ALC updates

As We See It November 2022 By Scott Dane

It is a matter of perspective, we can either look at the glass as half full or half empty. Either way it is the same glass, it just depends upon how we choose to look at it. If you are thirsty, you can be grateful for half a glass of water, or you can be resentful that it wasn’t a full glass of water. That is how life, particularly in the woods, can be. Loggers and truckers tend to be “glass half full” optimists. There are few “easy” days in the woods or hauling timber. The challenges are daily, sometimes hourly. But if you have been in the timber industry, it is a way of life. Honestly, that may be what drives loggers and truckers to do what they do. It is a life most others cannot or will not live. As such you have overcome insurmountable challenges and threats; you have replenished your glass and never let it be empty. As we prepare for the Thanksgiving celebration, remember that it dates back to colonial times and the harvest feast. When settlers and Native Americans came together and shared a meal. The New England colonists regularly celebrated “days of prayer thanking God for blessings”. Later, a national Thanksgiving Day was officially designated by President Lincoln to promote unity during the Civil War. If there has been a time since the Civil War that the United States needed unity, it is today. Despite all of the division, vitriol and conflict today’s United States can take a lesson from 400 years ago, when two vastly different cultures, who were at times warring factions, sat together, ate together and gave thanks TOGETHER. This historic demonstration of unity is an example of what America needs today, and a reminder that we still have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. The timber industry is comprised of competing factions, including loggers vying for the same timber tract, mill volume, laborers, and trucking capacity. Yet most come together to work towards a common mutual benefit of a sustainable timber industry through their membership in state and national organizations. They recognize that through unity a greater good can be achieved. Perhaps

there should be more loggers and truckers running the country. Men and women who face the daily challenges of harvesting timber and transporting it, who can solve problems, who are focused on the common good, who build instead of destroy, who focus on the good not the bad, who are thankful for the blessings they have received. Whether we choose to look at all of the blessings we enjoy today, or if we choose to look at the challenges, differences, threats and disagreements that divide us, is up to each of us.

Gratitude and Attitude are not Challenges; they are Choices.

Thanksgiving is about unity, unity of country, but more importantly, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to the source of our blessings – God. Ephesians 6:12 – For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord’s mercy often rides to the door of our heart upon the black horse of affliction.” During the Thanksgiving holiday, be sure to have the right perspective, count your blessings – your health, your family, your business and give thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow. Even in the challenges be thankful.

Be Thankful for Every New Challenge.It will Build Strength, Wisdom, and Character.

With that perspective, in times of blessings and in times of challenges, we can be thankful and give thanks.

“The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.” –William Penn (American Colonialist)

As We See It December 2022 By Scott Dane

(The following article was originally written for and published in the Association of Consulting Foresters “Consultant” magazine by Scott Dane, Executive Director, American Loggers Council)

Workforce Development Challenge, Pieces Coming Together

The pieces for workforce development have been identified, but before they can be put together, the elephant in the room must be acknowledged. Regardless of training programs, and there are numerous good ones, the industry needs to be competitive to attract workers. The existing logging and trucking workforce is aging out at a rate that exceeds those entering the workforce pipeline. This trend will begin to compromise production in the next 5-10 years, if not sooner. This issue is further compounded by the fact that the average logging company owner is in their upper 50’s. Unless they have a succession plan, such as passing on the company to the next generation, (and many do not,) then these companies will exercise their “retirement plan” and sell their iron (equipment) and discontinue operations. American Loggers Council member, Jim Houdequin, CEO of Lyme Timber Company testified recently in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources where he stated:

Employment in logging has declined by 41% from 86,000 in 1990 to under 50,000 today, a decline of 2% per year. However, logging output has remained nearly flat, so reductions in employment have been almost completely offset by increases in productivity.

Jim Houdequin also described the challenges to workforce recruitment in the logging sector, including low profit margins and wages, physically demanding work, safety challenges and limited technical training in his testimony.

Recently, another of the countless studies by academia stated the obvious without any solutions, by acknowledging the workforce development challenges due to the lack of competitive wages, benefits and aging workforce. Then they pivoted to “What makes a Quality Logging Operation (QLO)?” This "QLO" is a new term. We’ve all heard of Qualified Logging Professional, Certified Logger, Master Logger, but now academia has come up with another label – Quality Logging Operation. It implies that, without this new branding, logging operations are not quality. The answers to the issues challenging the workforce development pipeline shortage and what makes a “Quality Logging Operation” are one and the same – a profitable logging operation. So again, let's get back to the elephant in the room. The timber industry is going to remain challenged in its efforts to retain and recruit the workforce necessary for sustainability if it is not competitive. Competitive in wages, benefits, working conditions, and stability. Starbucks, fast food chains and big box stores in many instances offer comparable wages and better benefits than entry level logging jobs. What determines the wage scale and benefits within the timber industry? The amount that logging companies get paid for the wood they deliver. Most logging companies operate on a 3% profit margin, making it prohibitive, if not impossible, to increase wages or offer competitive benefits, so they offer what they can afford, and hope for the best. "I believe the markets for logging services –principally landowners and mills – are beginning to address profit margins and logger compensation, but many of the other challenges cannot be addressed by the private sector alone," said Jim Houdequin, CEO Lyme Timber Company, in his testimony to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. With that premise in mind, the public and private sectors are waking up to the fact that the workforce challenges represent a current and pending threat to the timber and forest products industries. Currently, the typical training program in much of the industry consists of a couple of days of Best Management Practices (BMP’s) and other topics; then a few hours of instruction on a piece of equipment followed by on-the-job training. With the complexity, technology, and cost of today’s logging equipment that practice is no longer a viable nor a productive process. Training programs such as the Heavy Equipment and Logging Operations (HELO) training program by the Shasta Community College in California; the Maine Mechanized Logging Operations Program administered by the Northern Maine Community College; and Mississippi’s Logging Equipment Operator Academy, through Hinds Community College; as well as others across the country; are beginning to pump trained and productive workers into the employment pipeline. Productivity is the key to getting MORE (production) out of LESS (workers). Promotion of the timber industry's value, opportunities ALC Continued Page 46

and the training process is critical to attracting new workers. The American Loggers Council has recently received a $100,000 grant as part of a $250,000 Public Image and Workforce Development grant to improve the public understanding of the timber industry while recruiting new mechanized logging equipment operators. The American Loggers Council will be working with the state associations, to promote their programs; other industry stakeholders, to support this initiative; and public/private partnerships, to educate the public. Additionally, the American Loggers Council has been working with the federal government, to establish training; and investment programs, to support the future of the timber industry. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Chaired by Senator Manchin, and Ranking Member Barrasso, have included three provisions in the Bill introduced last month that supports state training programs, on-the-job training, and provides for low interest or loan guarantees for the purchase of mechanized logging equipment. (See the official language below.) TITLE III—WORKFORCE 2 SEC. 301. LOGGING WORKFORCE. 3 (a) TRAINING.— 4 (1) INTERSTATE TRAINING PROGRAMS.—The 5 Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 6 the Forest Service, shall work with States to develop 7 a universal, tiered program to train persons to enter 8 the logging workforce. 9 (2) ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.—The Secretary 10 concerned shall examine potential ways to facilitate 11 apprenticeship training to increase knowledge and 12 skills in an emerging logging workforce. 13 (b) MODERNIZING MACHINERY.—Using funds made 14 available under section 40804(b)(3) of the Infrastructure 15 Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592a(b)(3)), the 16 Secretary of Agriculture shall provide low-interest loans 17 or loan guarantees to persons, subject to such conditions 18 as the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be nec19 essary, for the acquisition of mechanized machinery for 20 decreasing injuries in the logging workforce. The first step in solving a problem is acknowledging there is a problem. Based on the facts of the aging workforce; the overall reduction in employment within the logging sector; and the lack of new entry level workers coming into the timber industry; it is clear that workforce shortages will negatively impact timber harvest capacity if they are not addressed. The second step is developing a solution. The workforce development programs, at the state levels; the national government support, through legislation; and additionally, the public awareness/promotion; will collectively increase the opportunities to recruit and train new mechanized logging equipment operators. The third step, in addressing the workforce development threat and challenges, is the competitiveness of the timber industry with reference to comparable industries. This final step in solving the workforce development issue is solely up to the entities that set the rate paid for delivered timber. These entities, the buyers, can invest in the workforce for today and tomorrow. They can ensure the sustainability of the supply chain. They can support the extension of the same level of compensation and benefits enjoyed by their mill workers and other vendors, by working with their suppliers to understand their costs. The pieces to solving the workforce development puzzle are here. The remaining question is whether the players are going to fit the pieces together to safeguard an economically productive wood products industry, or if things will continue to be done according to the status quo, which, in the end, is not sustainable for anyone.

Sign up for health insurance at CoverME.gov by the January 15 deadline for coverage to start February 1st

Free assistance is available to help Mainers understand options and enroll in coverage

Visit CoverME.gov or call Consumers for Affordable Health Care, Maine’s Consumer Assistance Program at 1-800-965-7476 for free, confidential help sorting through options and enrolling in coverage. Most Mainers who signed up for coverage through CoverME.gov last year received help paying for their coverage and that help is available again this coming year. Don’t wait! Some options are time limited.

Enroll in a Marketplace plan before the January 15

deadline for coverage to start February 1st . Mainers who are eligible for free or low-cost coverage through Maine Care can apply for Maine Care any time during the year. Call 1-800-965-7476 before January 15th for help understanding your options and enrolling in coverage. Consumers for Affordable Health Care (CAHC) is a nonprofit organization designated as Maine’s Health Insurance Consumer Assistance Program by Maine’s Attorney General. CAHC does not sell insurance. Our trained assisters can provide free, confidential help over the phone. Inperson appointments are also provided if needed but space is limited. Don’t wait if you need insurance. You can visit CoverME.gov to explore plans or call 1-800-965-7476 before January 15, 2023 if you want help enrolling in coverage to start February 1st.