PLC Member Weekly Update June 23, 2023
In this Issue
Log A Load Golf Tournaments – Register and Sponsor Now!
Mechanized Logging Operations and Forest Trucking Program – Seeking intructors
Rangeley Logging Festival – Join the parade July 15th!
FAME Forgivable Loan Program – Second Round Deadline June 23
ALC Annual Meeting Oct. 3-6 – Book Rooms Now!
Cost Calculators – Members Only
PLC Store – Many items for sale
Safety Resources – Safety Posters!
Trucking – Latest news
Classified listings – Check them out!
Member Discounts – Many to choose from
Logging News – Latest headlines
Log A Load Golf Tournaments 2023
Register and Sponsor Now!
It is time to register for the 2023 Log A Load for Maine Kids Golf Tournaments! This year, the tournaments will be held Aug. 25 in Lovell and Sept. 15 in Lincoln. Register now to help Maine kids and have a blast doing it. Links for registration and sponsorship opportunities are below. See you at the tournaments!
Aug. 25, Kezar Lake Country Club, Lovell*
Sept. 15, JATO Highlands Golf Course, Lincoln
If you prefer to register by mail, print and fill out the registration form on the pdfs below:
Southern Tournament Info and Registration Form-2023
Northern Tournament Info and Registration Form – 2023
*Seeking raffle and auction prizes LEARN MORE
MLOFT Program Seeks Instructors!
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 still actively recruiting instructors for the 2023 class. Instructors are needed from July 10-October 20.
The program is seeking center mount, feller buncher, crane, and mechanic operators for these positions. Each instructor will be hired for 15 weeks total (60 hours a week for 10 weeks, 40 hours a week for 5 weeks.) The pay rate is $23 an hour. Pickup provided to get to and from the job site. For instructors not living in the Old Town area, room and board will be provided.
These positions are a great short-term opportunity for employees that might be impacted by reduced harvesting operations for the summer but could come back to their company in the fall, or for recently retired operators looking to share their knowledge with the next generation.
If you or anyone you know is interested in this opportunity, contact Donald Burr immediately at 207-356-1541 or safety@maineloggers.com to learn more!
Rangeley Logging Festival – Join the parade July 15th!
Members, this year the PLC will be a sponsor of the Annual Maine Forestry Museum Logging Festival July 14-15 in Rangeley, and festival organizers are encouraging PLC Members to bring their logging trucks on Saturday morning to the Rangeley IGA parking lot between 8 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. to join the parade, which begins at 10 a.m.
There will be cash prizes, and plenty of parking provided for trucks following the parade, so that you can enjoy the festivities. If interested, we encourage you to call Linda Sikes the parade organizer, at 207-491-6566 for staging positions. Full information is available HERE.
The full festival schedule is below. Please contact the PLC if you have any questions.
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Second Round of its Forgivable Loan Program Deadline June 23!
Members, the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), will soon administer the second round of its Thrive Maine program, created to distribute $29 million in federal funds approved through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Thrive Maine is a “forgivable loan program for businesses and nonprofits that demonstrate COVID-related negative economic impacts.”
The first round of the program deployed $29 million in forgivable loans during the fall of 2022. The second application period of Thrive Maine is slated to open on May 23, 2023 and will include the following eligibility criteria:
- Must have significant operations in Maine (be headquartered in Maine and have a minimum of 50% of employees and contract employees based in Maine)
- Must be a Maine business or nonprofit with fewer than 500 employees
- Must have been established by August 31, 2022
- Must be in good standing with the State of Maine
- Payroll, state, and federal taxes must be current
- Must not have filed or be in bankruptcy and must be currently open for business
- Must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEID) at the time of submitting an application
- Must provide an impact statement that describes your forward-looking plan to improve your business and economic viability
- Must demonstrate a COVID-related negative economic impacts of at least $10,000
The application deadline for round two of Thrive Maine is Friday, June 23, 2023.
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
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
PLC Upcoming Meetings
PLC Executive Board Meeting
Aug. 10
PLC Office, Augusta ME
Safety Resources
PLC Safety Posters! Are yours up yet?
Posters don’t work until they’re up on a wall, like these at Pope Woods Forestry or the one below at Elliot Jordan and Son! Send pictures of yours to office@maineloggers.com
Members, last winter the PLC developed a series of safety information posters on a range of topics designed specifically for our membership, focused on logging and trucking. These posters were distributed to PLC Members who attended one of our Spring Logger and Fleet Safety Trainings. Thank you to those Members who have already posted them, and if you have not, this is a reminder to please do so.
For Members who were not able to attend a training, the PLC is in the process of mailing posters to your companies this week. You should receive them in the next few days, and if not please reach out to Vanessa at office@maineloggers.com and we will send some out to you.
Please put them up at your shop or on the jobsite when you receive them and send along a photo to show us!
Finally, special thanks to PLC Preferred Supporting Members Chalmers Insurance and Whited Peterbilt for sponsoring these posters!
Dear Employer,
Workplace safety requirements can seem complex – join the Maine Department of Labor for no-cost upcoming safety trainings!
Upcoming classes:
- Mine Safety and Health Administration- Refresher: June 30, 2023 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the SafetyWorks! Training Institute, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta
- The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) requires all surface mining (i.e., stone crushing, gravel pit, etc.) employees to receive an eight-hour annual training. This one-day course will cover generic MSHA training. However, site-specific training will also need to be conducted once you return to your respective job sites.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration: New Miner: July 17, 2023 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the SafetyWorks! Training Institute, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta
- This course covers eight hours of classroom training under Part 46 training requirements per the Mine Safety and Health Administration for all new miners. This is only a portion of the new miner training requirements; the balance of the training must be completed by the employer.
- Video Display Terminal Train-the-Trainer: July 18, 2023 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the SafetyWorks! Training Institute, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta
- Maine’s Video Display Terminal (VDT) law requires employers to train VDT operators how to work safely at the computer. This class prepares trainers, supervisors, and safety-team members to recognize and eliminate the hazards to which VDT operators are exposed.
- Ladder Safety: July 19, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the SafetyWorks! Training Institute, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta
- Ladders are a major source of injuries and fatalities in the workplace. However, falls can be reduced if people use caution when climbing ladders or when working in places where falls are a potential hazard. This half-day course will demonstrate how falls from ladders can be prevented through education which includes planning for their use, ladder inspection, and using basic ladder safeguards.
- Impairment Detection Training for Employers: July 20, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Rockland CareerCenter, 91 Camden Street, Suite 201, Rockland
- This one-day training session is designed to help owners, managers, and supervisors recognize and respond appropriately to employee-impairment in the workplace in order to reduce worker accidents and injuries. Participants will be taught procedures to detect impairment regardless of the substance or cause. This class is designed to fulfill the federal DOT requirements for reasonable suspicion training of supervisors. In addition, participants will learn how to develop and implement policies that address impairment in the workplace and are in compliance with Maine’s Substance Use Testing Law.
- Silica Awareness: July 20, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the SafetyWorks! Training Institute, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta
- Exposure to silica dust is common and dangerous that OSHA has strengthened the rules. Learn about the health hazards of silica, the OSHA regulations, and how to protect workers from overexposure.
- OSHA Recordkeeping: July 26, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the University of Maine Presque Isle, Folsom Hall, Room 203
- This class provides thorough and comprehensive six-hour training for both new and experienced safety and human resources personnel. You will learn the OSHA rule (29 CFR 1904) regarding recording and reporting work-related injuries and illnesses as it applies to your organization, including COVID-19 recordability guidance. This class includes several hands-on activities on how to correctly fill out the required injury reporting forms. An additional 30 to 45 minutes will be available for businesses providing healthcare services or healthcare support services who are required by 1910.502(q) to keep a supplemental Covid-19 illness log.
Register and browse more classes here: https://www.
safetyworksmaine.gov/training/ scheduled_classes/register. shtml
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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!
Trucking
Janet Mills signs bipartisan highway budget compromise with new funding model
Gov. Janet Mills has signed into law a transportation budget that makes major changes to how the state funds road and bridge maintenance.
The bipartisan compromise will, for the first time, allow the Maine Department of Transportation to receive a portion of the sales taxes on vehicle sales as well as taxes received by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Those changes are expected to generate an additional $200 million over two years for paving, plowing, bridge maintenance and other highway projects.
DOT Publishes Drug Testing Rule
U.S. Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 05/02/2023 08:53 AM EDT
On May 2, 2023, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule that, among other items, authorizes employers to use oral fluid drug testing as an alternative testing methodology to urine drug testing. The final rule also:
- harmonizes with pertinent section of the HHS oral fluid Mandatory Guidelines,
- clarifies certain Part 40 provisions that cover urine drug testing procedures,
- removes provisions that are no longer necessary,
- adds eight new definitions, clarifying language to definitions and web links, and
- updates provisions to address issues that have risen in recent years.
To learn more about this final rule, view the rule at https://www.transportation.gov/odapc/frpubs.
Logging News
How Wall Street drove the Maine paper industry’s collapse
In 1994, Al Dunlap took over as CEO of Scott Paper, which owned paper mills in Winslow, Skowhegan and Westbrook. Nicknamed “Chainsaw” because of his ruthless approach to cutting jobs, Dunlap created $6.3 billion for the company’s shareholders and netted $120 million for himself in just two years on the job.
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
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
Enhanced Supporting Members
