PLC Member Weekly Update Feb. 18, 2022
In this Issue:
Member Survey – Please Respond!
MLOP – Needs contractors for student interviews!
Acadia Dividend Reminder – Keep the focus on Safety!
Annual Meeting 2022 – May 13, Save the Date!
Forestry for Loggers Video – Recording now available!
Logger’s Voice Winter Edition – Now Available!
GenerationNext – Training for young loggers
Next PLC Board Meeting – March 3
PLC Store – Many items for sale
Safety Resources – Registration open for Spring Safety Training!
Trucking – MDOT releases three year work plan
Classified listings – Check them out!
Member Discounts – Many to choose from
Logging News – Latest headlines
Member Price Inflation Survey
Please respond! Deadline TODAY!
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Members, to help you inform your clients and customers of what you are up against right now, we are surveying the membership to gauge price inflation in labor, fuel, parts, and equipment in the Maine logging industry. If you have already responded, thank you. If not, please respond and let us know what percentage increases you have experienced over the last two years by comparing what you paid in January 2020 to January 2022. We understand not all these costs may apply to your business so please answer the ones that do. Once we have membership data in aggregate, we will share it with you so you can provide this information to your clients and customers for information purposes. Please respond no later than Friday Feb. 18. Thank you. |
CLICK HERE to participate in the survey
MLOP needs contractors for student interviews!
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Good day,
The Mechanized Logging Operations Program (MLOP) is scheduled to begin training new students on June 27, 2022 in the woods north of Old Town. I am reaching out to ask you to participate in the MLOP student interviews to select this year’s class of students. It is imperative that I have the assistance of the PLC membership with these interviews to ensure we are recruiting and accepting students that meet your expectations. The first two dates for interviews are scheduled for Tuesday (2/22) 8:00 am – 12:00 pm and Thursday (2/24) 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm. All interviews will be conducted by Zoom so you can participate from your pickup, equipment, garage or home.
Currently, we have 13 applicants in the queue to interview next week. We use a standard list of questions to ask each applicant, and I invite you to ask the applicants questions you would when you interview a potential employee. When the interview is over, we ask you to rate the applicant on a scale from one through ten. A one is someone we should not ever accept, and a ten is someone we should accept right away. We want to only invest in students that a logging contractor would hire, and the only way we can know for sure that you would employ these applicants is to have you meet & interview these applicants.
The TV recruitment ads have already started, which should generate more applicants to interview in the coming weeks. If you know of anybody you think would make a good logging employee, share my email & phone number to get more information about the class, and they can go onto the NMCC website and apply.
Last thought, I am looking for a Feller-buncher instructor and a stroke delimber instructor. If you know any operator looking for a change or who has been injured and cannot operate equipment any longer, I would like to talk to them about being an instructor.
I look forward to hearing from you and have a safe day.
Regards,
Donald Burr
Mechanized Logging Operations Program Coordinator
Mobile: 207-356-1541
Email: Safety@maineloggers.com
Acadia Safety Dividend Reminder: Keep the Focus on Safety!
Members who are part of the PLC Safety Group Dividend Program,
2022 has gotten off to a pretty rough start with losses for PLC members. We know that markets are extremely challenging right now, so please make sure that your companies do everything they can to manage risk and ensure losses don’t have a major impact upon your company and the Dividend program.
As you know, the PLC working in partnership with Acadia Insurance has made great strides in improving safety and reducing losses for our members in recent years and this has paid off with dividends totaling more than $12 million to eligible participants of this safety group since 1999. As we start another year, now is the time to renew the focus on safety!
Remember, the PLC offers many Safety Resources and PLC Safety and Training Coordinator Donald Burr is always available to to help you improve safety in your company and reduce losses. Email him at safety@maineloggers.com or call (207)-356-1541. Stay safe out there!
PLC Annual Meeting 2022: May 13
SAVE THE DATE!
Members and Supporting Members, we are pleased to announce plans to hold the PLC’s Annual Meeting and Log A Load for Maine Kids live auction this year on May 13 at a new location, the Harborside Hotel, Spa, and Marina in Bar Harbor!
Please save the date for this important event and many more details will be released soon along with sponsorship opportunities!
Forestry for Loggers Video
Recording of January session available for Members Only
The logging industry in Maine is comprised of many loggers who have become managers because of mechanization and the complexity of their business. The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine (PLC) and the Maine Forest Service (MFS), Forest Ranger division partnered in January 2022 to offer three online (via Zoom) trainings focused on what the MFS looks for during Timber Harvesting Inspections to help you better manage your business. One of these recordings is now available for those who missed the original sessions. VIEW IT HERE.
