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WEDNESDAy, JANuARy 2, 2019
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Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
Junior Ortega chats with a customer as they drive through
the 395 Quick Stop.
QUICK STOP
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said. “It’s so convenient. I
hated dragging my kids
into a gas station.”
They enjoy the corn and
Takis with cheese, as well
as the interaction with the
store’s employees.
“It’s fun that they
do trivia and give away
drinks,” she said.
“We keep it pretty sim-
ple,” Ortega said. “You
take care of the people
who take care of you.”
He also interacts with
his customers regularly on
Facebook, Snapchat, Ins-
tagram and Twitter, post-
ing multiple times a day,
with specials and trivia
questions that custom-
ers can answer when they
drive through. The busi-
ness’s Facebook page has
amassed more than 5,000
likes.
“Social media is my
cup of tea,” he said.
A week before Christ-
mas he posted a poll, ask-
ing customers which of
the store’s three employ-
ees they’d like to see
dressed up as Santa Claus
while they worked the
next weekend. Customers,
of course, chose Ortega,
so he donned a St. Nick
suit for the weekend as he
worked.
“Our customers are
what make the whole idea
fun,” he said. “I’m really
big on relationships, and
I’m pretty happy with
what we’ve put together
in the past five years.”
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Express, a national ser-
vice with multiple branches
in Oregon, is one of a few
staffing agencies in Uma-
tilla County. Other employ-
ment services include Work-
source Eastern Oregon,
which includes some public
and private agencies, as well
as some agricultural staffing
agencies such as Atkinson
Staffing.
Connell said Express
currently has about 213
active associates and about
53 business clients to whom
they supply workers. Cli-
ents include large manufac-
turers as well as small com-
panies with just two or three
clients. About 75 percent of
their clients are businesses
that involve some sort of
physical labor, like manu-
facturing, agriculture, con-
struction or food processing.
The other 25 are administra-
tive roles, including office
jobs with agricultural or
manufacturing companies.
During a conversation
that usually lasts no more
than an hour, employment
specialists will find out as
much as they can about the
person’s desired job, such
as minimum pay, how much
they want to work and how
far they’re willing to com-
mute (Express covers cli-
ents in Umatilla and Mor-
row counties). They discuss
the person’s skills, things
they do or don’t want to
do, and their work history.
Applicants are given a con-
ditional offer of employ-
ment with Express, which
then seeks out jobs for them.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Maintenance supervisor David Pichcuskie replaces a light
bulb in a security light at the Boardman Trails Apartments on
Thursday in Boardman.
The employee’s rela-
tionship with Express could
last anywhere from a few
months to several years.
“Some associates only
want temp work,” Connell
said. “Some client partners
don’t ever hire our employ-
ees, and they keep them on
our payroll forever.”
Some associates have
done temp work through
the agency for two or three
years, Connell said.
With lower unemploy-
ment numbers, the applicant
pool gets less varied, said
Connell, and they see more
applicants with the same
skill sets.
“The types of people
we’re seeing, we already
have 20 just like them,” she
said. “Maybe they’re entry-
level, not a lot of skills.”
Skills, she said, can
include forklift operators or
refrigeration technicians, or
someone with office skills,
like bilingual administrative
assistants.
“Those people aren’t nec-
essarily looking for work;
they’re already employed,”
she said.
The average wage for
jobs through Express is cur-
rently $15.09 an hour, Con-
nell said.
The majority of the asso-
ciates who come in seeking
jobs are recently laid off or
have just moved to the area,
but there are a few retired
people who will take seek
out temp jobs, looking for
variety.
David Pichcuskie is one
of those people. The Stan-
field resident was an asso-
ciate of Express Employ-
ment services for nearly
two years, working tempo-
rary jobs around Umatilla
County before settling on a
permanent job this summer,
managing apartment com-
plexes for Umatilla County
Housing Authority.
Those temp jobs included
working as a flagger with
the railroad, filling out
orders and distributing food
for CAPECO, and driving a
forklift for Dupont Pioneer.
Pichcuskie had owned a
business for several years,
but when he retired, he
wanted something that
would allow him some
flexibility.
“I don’t think I’ve turned
down any job,” he said, add-
ing that he’s enjoyed most
of the work, though there
are a few jobs he’d prefer
not to do again.
“Like emptying a rail car
filled with coal dust — by
hand,” he said.
Pichcuskie said the
range of jobs taught him
about dealing with different
industries, as well as Occu-
pational Safety and Health
Administration
(OSHA)
guidelines.
“You learn a lot when
you’re bouncing from place
to place,” he said.
Pichcuskie said people
who want to keep work-
ing have to be willing to
broaden their scope.
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