man-age for reduced risk of electri-cal fires. Manage operations toreduce both the occurrence andimpact if an electrical malfunc-tion happens. A costly electrical wildfirecould ignite on any jobsite whenleast expected. Taking precau-tions ahead of time, which canprevent electrical fire starts, isthe best way to keep a forestcontractor out of wildfire liabil-ity problems. It is the forestcontractor’s legal responsibilityin Oregon to prevent, to safelysuppress, and to report any firestarts. Preventing operationalfire starts in the first place is byfar the most economical way toavoid the liability, firefightingcost, lost production, legal costs,and damaged reputation. Frequent inspection andtimely maintenance of heavyequipment is a great strategy toavoid the risk of any electricalsystem malfunction that starts anoperation fire. There are manypossible tactics to manage heavyequipment operations, for thepurpose of reducing such a fire
start. Although these suggestedfire season tactics are voluntary,some may make practical sensefor your operations to reduceelectrical fire risk, including:• Install a master “turn-off”switch, to shut off equipmentpower at the end of each day.(This is often included on newequipment.)• Park equipment overnightaway from slash/flammable de-bris/clear slash.• Daily clearing of debris fromequipment.• Position the fire truck/watersupply near equipment over-night parking site.• Increase electrical system in-spection and service; pre-fireseason maintenance.• Shorten replacement cycle ofwear components that may in-duce electrical sparking.• Complete machine diagnos-tic routines on a frequent sched-ule during fire season.• Equip machines with on-board extinguisher system.• Inform equipment operators,
mechanics, supervisors andwatchmen of electrical risks.• Inform sub-contractors aboutneeded electrial fire prevention.• Instruct firewatch about spe-cial electrical sources to inspect.• Assure firewatch observesboth the equipment and opera-tion area.• Prior to high fire danger peri-ods, complete extra machine ser-vice/inspection.• Added measures during highfire danger (e.g. park machineson landing, extra inspections,extended firewatch, wet-downaround parked equipment.) Many Oregon forest contrac-tors have begun to redress theirequipment working policies toreduce the risk of electrical firestarts. During fire season, con-tractors knowingly bid contractjobs to account for higher costsfrom increased fire preventionregulations, slowed production,fire shutdowns, and extra equip-ment maintenance - includingefforts to prevent electrical fires.Have a fire safe autumn!
Mark Your Calendars for the14th Annual Statewide Safety Conference
“How to Build a Kick@$% Crew”and
“Git-R-Done” are just 2 of the topics for this year’s conference
PlusThere will be
Lots of Great Prizes
November 9that The Riverhouse Hotel
in Bend, Oregon
The AOL Mainline - September, 2013
PAGE 5“The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”
14TH ANNUAL AOL STATEWIDE SAFETY CONFERENCE
OREGON MARKET SPOTLIGHTMONTHLY REPORT ABOUT WOOD PRODUCT MARKETS, WHICH AFFECT DEMAND FOR OREGON TIMBER HARVEST
by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager
by Rod Huffman, Training Director
It’s that time again! Markyour calendars and sign upfor the 14th Annual AOL
Statewide Safety ConferenceNovember 9th, 2013 at TheRiverhouse Hotel in Bend,Oregon. This year will be another ex-citing safety conference featur-ing Wendy Farrand. Wendy re-sides in Maine and is a formercorporate training consultantwho landed in the logging indus-try and has never looked back.She now calls herself a ForestIndustry Consultant and hascombined her experiences work-ing in the woods with her expe-rience from the world, training
contractors with leadershipworkshops. Her topics like“Git-R-Done”, “How to Build aKick@$% Crew” and “It’s NotAbout the Wood” have helpedloggers understand their roles ina safe and productive workforce. “Safety in Motion” will beanother part of our conferenceprogram and will feature SAIFmaster trainer, Kevin Phau.Kevin provides safety trainingaround the state working withthe agriculture industry, farmersand ranchers. “Safety in Mo-tion” is a take home messagethat applies safety and move-ment of our body as it relates tothe task at hand. Safety at work
and home. Who doesn’t needsome of that information? The Bend location is provento be a great setting for ourSafety Conference, not to men-tion all kinds of recreational op-portunities and good food. Wehave lots of door prizes mount-ing up, just as in years past.Power tools, golf, hard hats,coats/hats and a Les SchwabTires award totaling $500 arejust a few of the great prizes. Other agenda items for thisyear’s safety conference:• Jeopardy on Steroids!• Safety Works with AOL Ser-vices• Cool Tools
AOL Forest Policy Manager,Rex Storm will also be holdingthe Basic Forest Practices Work-shop (6 OPL - FP Credits) andForest Practices Seminar (3OPL - FP Credits) at the Bendlocation on November 8th. Registration for the SafetyConference is only $30 permember attendee. Look for theregistration that will be mailedjust after Labor Day. Fill out thecompany information and mailto the AOL office, or fax to 503-364-0836 to reserve your seat.You can also register by callingthe AOL office at 800-452-6023.
Housing Robust at Mid-Summer: US housingstarts rose slightly to a
seasonally - adjusted annual rateof 896,000 in July, 6% above theJune rate, and 21% higher thanJuly 2012, according to the Cen-sus Bureau. July’s building per-mits also rose from the priormonth to 943,000 units/year, astrong 12% above the July 2012figure. Home builder confi-dence in markets for newly-builthomes climbed 3-points, to ascore of 59 in August, accord-ing to the National Assoc. ofHome Builders - Wells FargoHousing Index. This indexscore is the fourth straightmonthly gain and the best innearly eight years. An indexabove 50 indicates that morebuilders view sales conditions as“good.” Western Lumber OutputRises First-Half: WesternWood Products Association re-ports that lumber productionthrough the first-half of 2013totaled 6.8 billion bdft in theWest, 9.4% higher than the same
period in 2012. Coast regionsawmill output was up 11%, In-land output rose 6.4%, and Cali-fornia Redwood region gained13.7%. Western lumber produc-tion slipped downward in Juneto 1.033 billion, 12% under theMay output and 2% under June2012 output. Additionally,North American plywood pro-duction in the 2nd quarter re-mained unchanged from the firstquarter, as reported by the APA-Engineered Wood Assoc. Timber Exports from WestCoast Healthy: Log exportsfrom OR, WA, Northern CA,and AK rose 28% in the 2ndquarter, compared to the 1stquarter of 2013, totaling 540million bdft in the quarter, ac-
cording to the US Forest ServicePNW Research Station. Secondquarter lumber exports in-creased from the 1st quarter by5% to 230 million bdft (lumbertally). At West Coast ports, 65%of log exports (349 million bdft)and 35% of lumber exports weredestined for China in the quar-ter. West Coast ports shipped66% of the total US log exportsin the 2nd quarter. Log exportsfrom all US ports in the first halfof 2013 increased by 20% overthe same period in 2012. Lumber & Plywood Mar-kets: Following a 3-monthplunge in structural lumber andPanel markets from their 1stquarter high, sales and pricesfound a bottom and reversed in
early July - slowly rising to re-capture a bit of the lost ground.Renewed building outlook metwith mill slowdowns to pullprices higher in July. The indi-ces listed below are compositesof various grades and regions oflumber and plywood/OSB, re-ported weekly by RandomLengths Publications, in Eu-gene. For more informationabout wood product markets andpublications, go online at:www.randomlengths.com orphone 888-686-9925. Log Markets: During thesecond quarter of 2013, domes-tic log prices for most regionsand species were mixed com-pared to the prior quarter. Pricesrose or fell by 5%, with the mostconsistent change being DF fall-ing 6 - 8 %. Domestically - pro-cessed log prices, expressed aspond values from sample re-gions, are reported quarterlyonline by Oregon Dept. of For-estry, at: www.oregon.gov/odf/state_firests/timber_sales/logpage.shtml.
* Source: Random Lengths Publications, Inc.$ per thousand bdft lumber tally; thousand sqft panels
The AOL Mainline - September, 2013
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As We See ItAs We See ItAs We See ItAs We See ItAs We See It
by Mark Turner, Turner Logging
THE NEXT GENERATIONPART 2
In my previous article, I dis-cussed how many of us gotinto logging and some of the
challenges facing today’s log-gers with respect to where thenext generation of loggers isgoing to come from. It’s appar-ent that I’m not the only oneconcerned with the future of log-ging, because I got a lot of feed-back and comments from thatfirst article. Obviously, this is adialogue that we need to be hav-ing now and that we can’t affordto keep pushing it aside. In this article, I would like toexplore some possible solutionsto the looming shortage of log-gers, but I must admit; however,describing the problems is mucheasier than trying to come upwith solutions. The American logging indus-try, is a highly competitive busi-ness with both the producers(loggers) and the purchasers(mills and timber companies)having the same goal; get thehighest production for the low-est cost. In order for companiesto remain in business, they’vehad to find the most efficientways to get production, usuallya combination of new equip-ment, innovative techniques andtrained crews. Although popu-lar in other countries, govern-ment regulations, subsidies andartificial supports are not thepath to future success in theAmerican logging industry. We,the entire timber industry, needto come together to continue tobe able to profitably compete ina global marketplace. Unfortu-nately, logging is the weak linkin the timber supply chain.
