PLC Member Weekly Update April 21, 2023

PLC Annual Meeting May 4-5 2023

Register Now! Bring your family! We still need Auction Items!

Registration for the 2023 PLC Annual Meeting, Dinner and Log A Load for Maine Kids Auction May 4-5 is now underway! We have a full schedule of events and we hope to see you there! We also welcome donations of items and cash for the Log A Load Auction to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in Maine!

The theme for the PLC 2023 Annual Meeting May 4-5 in Bar Harbor is “It Takes A Family” and we are encouraging all Members to bring their families to the event this year and to send us family pictures in advance of the meeting!  Businesses like yours don’t run without the support and sacrifice of your family members and we want to be sure to recognize everyone that plays an important part in this business. Send pictures to jessica@maineloggers.com

The PLC is pleased to announce that retired New England Patriot Pete Brock, an offensive lineman with the team from 1976 to 1987, including the 1986 Bears-Patriots Superbowl XX game, will be our special guest and speaker at the 2023 Annual Meeting May 4-5! Don’t wait, register now to get the chance to meet him!

Other highlights of the event will include lunch guest speaker Scott Dane, Executive Director of the American Loggers Council, our evening dinner and awards ceremony, and, of course, our live Log A Load for Maine Kids Auction! A full board meeting for all Contractor Members will be held the morning of May 5.

NEW THIS YEAR – Log A Load & Lobster! Join us on Thursday, May 4th for an amazing opportunity to raise money for the kids and experience Downeast Maine’s most remark­able renewable energy and blue berry fields, owned by the PLC’s Duane Jordan of Elliott Jordan & Son! Travel by bus from Bar Harbor and learn about what Duane and his family have invested in. Your day will end with a private lakeside Lobster feed with all the fixings! There will be guests from the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital’s joining us for the day and all proceeds will be donated to Log A Load For Kids! LEARN MORE

Members, please join us at the Full Board and Membership Meeting scheduled on the morning of May 5. This portion of the meeting is open to all PLC Contractors and is FREE to attend!

We will be going over many important issues at the meeting and electing new PLC Board Members. This is an important meeting you won’t want to miss. Register now and join us!

Remember for the second year in a row we will be holding the event at The Harborside Hotel, Spa and Marina in beautiful Bar Harbor! Come join us for this important day and evening!

REGISTER AND VIEW EVENT INFORMATION HERE

DONATE TO THE AUCTION HERE 

FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR FRIDAY MAY 5

If you have questions, please call or email Jessica Clark at (207) 688-8195 or Jessica@maineloggers.com

MLOFT Program Seeks Instructors and Students!

The PLC’s Mechanized Logging Operations and Forest Trucking Program, (MLOFT) an expanded version of our highly successful logging operations certificate program that will now include Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training, is actively recruiting instructors and students for the 2023 class.

Instructors for the program will work from mid-July to mid-October. These are ideal positions for experienced logging operators lookming for new opportunities, including retired loggers seeking seasonal employment. These are 14-week contract positions.  Pay range: $21.00 to $26.00 per hour, depending on experience. 60 hrs. a week on most weeks, overtime after 40 hrs.  The expected start date is June 17^th, end date is October 20^th. Anyone interested in an instructor position should contact Donald Burr at (207) 356-1541 or email dburr@nmcc.edu.. You may also  CLICK HERE.

The MLOFT program will run for 20 weeks, which includes the CDL training, from June 26 to November 9. The majority of training will take place at an active timber harvest site northeast of Old Town. The opportunity to earn a CDL-A permit and receive preparation for the state driving exam is a significant addition to the program. Tuition is FREE.

Potential students seeking more information should contact Holly Grant at Northern Maine Community College at 207-768-2856. Information may be also found online at www.bit.ly/2023MLOFT

Logger’s Voice Spring 2023 Now Available!

The Sping edition of The Logger’s Voice is now available! Copies have mailed out.

READ THE VOICE

PLC 2023 Logger and Fleet Safety Trainings 2023

Trainings are underway! Register Now!

The PLC is pleased to offer Logger, Fleet and CPR Training for its members’ employees in person for 2023, March 30-May 24!

Dues Waived for 2024: If your company attends PLC Spring Training with at least 50% of its employees you will not have to pay PLC dues for 2024!

Please review our Logger and Fleet offerings and return registration forms IMMEDIATELY to ensure there is room for your employees at the chosen location/s. For schedule and registration info CLICK HERE.

IF YOU PREFER TO REGISTER ON PAPER CLICK HERE

Don’t delay! Register now!

PLC Mud Season Reminder 2023

Mud season is now upon us, and that means many of you are facing the annual challenges of temporarily laying off employees or being laid off yourself.

Following extensive efforts by the PLC in 2018, laid off loggers will once again be granted up to a 6 week work search waiver while on unemployment, as long as they are able to provide a definite recall date to Maine’s Bureau of Unemployment Compensation.

The most important steps for logging contractors and employees to follow in order to take advantage of the waiver are the following:

1. A company provides an employee with a recall date.

2. The employee contacts the Bureau at 1-800-593-7660 selects option 2 and tells them the name of the company employing them and the recall date the company has given them. The employment representative will provide the necessary information needed for your work search waiver period and any guidance needed for future weekly claims for benefits.

