OTA Dispatch Issue 4, 2021

4 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch FROM THE PRESIDENT Jana Jarvis OTA President/CEO AS WE WRAP up another year, I typically share all our successes—which we’ve had, even under difficult circumstances. Our association remains strong. We were able to gather once again at our annual events. We expanded our training and education offerings, with an eye on bringing more virtual and flexible opportunities that fit member schedules and expectations. We’ve enhanced our public outreach and promotion. Taking what we’ve learned from another year in the trenches, we’re in the process of planning for next year and there are a lot of exciting developments we’ll share in coming months. Stay tuned! So, how do we approach 2022 and the years ahead when we have national leaders who appear disengaged from the reality of everyday life at best and incompetent and ill-prepared at worst? When rising operating costs are compounded by a shrinking labor pool? How can we plan for future investments when Oregon’s economy is being driven by uninformed environmental ideologues? Simply put—we keep fighting! It might seem melodramatic, but there is some truth to the quote that “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” OTA has never stopped fighting for the trucking industry and the interests of our members. In the past year, we’ve faced verbal and printed put-downs over discussions on something as seemingly simple as road improvements. We’ve worked around the limitations of virtual testimony and dealt with overlapping policy meetings where trucking needed representation more than ever. We’ve battled with committees that are overwhelmingly comprised of environmental and social justice “warriors.” We do this because we know our industry’s value—and we know what will happen if we don’t. To say 2021 has been difficult is a bit of an understatement. The list of challenges—new and old—facing the trucking industry is quite extensive. This year we had a lot of substantial projects and rules under discussion. OTA took part in all of them. We had more members than ever before engage in the process, submitting comments, and attempting to educate these decisionmakers on the realities of the road. The pursuit of California- inspired Clean Truck Rule and NOx reductions put the spotlight on the insidious impacts of these efforts. While the Oregon Environmental Commission adopted the Advanced Clean Truck Rule and the Heavy-Duty Omnibus (Low-NOx) Rule as presented by the DEQ, trucking and other industries are not finished fighting. We gained some recognition at the start of the pandemic for our dedication and commitment to keeping the economy moving. Now, with the disruption in the supply chain, that attention has morphed into something less than positive. I find myself asking if there really is no such thing as bad press. Labor shortages have exacerbated what the trucking industry was already dealing with— not enough drivers and technicians. Traditional methods of finding quality workers, and even the employment models that have served our industry could be in flux in the coming years as employee priorities shift. OTA is already considering what a “new normal” may look like and we’ll continue to work with our members on solutions. Lingering issues from COVID-19 and the potential for even more pandemic problems are leaving some We had more members than ever before engage in the process, submitting comments, and attempting to educate these decisionmakers on the realities of the road.