Thursday, January 22, 1981
Page 2 — Vernonia Freedom
EDITORIAL
Employment Stabilization Act casts out free enterprise
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Oregon and Columbia County saw a
significant increase in unemployment
as lumber and plywood mills were
forced to close or to curtail their
operations in 1980. But the reason for
those closures was often outside the
control of the companies.
The Federal Reserve Board raised
the price of money by increasing the
interest rates paid on bank loans,
Then local banks in turn had to raise
the interest rates they charged for
home loans. People could no longer
afford to buy homes and home
construction plummeted. With a
reduced demand for lumber and
plywood the forest industry had to
close many of its operations. A
company can’t afford to saw logs and
I Direct calls to Rep. Bugas
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State Representative Ted Bugas
has announced a way people from this
area can call him toll free during the
current legislative session.
“By using the state’s WATS line,
people from District 2 can call me in
Salem without it costing them. The
number is 1-800-452-7813,” said
Bugas.
Bugas explained how the system
operates. “When a caller dials the
WATS line number, an operator
answers and asks to whom the caller
wishes to speak. At that time the
caller should ask for me, Rep. Bugas.
The operator then will transfer the
call to my office,” said Bugas.
Bugas said then he or a member of
his staff will ask the caller for his
name and phone number and return
the call.
“The reason we call back is to save
the state money. The incoming
WATS line costs more to use than the
phone lines in our legislative offices.
In addition, returning the call frees
the toll free WATS line for other
callers, ’ ’ said Bugas.
“The toll free information line will
also be open again this session. That
number is 1-800-452-0290,” said
Bugas.
“People who want to find out the
status of legislation, committee
hearings or other general information
about the Legislature should call that
toll free number and an operator will
assist them,” said Bugas.
• “I want to stay in close touch with
the people of this district. I was
elected to serve you, and that’s what
I intend to do. If you have a problem
with state government I want to
know about it,” said Bugas. “As I
said
during
the
campaign,
government should serve the people,
not be master to them.”
pay wages and overhead if it does not
bring in money from selling lumber
on the other end.
Labor groups in Oregon are very
concerned about plant closures and
the effect they have on employees and
local communities. So, they plan to
introduce legislation in the 1981
PUBLIC FORUM
Oregon Legislature aimed at solving
the problem or at least reducing the
disastrous effects of these plant
closures. The problem with this
proposed legislation is it tries to cure
the symptoms instead of the disease.
The bill, called the “Employment
Stabilization Act of 1981”, would
require a business to give one-year
notice prior to reducing employee
levels. The bill would affect any type
of business or association employing
at least 50 people in a single
workplace. And the one-year notice
would be required if employment is
reduced by 15 employees or more for
a period exceeding three months.
If a business did close a plant
without notifying the Bureau of Labor
and Industries it could be fined
$10,000 for each affected employee.
It could be fined another $1,000 for
each affected employee for each day
closure, prepare an economic impact
statement including the loss of jobs,
taxes to local government, effect on
retailers and wholesalers in the
community and much more including
the social and emotional impact on
employees and the community in
general.
A firm closing a plant would also
have to provide 85 percent of wages
to all affected employees for a year
after closure. And it would have to
pay 85 percent of the taxes it would
have paid to local governments for a
year after it closes.
The company would also be
required to pay the cost of relocating
an employee to another plant owned
by the same company. This includes
moving expenses, the difference in
interest rates on home loans, and so
on. If the employee did not wish to
CPAC election notice
Notice is hereby given that the
Upper Nehalem Valley Citizens
Planning Advisory Committee has
fixed the 28th day of January, 1981,
at 7:30 pm at the West Oregon
Electric Building as the time and
place for the election of committee
members whose terms of office expire
January
1981. These members
presently
represent
Pittsburgh-
Stoney
Point, Timber
Route,
Highway
47,
and
at-large
neighborhoods of the CPAC.
Any resident or property owner
within the CPAC boundary is
qualified to serve-as a member or as
an elector. Any elector present at the
meeting may be nominated by
himself or by any other elector
present but must be a resident or
property owner in the area he is to
represent. Also, any qualified person
absent from the meeting may be
nominated for a position on the
CPAC, but only in writing signed by
the nominee.
For further information contact the
planning and building department at
Vernonia Freedom
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............................ publisher-editor
Dennis Dobson.
.... publisher-business manager
. Ann Dobson....
...... ....................... staff reporter
Kristen Hillier..
MEMBER
429-8111
the firm failed to notify the Bureau
after closing its plant.
But the bill would do much more
than requiring a one-year’s notice
before closing a plant. It would give
the Oregon Department of Economic
Development the right to enter the
firm and investigate the reasons for
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
397-1501, St. Helens.
Signed,
Cora May Freeman,
CP AC coordinator.
ColCo fair dates set
July 29, 30, 31 and August 1st are
the dates set by the Fair Board for
the 1981 Columbia County Fair. “The
Future Of Our Fair?” was selected as
the
theme
and
“Not
The
Biggest—Just the Best” as the
motto.
Jamboree meeting set
There
will
be
a
Jamboree
Association meeting in February.
This will be our 25th year.
We will elect new officers and start
planning for this year’s Jamboree.
ESD BOARD MEETING
The Columbia ESD Board will meet
in special session on Wednesday,
January 28, 1981, 7:30 pm at the
Columbia Education Service District
Office, 1290 Deer Island Road, St.
Helens, Oregon, to consider:
1. Request from OSE A Chapter 143
2. Board Member Applications
3. Superintendent Replacement
Process.
move to that plant, but preferred to
move to another location and take a
job
with
another
firm,
the
Department of Human Resources
would have to pay the moving costs
as well as provide training in other
occupations offering similar wage
levels.
There are other parts of the bill, but
the point is it not only penalizes a
company for something outside its
control but demands that the
company notify everyone affected far
in advance of actual circumstances. A
patently absurd notion.
Timber supply has caused other
lumber and plywood mills to close. If
the logs aren’t available a mill can’t
keep operating. Because various
government agencies own 62 percent
of the commercial forest land in
Oregon, the flow of logs to the mills
depends on their actions.
Government actions have forced
the closure of many plants in Oregon.
Requirement of the Clean Air Act by
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency cost mills millions of dollars
to comply. Some mills had to close in
the early 1970s because of that heavy
cost.
A company manager must deal
with the economic environment as
best he can. He must find a
continuing flow of raw materials,
keep a strong work force operating,
keep the mill as efficient as possible
and try to market the finished
products. If any part of that system
breaks down it could force a closure.
It’s a difficult chore, especially in an
industry as competitive as the forest
products industry. The benefit of the
system is that it rewards efficiency
and innovation.
There is much labor can do to avoid
mill closures. It can work side by side
with management in seeing that
valuable timber is not locked up in
wilderness. Labor can also oppose
government policies that close
markets for lumber and plywood.
Penalizing the forest industry, or
any industry for that matter, for
these actions doesn’t make much
sense.
The Employment Stabilization Act
of 1981 is aimed at the wrong target.
Sure, mill closures are bad. They’re
bad for everybody, including the
companies, but we can’t just cast the
free enterprise system away because
we’ve hit rough times. This bill tries
to treat symptoms instead of the
disease. And if it passes, a lot of
companies will think twice before
moving to Oregon. Industrial growth
will suffer because if this bill passes
companies who might fill the gaps left
by timber industry closures would
shun Oregon completely.
All in all, the Employment
Stabilization Act of 1981, as
proposed, is an ill-advised procedure
at an inopportune time, promoted by
the unthinking.
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