3. The Bureau sends separation paperwork to the Company, at which point the Company will verify the recall date on the paperwork. 

4.  Phone lines are open from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM Monday through Friday. Monday’s are busiest at the unemployment office and tend to slow down each day following. Currently, the average wait times for phone calls are below 3 minutes, so please be patient and a representative will help you.

5.  For online self-service, click HERE. There are zero wait times and this option is available 7 days a week. Select “Create ReEmployME Account” if you do not already have an account created from prior years, or “Claimant Login” if you have filed through the ReEmployME system sometime within the last three years. Then select the “Unemployment Claim” tab at the top of your screen and go to “File Unemployment Claim.” Follow the prompts on the screen to file a new claim, or reopen an existing claim. The department is manually putting in a waiver through that date and will consider an extension as needed at that time.

Any questions may be directed to the Bureau at 1-800-593-7660.

Click here for more unemployment information and guidance

ALC Annual Meeting 2023 in Maine!

Reserve Rooms Now!

Save the Date for the 2023 American Loggers Council Conference and Membership Meeting at the Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine October 3-6!

American Loggers Council President and long-time PLC Board Member Andy Irish and his wife Kathy look forward to hosting timber industry representatives for the peak “Leaf Peeping” season. More details will be coming soon!

For guests who would like to reserve a room online CLICK HERE

For guests who would like to call to book their reservation lease call 800-207-2365 and refer to Group Code 86B5IN

PLC Members Only!

Equipment Cost Calculators Available

Members,

With expenses rising rapidly in the industry we know you are struggling to get a handle on your costs. This is a great time to utilize the cost calculators created in 2021 for PLC Members.

These new, easy to use, logging equipment and log trucking cost calculators are available on the PLC Members Only section of our web site You may access this private section of the web site with your member login or set up a login HERE.

These calculators allow you to quickly estimate the hourly cost of operation for any piece of your equipment.

DISCLAIMER: These calculators are being made available for your business use as a member benefit. They produce equipment estimates and are not official products of the PLC nor should they be used for negotiation purposes.

PLC Online Store

PLC Upcoming Meetings

PLC Annual Meeting/Full Board Meeting

May 4-5

Bar Harbor, ME

Upcoming classes:

Trenching and Excavation: April 26, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Presque Isle CareerCenter, 66 Spruce Street, Suite 1, Presque Isle. This course explains the dangers to employees from trenching and excavation operations, soil classifications, OSHA requirements, and the types of protective systems to prevent cave-ins.

A Practical Approach to Electrical Safety: April 28, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the SafetyWorks! Training Institute, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta. In this half-day class, you will learn how to protect workers from electrical hazards. NFPA 70E requirements will be discussed in layman’s terms.

Register and browse more classes here: https://www.safetyworksmaine.gov/training/scheduled_classes/register.shtml

NEW Featured HumpDay Safety Video – Ergonomics

CPR/First Aid/Bloodborne Pathogens certification: Did you know your employees are required to have this training every two years? If your employees need this training in 2023, contact Jessica at Jessica@maineloggers.com or 207-688-8195 and the PLC will schedule training in your area. THIS TRAINING IS FREE TO MEMBERS!

Now FREE to Maine Loggers! A $300 value!

LEARN MORE

FMCSA has Removed ALL-WAYS TRACK, LLC’s “All-Ways Track” ELD from List of Registered ELDs

Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, NMCC announce recruiting is underway for Mechanized Logging Operations and Forest Trucking Program

An Explosion, Layoffs, and the End of Paper in Jay

When the Androscoggin Mill closed last month, it ended 130 years of paper making in this small, tight-knit town.

Introducing NEFF’s Climate-Smart Forestry Partnership: A Win for the Forests, Climate, and Communities of New England

 Wednesday, April 26 | 1—2:30 p.m. | Register Now

*Featuring panelist Ted Wright, Executive Director of the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands

Over the next five years, New England Forestry Foundation will anchor a regional incentive program to build New England’s climate-smart, forest-based economy while protecting ecosystem health and biodiversity. The transformational scale of this pilot project is made possible by a $30 million investment awarded by the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program.

NEFF welcomes you to join them and their USDA partners for an informational webinar and panel discussion detailing our plans for:

• Implementing forest management practices that store more carbon in the forest and in wood products substituted for fossil fuel-based materials,
• Quantifying the resulting carbon gains, and
• Building markets for climate-smart forest products

Panelists will include Richard Campbell of the American Forest Foundation’s Family Forest Carbon Program, Ted Wright of the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands, Jeff Spiritos of Spiritos Properties, and Dan Hudnut of Wagner Forest Management, Ltd.

Please register in advance: bit.ly/Climate-Smart-Zoom

Logger News Online April 2023

April 2023 Edition

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!

PETERBILT

WESTERN STAR

INTERNATIONAL

—

Fabian Oil Discount

Traction Heavy Duty Special

Wallingford’s Discounts

Maine Trailer Discounts

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! 

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