When we start looking for so-lutions, I think that part of thefault falls upon us loggers. Inthe past when a forester com-plained that our bid was “waytoo high,” we have been far tooquick to comply. As a group, wetend not to be complainers. Wesimply keep on going and do thebest we can with the situation wefind ourselves in. When we aretold that we will have to do morewith less, we simply shrug ourshoulders and say OK. This ispart of our problem. We are waytoo resourceful for our owngood. At some point, we aregoing to have to learn to standup for ourselves better, to getwhat we need to be able to stayin business. The people we work for arealso part of the problem and theywill need to be part of the solu-tion. A recently retired forester’scomments accurately describemuch of the attitude in our in-dustry. He said that, during hiscareer, he was always told to“make sure the loggers don’t gobroke but don’t let them makeany money either.” In my opinion, the primarysolution is more money. In gen-eral, the logging industry isgrossly undercapitalized, withinsufficient resources to success-fully weather the extreme upsand downs common to logging.We are running on the tightestmargins in the memory of thisindustry. Equipment and laborare our two major expenses and2 of the 3 reasons that we remainsuccessful. If loggers mademore money, we would be ableto acquire and maintain the best,
most innovative equipment andto attract and retain the best,most talented labor. With moremoney flowing through the pipe-line to loggers, the entire timberindustry would be stronger andmore profitable. Quality equipment is a keyrequirement for all loggers.Logging has changed over theyears and the equipment weneed now is much more expen-sive and complex. The firstchallenge is to acquire thatequipment. Financing is almostalways required. Unless a com-pany already has years of expe-rience under their belt and ownsa lot of equipment, financing,particularly at a decent rate, isalmost impossible to get. Thenext challenge is to maintainthese fine-tuned, complex ma-chines. The simplest repairs areextremely expensive and a log-ger may need financing forlarger repairs to his equipmentbecause he no longer has the li-quidity that he had even 10 yearsago. I have heard talk of timbercompanies helping with financ-ing. For some, that could be agood solution. However, I’mnot a big fan of being beholdento someone I am working for. Itchanges the relationship in avery fundamental (and not good)way because now the timbercompany “owns” that loggingcompany. Trained crews have alwaysbeen a key element of a success-ful logging operation. Loggersused to be middle to uppermiddle class people. One of themembers of Associated OregonLoggers, Inc. analyzed compen-
sation from the late 1980’sthrough 2012. He discoveredthat hourly compensation hadrisen only 1.7% annually over30 years, significantly below therate of inflation. If formal datahad been available from theearly 1980’s (right before theearly 80’s recession), it is esti-mated that current compensationwould have actually decreasedduring that time span. This fail-ure to keep up with the cost ofliving has resulted in a majorityof loggers now no longer mak-ing a middle class wage. Given the state of our indus-try, it is a wonder that anyonewould choose to get into log-ging. Out here in the west, wecompete directly with construc-tion and the oil and gas fields.In those industries, unskilledworkers make at least $10 moreper hour than many of our highlyskilled operators. That’s forwork that, in many cases re-quires less skill, is much lessphysically demanding and ismuch less dangerous. Thismakes it really tough to findenough qualified people to workin our industry. At times westruggle to hire people who cansimply pass a drug test, muchless than actually being quali-fied. If logging is going to con-tinue to be a viable industry,people coming into the industryneed to feel like there is a futurefor them. Many of us have heard fromtimber company representativesthat when times are bad, “we’reall in this together and we all“The Next Generation - Part 2” Continued on Page 7
The AOL Mainline - September, 2013
PAGE 7“The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”
have to make sacrifices.” Weunderstand and agree with that.The problem is that when timesare good, suddenly “we’re notall in this together” anymore,and we don’t get our share of theprofits. Going forward, as theeconomy improves and woodproducts become more valuable,logging prices will need to rise,to allow loggers to share in the“good times” so that we have thenecessary resources to build theinfrastructure that will be re-quired to support a healthy tim-ber industry. The final part of the solutionis effective training programs forloggers. Currently, for loggersto stay certified, they must at-tend ongoing training classes.The subjects covered range fromhuman resource issues to the lat-est in logging technology andforest practices. One of the big-gest training needs is in becom-ing more competent managers
