Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Coast river business journal. (Astoria, OR) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2022)
COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL BUSINESS NEWS JULY 2022 • 11 Continued from Page 10 lot of unemployed people left, that gets tougher and tougher to do.” Clatsop C ounty has returned to pre-pandemic unemployment levels, at 3.9% as of May. Short-staff ed On the North Coast, the competitiveness likely peaked in late spring as businesses tried to staff up for the busy tourism season. David Posalski has 10 openings to fi ll between his four restaurants in Seaside and Warrenton: Tsu- nami Sandwich Co., Beach Day Coff ee, The Crabby Oyster and Uptown Cafe. It’s so short-staff ed that when one person calls in sick, he closes the business for the day. “We’ve got reduced hours from what we nor- mally would have, and if somebody doesn’t show up to work, then nobody else gets to work,” he said. He said the applicant fl ow is non existent. Posalski has been putting advertisements online . He also gave existing employees incentives to fi nd people to apply. Given the low unemployment rate, Posalski thinks a major contributing factor to staffi ng issues is the amount of people retiring from the baby boomer generation. “I don’t think this is a short-term problem where people are just going to all of a sudden show up. I think that the people that we’re losing from the workforce are permanent losses from the work- force, ” he said. Posalski recently added a kiosk at Tsunami Sand- wich to take orders. He thinks more businesses will turn to automation. DoorDash has reached out to Posalski asking to add his business to their food delivery website, but he can’t handle the additional customers. “If there were people who wanted work, I would hire more people and let them work and make the additional dollars,” said Posalski, who serves on the Seaside City Council. “So it’s defi - nitely not for lack of business. It’s lack of help to handle the business. And I think we’re seeing that across the board everywhere.” Impacting services The region’s staffi ng issues are impacting workers’ ability to get to their jobs. Sunset Empire Transportation District cut its service in September because of a shortage of driv- ers. Jeff Hazen, the transit district’s executive direc- tor, said they wanted to prevent burnout for drivers who were being asked to work nearly every day of the week. “Which I never thought I would have to do, cut service. Normally when you cut service it’s because you don’t have enough money, and that wasn’t the case. This is something I have never seen in my entire adult life, the shortage of people. It’s weird. It’s very weird to me,” he said. The transit district isn’t doing its usual summer routes and has cut service in Cannon Beach, Seaside Family owned & operated since 1966 We are a full-service propane company where you will find... • Rent and install propane tanks • Tanks from 25 - 1,000 gallons • Gas Appliance System Check • Fireplaces • Propane Heaters (space or whole house) • Gas appliance installations LYDIA ELY/THE ASTORIAN The entrance to the Shilo Inn in Warrenton. 1318 Pacific Hwy North www.propanelongbeach.com ‘NORMALLY WHEN YOU CUT SERVICE IT’S BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY, AND THAT WASN’T THE CASE. THIS IS SOMETHING I HAVE NEVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE ADULT LIFE, THE SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE. IT’S WEIRD. IT’S VERY WEIRD TO ME.’ Jeff Hazen, executive director of the Sunset Empire Transportation District and Astoria on weekends. “That makes it tough. I mean, it makes it really tough on service workers,” he said. He said that issues such as a shortage of child care and housing have contributed to limited drivers, and some people chose to retire early. The transit district has put signs throughout the area advertising openings and has Facebook adver- tisements reaching a 50-mile radius. Hazen has also been working on a program to train people who are leaving the prison system to become bus drivers. The idea came from a former colleague in Iowa, Julia Castillo, and has moved quicker than he expected with support from the state. Selected trainees will get experience behind-the- wheel before their sentences end. Hazen hopes to roll out the program by the end of July. Hazen said a new union agreement signed in April increased wages signifi cantly and added addi- tional benefi ts. He’s seen an increase in applications since then. “I’m optimistic. I’ve never been a pessimist,” he said. “I think it’s going to probably be September or October before we can have enough people hired to where we’re comfortable enough to restart some of the routes.” Visit our website or call us toll free at 888-895-5509 Propane • RV Parts • Dump Station Your local janitorial and paper supply... ...and much more! Aura Open to the Public! • Pool, Spa & Fountain • Packing Materials • Cleaning Supplies for Ovens, Grills, Carpet & Upholstery • Vehicle Cleaning Products 2240 Commercial Street • Astoria, Oregon 503.325.6362 • www.WalterENelson.com Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm
