Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2007)
I s Or e g on B ui ld i n g a C u lt u r e o f S us t a i na b l e S uc ce s s? Th e fo l l ow i ng re m a r ks a re e x ce rp t s f ro m a s p ee c h b y J o hn D. Ca r te r , Pr es i de n t an d C EO o f Sc h ni t ze r S t e el I n du st ri es I nc . at t he 5 t h a nn ua l O r e go n L ea d e rs hi p S um m i t “A s you know, Oregon is strate- gically located on a major trade route connecting all of our businesses to points north, south, east and west. Portland is a creation of that strategic location and historical trans- portation focus — water, then rail and roads. But I am, quite frankly, concerned about the condition of our transportation system, and hopefully at the end of the day ... you agree that collectively we need to be much more proactive in planning for and investing in our vitally important transportation network. In my view, we have been living off the foresight and in- vestment that our parents’ generation made — and the margin for growth that they built into our transportation system is now gone. ...sustainable success is a cultural value and common goal. Success can be devel- oped by and into any organization, any company, or any state for that matter. It’s developed by the leaders, the employees, the citizens. But it takes the people at all levels of the organization working together — making a commitment — to achieve a cultural value and common goal. The private sector is investing in Ore- gon ... unfortunately, in my view, there has not been a corresponding level of public investment, particularly in the freight network to support this private commitment. While some in this community have questioned the need for transportation in- vestments, I want to quote Gregg Weston, President of the Clackamas County Busi- ness Alliance: ‘Virtually every job in the Metro area depends on our ability to move products and employees.’ Mr. Weston’s observation holds true for every job in the state. Let me read ex- cerpts from the Governor’s recently re- leased budget: • Oregon’s participation in the global economy is expanding. • Foreign shipments of Oregon prod- ucts reached a new peak in 2005, with more than $12 billion worth of manufac- tured goods shipped from Oregon to for- eign markets. • Oregon exports are growing at an an- nual rate of 29 percent, and there are over 4,800 Oregon companies that export goods to foreign markets. • Oregon is currently the ninth most trade dependent state in the nation.” Oregon’s Sustainable Advantage, evi- denced by that passage out of the Gover- nor’s budget, is staring us right in the face — it’s our historic competitive edge in transportation infrastructure, and particu- larly freight mobility, that leads us to those foreign markets where 4,800 Ore- gon businesses prosper. Schnitzer Steel, for one, operates in North Portland because we are strategi- cally located on a deep draft port with ac- cess to a variety of truck, rail, barge and ocean carrier services with great access to global markets, and we are also located in the heart of a metals industry cluster, which allows us to integrate with our cus- tomers, vendors, and industry partners. And what are we doing to keep and improve that transportation advantage? We all know about Connect/Oregon and I congratulate the Governor and the Legis- lature in making this $100 million invest- ment in non-highway freight capacity. Another $100 million is in the next bian- nual budget. But you also know that in last fall’s elections, Washingtonians voted to make a $ 9 billion investment in its transporta- tion system and Californians voted for a $19 billion investment. In England, bil- lions have been invested in rail improve- ments. China is making huge transporta- tion investments. The world is investing in infrastructure in order to stay competi- tive in a global economy. Are Oregon’s political and business leaders keeping up? Several legislative sessions ago, Oregon made a good down payment on transportation needs, with OTIA III. But we have close to $6 billion in need identified and nothing is in the pipeline to meet the need. If you look at the last quarter-century, Oregon’s popula- tion has increased by a million people, plus those in Clark County that work here. During that time period, we have: • Added little new capacity to our road and highway system in the Portland met- ropolitan area — even though ODOT has done a good job of stretching limited re- sources and gotten local commitment (and federal help) to achieve some good capacity additions like the Bend Bypass, Salem Parkway, and the Corvallis By- pass, and some suburban area lane addi- tions. Most funded work has been for re- pair and maintenance on existing facilities, bridges, etc. • Helped the rail system with Connect/Oregon, but have not made (nor have the major railroads) major capacity or service improvements, particularly in the Portland area — despite efforts from the Port to encourage such investment. On balance, less service for business, cer- tainly less service for passenger/ freight traffic in the small towns of this state. • Improved our passenger terminals at the airport, but no new runway additions for added capacity. And more than a million new resi- dents (72% increase). If we really want Oregon to define it- self in the global economy and maintain a ‘sustainable advantage’ in the world economy, mobility and access to markets must be in our focus. We must invest in our freight capacity. To build a culture of sustainable suc- cess in Oregon, we need to make the eco- nomic connection between jobs and how the state spends money — and that con- nection starts with transportation. ...We need as a State to design and de- velop a comprehensive transportation system, made up of components that ef- fectively respond to the various needs and changing circumstances. At the national level, for example, the Class I railroads are pushing local ship- pers to truck. That will have an impact on our highways in Oregon. We also know that short-line railroads need an infusion of capital. How might we help them to better serve local busi- nesses? Connect/Oregon is a good start, but there are many examples of routes that business can no longer use because of needed repairs, etc. ...We have supported a multi-modal system that has a strong mass transit component because we know that for key point-to-point requirements, things like the light rail or the tram work well. But we must not forget that there is no light rail, streetcar, or even bus option for much of the state. Our transit investment can’t be made without recognizing that we still need to accommodate cars and trucks on the road system, and not just in rural areas. ...What if we thought about the North- west as a regional whole? Or at least our part of it — why not merge the Ports of Vancouver and Portland? What about Kalama and Longview? Our largest op- portunities in trade are with Asia, and will continue to grow ... BUT our competition is Panama, Vancouver, B.C., LA- Long Beach, and the Oakland-SF Bay Area — not our neighbors across the Columbia. And should Seattle be competition, or joint partner in making the Northwest the height and energy gateway into the U.S.? What if federal funds were no object? Could we invest in high-speed regular rail service between Seattle and Portland? Would this cut down on traffic? Would this link our two regional economies, par- ticularly in high tech and biotech? Could this single investment put the NW further ahead of the NE Corridor or California? Just look at how the investment by the British Labour Government in the Chan- nel Tunnel, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, and other major rail projects has spurred all sorts of additional economic activity. This link to the continent has helped preserve Heathrow as the major international air hub, it has help preserve the City of London as a center of finance, it will regenerate a major area of the city, and it was key to landing the Olympics for London. ...(We) need to make transportation in- vestment priority number one. It won’t get done without a concerted effort by the business leaders demanding it, and gain- ing the support of the political leaders who can make it happen. ... Local arterials are as important to moving freight as are the state highways. Yet, here in Portland we continue to alter our arterial network to suit localized ‘wants’ without regard for the ‘needs’ of the broader region or statewide system. As a consequence, trips that should have been on local streets are diverted to the state highways, further congesting critical trade corridors. While we gather here today in the largest city in Oregon, the economic en- gine of the state, I ask you this — do we have an economic development strategy and a job growth strategy that will allow that engine to pull the load? We simply cannot have a culture of business sustainability in Oregon if the political leadership sidesteps meaningful discussions with the business community over job growth, economic development, transportation, and land use — or worse still, contemplates localized land use and transportation decisions that impede the flow of goods to the ports of call serving all of Oregon. We are in global competi- tion as a state, and should be as a region.” (Paid Advertisement) PAGE 8 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS FEBRUARY 16, 2007
