STATE
ODOT short on road workers
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A shortage of
road maintenance employees could cre-
ate delays in snow removal this winter
in Eastern Oregon.
“Fewer people will be running
plows. Anytime you have fewer opera-
tors it means that work will take longer,”
said Oregon Department of Transporta-
tion spokesperson Tom Strandberg.
Craig Sipp, manager of ODOT’s
Region 5, which encompasses a high
percentage of Eastern Oregon, agreed.
“If we have back-to-back storms, it
may take us longer to get to some of the
secondary highways,” he said.
Sipp said ODOT’s Region 5 has
approximately 12 unfi lled road mainte-
nance positions, signifi cantly more than
what is average for this time of year.
Open positions
Statewide ODOT has 167 road
maintenance positions now open.
There were 86 openings at the same
time in 2020 and 29 in 2019 during the
same period. Strandberg said ODOT’s
Region 5 has seen openings for mainte-
nance staff steadily rise since 2019.
Strandberg said it is not known if
the COVID-19 pandemic is partially
responsible for the employee short-
age. Strandberg said 99% of ODOT’s
employees in Oregon complied with
Alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
A snowplow heads out to battle drifts on Highway 82 near Imbler early in the
morning on Feb. 18.
the state’s COVID-19 vaccine man-
date which took eff ect in October. This
meant that 99% of ODOT’s employ-
ees either were vaccinated or fi led for
and received an exemption for health or
religious reasons.
He said it is unknown if some of the
employees who retired this year did so
because of concerns about the state vac-
cine mandate.
ODOT always adds to its road main-
tenance staff in the winter, Strandberg
said, and many of those hired are sea-
sonal employees. He said that despite
the labor shortage, travelers can expect
to see ODOT maintenance crews clear-
ing snow night and day.
“We will be keeping equipment on
the road as much as possible,” he said.
Ace Clark, ODOT’s manager of
District 13, which includes Union and
Wallowa counties and most of Baker
County, said that it has been diffi cult
to hire road maintenance staff because
there is so much competition now
for employees due to a regional and
nationwide labor shortage. With every-
one competing for employees, many
employers are boosting their compen-
sation packages.
“It is hard to recruit when every-
body is paying more. It is hard to com-
pete,” Clark said.
ODOT’s problem is compounded
by the fact that the road maintenance
employees it needs must be skilled driv-
ers with commercial driver’s licenses.
ODOT will provide the training needed
to earn a CDL, but Clark said he would
rather hire drivers who have experience
operating heavy equipment before they
start working in bad weather conditions.
Clark noted that all inexperienced
drivers will be paired with experienced
ones initially to help them develop
skills.
“We will be taking them on training
rides,” he said.
He noted it is possible that ODOT
road maintenance employees from
other parts of the state could be brought
in this winter to help with snow
removal.
Another concern of Clark’s is keep-
ing a supply of replacement parts avail-
able for snowplows. This is important
because replacement parts may be dif-
fi cult to get quickly due to supply chain
issues.
“We have been trying to stock up,”
he said.
Clark said he has talented work-
ers who have multiple skills and he
is optimistic things will go relatively
smoothly this winter.
“We are very fortunate because we
have very good employees,” Clark said.
Safety fi rst
Sipp said that anyone interested in
working for ODOT this winter should
contact the department.
“We want people to look to us for
employment,” he said. “We want peo-
ple who will enjoy doing this every
day.”
Ken Patterson, area manager for
ODOT’s Region 5, said motorists
should be patient this winter since
there may be times when snow will
not be cleared as quickly as expected.
He encourages people to avoid driv-
ing when conditions are poor. He
said drivers should monitor ODOT’s
A7
road cameras on its Trip Check web-
site to make sure road conditions are
good before they start a trip. Patterson
noted that many additional cameras on
I-84 between La Grande and Pendle-
ton have been installed within the past
two years.
Strandberg also pointed out that
about a dozen message boards have
been added between La Grande and
Pendleton over the past two years.
The message boards alert drivers to
upcoming conditions, including the
presence of snow, ice, fog, slow traffi c
and accidents. Strandberg also urges
drivers to be patient and noted that it
is never a good idea to pass a snow-
plow, especially because ODOT now
has winged plows with blades on both
sides. He said drivers who fi nd them-
selves behind plows are actually in a
good position.
“The best place you can be in
a storm is behind a snowplow,”
Strandberg said, adding that driv-
ers should never get too close to
snowplows because they do make
stops.
This winter ODOT crews will
again be following the agency’s Win-
ter Levels of Service guidelines,
which prioritize the roads that receive
the most service. The guidelines indi-
cate that Interstate 84 is to be given
the highest priority in Union County,
Strandberg said.
Energy and food costs push infl ation up
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
The annual infl ation rate hit a
39-year high Friday, Dec. 10,
as the Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics reported a year-over-
year increase in the Consumer
Price Index of 6.8%.
Energy and food prices led
the way. Minus those two vol-
atile categories, the infl ation
rate was 4.9%.
Central
Washington
orchardist April Clayton said
her farm hasn’t benefi ted from
higher food prices, but is pay-
ing more for fuel, chemical
and labor.
“We’re not seeing the
increase in grocery stores
refl ected in returns on the
farm,” she said. “Everything
in the (supply) chain is going
up, and it’s hitting us hard.”
The 6.8% infl ation rate is
the worst since June 1982.
Other large contributors
to infl ation included hous-
ing, clothes, household fur-
nishings, and new and used
vehicles.
Energy costs overall rose
33%. Fuel oil rose 59%, gas-
oline 57.5% and electricity
6.5%.
Food prices increased
6.1%, with beef prices rising
20.9%, the most among major
food categories.
Meat, poultry, fi sh and
eggs increased 12.8%, while
fruits and vegetables rose 4%.
Dairy products went up 1.6%.
President Biden blamed
infl ation on the global pan-
demic and said the Build Back
Better Act would help families
pay for health care and child
care.
“For anyone who, like me,
is concerned about costs fac-
ing American families, pass-
ing BBB is the most imme-
diate and direct step we can
take to deliver,” he said in a
statement.
White House Economic
Council Director Brian Deese
and Deputy Directors Sameera
Fazili and Bharat Ramamurti
blamed meat packers for ris-
ing meat prices.
Tyson Foods, JBS Food
and other meat-packers are
profi ting from an uncompet-
itive marketplace, the eco-
nomic advisers claimed in a
White House blog.
In response, the North
American Meat Institute,
which represents meat pack-
ers, said the White House was
making a desperate bid to shift
blame for infl ation.
The Meat Institute said the
White House was ignoring ris-
ing fuel costs, labor shortages
and supply-chain problems.
“The White House Eco-
nomic Council is again
demonstrating its ignorance
of agricultural economics and
the fundamentals of supply
and demand,” Meat Institute
President and CEO Julia Ann
Potts said in a statement.
R-CALF CEO Bill Bull-
ard, whose organization rep-
resents ranchers, endorsed the
White House’s view. Cattle
prices continue to slump, even
as retail prices rise, he said.
“There is no question that
the marketplace is broke and
that the White House is cor-
rect,” Bullard said. “We are
grateful that this administra-
tion has focused on this very
serious problem.”
The CPI includes spend-
ing by 93% of the U.S. popu-
lation, missing some rural res-
idents and farm families.
Clayton, who operates an
orchard with her husband,
Mike, near Wenatchee, said
the farm’s costs are rising
faster than the 6.8% infl ation
rate.
Labor makes up about
three-quarters of the orchard’s
budget, and it must compete
for workers with three larger
nearby farms, she said. Piece-
rate pay rises along with min-
imum wages guaranteed under
state and federal laws, she said.
“All of this is having an
eff ect on us,” Clayton said.
Unlike some other manufac-
turers, farmers can’t be pass
on the costs, she said. “Unfor-
tunately, in agriculture that’s
not something we can do.”
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