and financially knowledgeablebusiness people. In this day and age, we mustknow how to accurately bid forjobs which calls for a thoroughunderstanding of and the abilityto project expenses. A surpris-ing number of loggers don’thave a good handle on what theircosts are. Often times, theydon’t know if they are on trackto make any money until the jobis more than half way done. Anadditional opportunity is in de-veloping computer softwarecustomized to the logging indus-try. With improved financialtraining, we can learn to standup for ourselves, when that for-ester tells us “we need tosharpen our pencil” and confi-dently defend our numbers, jus-tifying the costs of what it takesto run a highly efficient loggingoperation. For the time being, loggingoperations continue to limp
along. The best operators arestill in business and will con-tinue to be until they retire. Asmore and more operators retire,those of us who remain shouldreap incredible rewards becausethere will be fewer loggers avail-able for so much work. Afterwe retire, then what? Loggingis not something easily taught ina class room. There is no realsubstitute for putting your timein, on the job. Virtually all ofus learned the business of log-ging at our father’s knee, goingup to the job on weekends andlogging during summer vaca-tions. It has taken decadesthrough the school of hardknocks to teach the current gen-eration of operators how to besuccessful loggers. Regrettably,that path doesn’t exist anymorein the 21st century. In the end, the solution ismoney. If we continue to pushviable solutions down the road,
it amounts to slow suicide for thelogging industry with a huge lossof infrastructure and a crisis forthe entire timber industry andour consumers. The big ques-tion is, do they pay us now orpay us later? I believe that theformer would be the wisestchoice. If young people are ableto see that there is “real money”in logging, then the question ofwhere the next generation of log-gers will come from may sim-ply disappear. Mark Turner who along withhis brother, Greg owns and op-erates Turner Logging, inBanks, Oregon. The American Loggers Coun-cil is a non-profit 501(c)(6) cor-poration representing profes-sional timber harvesters in 30states across the U.S. For moreinformation, visit their websiteat www.americanloggers.org orcontact their office at 409-625-0206.
“The Next Generation - Part 2” Continued from Page 6
FOREST POLICY BRIEFSUPDATE ON CURRENT POLICY NEWS AFFECTING FOREST BUSINESS & TIMBER SUPPLY
by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager
New Healthy Forests: Anew organization(Healthy Forests,
Healthy Communities) pro-motes a vibrant forest productsindustry, strong rural economiesand healthy forests across theNorthwest. Those frustratedwith the past 20 years ofgridlock in Oregon’s federal for-ests, will want to join this non-profit group that works to buildpublic and grassroots supportfor reforms of now-broken fed-eral forestry. Three easy waysto join HFHC: 1) Go online at:www.healthyforests.org andsign up for email news. 2)“Like” the Facebook Page at:f a c e b o o k . c o m /healthyforestshealthy communi-
ties. 3) “Follow” HFHC onTwitter at: Twitter.com/HealthyForests1. Governor Urges Fire Pre-vention: While visiting the46,000 acre Douglas ComplexFire in SW Oregon, GovernorKitzhaber made a public safetyannouncement August 3rd, re-minding the public to preventunwanted fires while recreatingin Oregon’s forests. Oregon’sprivate and BLM forests are ex-periencing the most sever wild-fire summer since 1987, withmore than 97,000 forest acresburning on all ownerships byAugust 19th. The fire season isforecast to remain through Sep-tember, so forest operatorsshould continue implementing
fire precautions tailored to localfuel hazards. Fire Danger Puts Gate onIndustrial Forests: Increas-ingly dry and combustible for-est fuel conditions, matchedwith a warm dry weather fore-cast for August and Septemberhas moved many industrial for-estland owners across Oregon toclose the gates on their privatetree farms. Tree farms are be-ing closed to public access toprotect forests from the highpotential of recreational firestarts that could damage re-sources and be costly to control.Closures will remain until localareas receive adequate rainfalland temperature improvement.
Fire Salvage Plans Begin:With thousands of acres of pri-vate, BLM and national forestland burned in this summer’swildfires across southwest andeastern Oregon, landownershave begun plans for salvagelogging and reforestation to re-store the damaged landscape.Of note in SW Oregon, there isover 80,000 acres of burned for-ests in the Roseburg andMedford BLM districts,Umpqua National Forest, indus-trial forests, and small privatewoodlands. Small BLM salvagesales of downed fire line timbercould be offered this fall. Themost immediate logging willbegin on private forestlands.
The AOL Mainline - September, 2013
PAGE 8 “The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”
NEW MANDATORY NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES REGARDINGHEALTH INSURANCE EXCHANGE
by Harold Christensen, Benefits Advisor, CFP, Inc.