Logger’s Voice Winter 2022
The Winter 2022 edition of The Logger’s Voice is now available
READ THE VOICE
GenerationNext Program for the Next Generation of Agricultural, Fishing, and Forestry Managers Members, UMaine Extension is working with Farm Credit East to hold a Maine-based GenerationNext Training Program for those who may be part of the “next generation” of leaders taking management responsibility in an agricultural business (farming, fishing, and forestry), or entrepreneurs starting and growing businesses of their own. The 8 sessions in the program will be held online Fridays from 10 a.m.-noon March 4-April 22, 2022. This online program is designed for young Mainers ages 20 to 35, who will be the next generation operators of a family business or starting their own family business. Tuition is $199 per attendee for the entire series, including course materials. However, the PLC has been informed full financial assistance is available to cover that cost through the Maine Farmers through UMaine Extension’s Equipping New Farmers with Practical Skills and Knowledge project, and has also been advised that while the program’s online description seems aimed primarily at young farmers, it is intended for young loggers and fishermen as well.
The course is designed to broaden management expertise, covering areas such as: Leadership and Management Financial Management and Budgeting Marketing Risk Management Strategic Planning and Farm Transfer To register and for more information about the course, CLICK HERE |
Next PLC Board Meeting
March 3
Governor Hill Mansion, Augusta
Full Board
All Member Contractors invited!
PLC Online Store
Looking for great PLC items and apparel? Gifts? First Aid packs, safety items and more? You will find them at the new PLC Online Store on our web site. Ordering is easy.
CHECK IT OUT HERE
Safety Resources
PLC Logger Safety and Fleet Trainings 2022 REGISTER NOW!
Safety Registration 2022 The PLC is pleased to offer Logger, Fleet, CPR and Dynamic Driving Safety Training for its members in person for 2022! Please review our Logger and Fleet offerings and register as soon as possible, but no later than March 25, 2022 to ensure there is room for your employees at the chosen location(s). Trainings run from March 31 to May 25, 2022.
You may REGISTER ONLINE HERE, or download, fill out and mail back the paper registration form Safety Registration 2022 – Form. A hardcopy has also been sent to your office. Via US mail.
This training is free to employees and owners of all PLC Member companies and Maine Master Logger companies! Lunch is provided, and we have added new topics based on feedback received from PLC Members. Don’t miss out, register NOW!
The PLC would also like to thank our sponsors of the 2022 Safety Trainings below. We could not offer these trainings without you!
Did you miss the latest Safety Resources Update? The NEW video below will tell you what you are missing!
*Safety Resources Updates are issued on the first Wednesday of each month. If you are not seeing them in your email let us know!
New Hump Day Safety Video – Battery Safety!
New Unsafe Zone Safety Video – Tony Madden: Safety Glasses!
*This video pairs well with last month’s new HumpDay video HERE. Share them both with your employees!
Trucking
MaineDOT Releases Three-Year Work Plan
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Transportation has released the 2022 Edition of its three-year Work Plan. This Work Plan includes all capital projects and programs, maintenance and operations activities, planning initiatives, and administrative functions for calendar years 2022, 2023, and 2024. This plan contains 2,316 individual work items with a total value of $3.17 billion, consisting primarily of work delivered or coordinated through MaineDOT.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched its Training Provider Registry as the final step in implementing new entry-level driver training standards for individuals seeking to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or certain endorsements.
Logging Industry News
Sappi Workers Rally Over New Contract
Members of the union, along with representatives from the Maine AFL-CIO and others, rallied along the weigh station on Route 201, about a half-mile south of the mill, toting signs demanding fair contracts from one of the region’s largest employers.
Tractor Trailers collide head-on
ORIENT — Two logging truck operators were injured in a head-on collision in Orient Friday morning.
Member Discounts
TRUCKING DISCOUNTS THROUGH THE ALC!
PLC Members, because the PLC is a member of the American Loggers Council YOU are entitled to special discounts on truck purchases! Click on the brand names below to learn more!
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Fabian Oil Discount
Traction Heavy Duty Special
Wallingford’s Discounts
Maine Trailer Discounts
Scandinavian Forestry Equipment
PLC Members get a 5% discount on culverts purchased at Treeline and Frank Martin & Sons
Hale Trailer discounts for PLC Members on new trailer purchases! Call Neal at 207-232-7969 for details!
Cross Arena Discounts for PLC!
Classifieds
PLC Classified Section
Check out the equipment and job opportunities our members have listed at the LOGGING ZONE! If you have equipment for sale, are looking to buy, are looking for employees, or
Preferred Supporting Members
Preferred Supporting Members
