If there is one business worry keeping most pallet and lumber industry leaders up at night it is labor. Our staff regularly talks with companies around the country, and the lack of qualified workers who will show up regularly and put in a good effort continues to be a huge problem. And the problem is only going to get worse.
Working in the pallet and lumber industries in the production process is hard work. And many people just don’t want to work that hard any more.
Several articles in this issue relate one way or the other to labor. The article on James Ruder’s company L&R Pallet in Colorado focuses on its human resources and personnel management initiatives. L&R has developed a program to employ refugees from primarily Asia that has helped solve its labor shortage problem. And the company management claims the process was very hard but worth it in the end. Read more on this amazing story on page 28.
Our cover story relates to the use of robotics and advanced automation at Interco, a pallet manufacturing company in Quebec. This company was been willing to be among the first companies in North America to use robots in the pallet manufacturing process. And the company is looking to deploy even more robots thank to the success of its initiative. Find out why Interco was successful with robotics by reading the cover story on page 14.
And finally our HR & Wage Survey on page 20 gives every reader an opportunity to input information into the first labor survey we have conducted since 2013. If you participate, it will help both your company and the overall industry. The survey will be published in January 2017 and only those who participate will get a full copy of the report for free. Given how important the labor issue is now, you can’t afford not to participate this year. The survey is designed to take only 15 minutes or so to complete.
For more information, visit our website at www.palletenterprise.com/2016hrsurvey or fill out the three page form starting on page 20.
While most positions in pallet companies pay more than minimum wage, often considerably more, it still serves as a floor underneath our pay scale. A little boost in the minimum wage might not be a big concern, but talk about the minimum wage going to $15 has many in our industry very concerned. And if wages go up across the board, everything will have to raise, including the pallet sector wages to seem equitable and remain competitive.
Many people have a choice between working at a fast food restaurant where you have an air conditioned and heated environment and are not regularly handling heavy products and working in a pallet company which we all know is difficult physical work. If the pay is similar, is that really a difficult choice?
The federal minimum wage hasn’t increased since 2009. It requires Congressional action and presidential approval to raise the federal minimum wage. Hillary Clinton supports raising the federal minimum wage to $12 over time. And Donald Trump has expressed sympathy for low-wage workers, but he wants to eliminate the federal minimum wage altogether and move the issue to states and localities to decide.
States have for a long time had their own minimum wage floors to push up the earning potential of its citizens.
California and New York states have passed laws to raise the minimum wage to $15 over time. Colorado has a measure on the ballot to raise the state minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2020. Oregon passed earlier this year for incremental increases from 2016 to 2022, afterward all increases would be tied to the rate of inflation. Oregon’s rules are unique in that metro areas with higher costs of living, such as Portland, have the highest rate increases compared to rural areas.
An entire coalition of unions and activists are working to raise the minimum wage across the country. Bernie Sanders in his campaign regularly called for a $15 per hour federal minimum wage. The campaign Fight for $15 is trying to take what worked in New York state to the entire nation. You can read more at http://fightfor15.org/.
If you want to know what others are doing to handle these labor concerns, you need to share your input too by participating in our HR and Wage Survey. Anybody who completes a survey form for their company and returns it to us by the deadline will receive a copy of the complete summary results. Others can purchase the final report for $150. A free copy is our way of thanking participants for their time. We reserve the right to publish portions of the analysis at our discretion.
Each survey will be kept absolutely confidential. Survey results will become part of a database that will be used to compile overall industry data. Individual survey results will not be distinguishable in any way. To complete the survey and get your FREE copy, visit our website at www.palletenterprise.com/2016hrsurvey or fill out the three
page form starting on page 20. You can mail your survey to us at Industrial Reporting, Inc., 10244 Timber Ridge Drive, Ashland, Virginia 23005 or fax it to 804/550-2181 or email it to edb@ireporting.com.
Also, I just wanted to remind you that Christmas is around the corner. And if you want to give employees or that special someone a gift, we will be offering again this year gold pallet jewelry. Find out more about these unique gift items. See the ad on page 46.