Numerous articles havebeen written this yearregarding the Afford-
able Care Act and its primarydistribution system - Health In-surance Exchanges - also knownas, Health Insurance Market-places. Little attention however,has been given to the employer’sobligation to notify employeesof the Exchange. There is a newnotice employers are required tohand out, the Employer Noticeof Exchange. This notice mustbe distributed to all current em-ployees no later than October 1,2013. Oregon’s Exchange (CoverOregon) will begin open enroll-ment October 1, 2013 for cov-erage beginning January 1,2014. Before Oregon’s Ex-change opens, employers mustsend written notice to everyemployee advising of the exist-ence and benefits of the Ex-change. When the AffordableCare Act was passed, Congresstucked the “Notice-of-Ex-changes” into an obscure sectionof the law, the Fair StandardsLabor Act. The placement of thenotice does not change the factthat businesses must comply andadvise employees of their optionto participate in the Exchange. In early May of this year, theDepartment of Labor issuedguidance and model notices re-garding the, Employer Notice ofExchange. There are two modelnotices available:• One for employers who do notoffer a health plan.• One for employers who offera health plan to some or all oftheir employees.
Be aware, all employers arerequired to send out the noticesand they must be sent to everyemployee. Not offering benefitsdoes not exempt you from thisnew ruling. The notice must in-form employees of a number ofspecific issues:• The Exchanges’ existence.• Describe services provided bythe Exchange.• Identify the manner in whichthe employee may contact theExchange for assistance.• Inform employees they maybe eligible for a premium taxcredit or cost sharing if cover-age is purchased through theExchange.• By purchasing coveragethrough the Exchange they maylose any employer contributionthey currently receive. The notice is sent to all em-ployees regardless of hoursworked, full time, part time,even those ineligible for theemployer health plan. All cur-rent employees must receive thisnotice by October 1, 2013.Employees hired after October1, 2013 must receive the noticewithin 14 days of their hire date. The information on the De-partment of Labor (DOL)website in addition to subse-quent private sector articles in-dicate the notice may be pro-vided in one or two ways, byfirst class mail or electronically.However, the DOL has advisedthat hand delivery of the noticeis permitted as well. With thehand delivery option, the DOLhas instructed that the employercannot simply distribute the no-
tices passively, such as placingthem in a break room. Instead,the employer must take a morecomprehensive approach. Ex-amples include placing the no-tices in employee mailboxes,including them with paychecks,or truly walking around andhanding them out to each em-ployee. The hand delivery op-tion is also permitted for newhires, so employers should in-corporate the Marketplace No-tice into their new hire orienta-tions and onboarding processes,remembering to deliver it nolater than 14 days after theemployee’s start date. Electronic delivery shouldonly be used if you distributeother Employee Benefit relatedmaterial in this fashion, and arealready compliant with theDOL’s safe harbor rules. Merelyposting a notice on theemployer’s intranet or websitewill not, by itself, be sufficeint.After October 1st, it is recom-mended this notice be includedin “new hire” standard paper-work. Regulations do not identifya specific penalty for failing tocomply with this notice. How-ever, the “general penalty” ruleof PPACA would most likelyapply. The penalty would be$100 per day / per failed em-ployee notice, for noncompli-ance. This could add up to asubstantial amount if a companyneglected to send out notices. In addition to the Exchangenotice, there are two other em-ployee notification changes thisyear employers should be awareof.
Summary of Benefits Cov-erage (SBC): As of last Sep-tember, employers offering in-surance coverage must providean SBC to employees at openenrollment or to new eligibleemployees with their enrollmentform. This new summary re-places the old Benefit Summaryused in the past. All insurancecarriers are sending the newSBC out with renewals. Theyhave a standard required formatso that employees can more eas-ily compare benefits. COBRA Changes: Thischange is especially important ifyou self-administer COBRA.There is now a revised modelCOBRA notice that includeslanguage advising participantsof their option to choose CO-BRA or The Marketplace (Ex-change). For more informationon this check the DOL websiteor your benefits broker. Employers who are over-whelmed with all the new HealthCare Reform requirementsshould consult their broker foradvice and solutions. Your goalshould be to stay compliant withthe new laws as they take effect. If you have questions or con-cerns please contact CFP, Inc.We would be glad to help youthrough the Health Care Reformmaze. Feel free to call us at:866-532-0417, or by email at:[email protected].
CFP, Inc. has been workingwith the AOL for 16 years astheir endorsed benefits agentand appreciate the opportunityto help with your benefits plan-ning.
