The Louisiana Loggers Association wants to send a word of THANK YOU and acknowledge the amazing service the health care community is doing. Day in and day out our health care workers are selflessly charging into battle, exhausted mentally, emotionally and physically. Yet they are standing strong! Louisiana will celebrate this group of warriors for a “job well done” long after this crisis has passed.
We want to thank our other “ESSENTIALS”! Janitors, grocery store workers, restaurant cooks, pharmacist, delivery services, truckers etc. for TRUCKING forward during these difficult times.
We are thankful to our National Teams, President and Vice President that are aiding our state in every effort to help Louisiana make it through.
The LLA is incredibly grateful for the work of Governor John Bel Edwards and his staff for the strength they have shown during this troublesome time. The united efforts of all state and local government has truly been eye opening of what can be done, with all politics aside!
Thank you!!
WHO ARE WE?
The Louisiana Loggers Association is made up of Louisiana loggers (timber harvesters), log haulers, timber owners, mill owners, logging crew, machine dealers, oil, gas, fuel distributors, insurance representative, “mom and pops” stations and lumber stores, cleaning dealers, tire distributors, parts stores, nursing home managements, construction companies, trucking companies…just to name a few! We have a wide variety of members because in rural communities all over the state, logging is a way of life! Our harvesters and haulers provide over 8,000 jobs in the state (not including other timber related jobs).
We are the ESSENTIAL part of forest management that moves the raw product material to the mills to produce things such as: MASKS, FILTERS, TOILET TISSUE, DISINFECTING WIPES, CLEANING PRODUCTS, CELLULOSE – BASED PILL FILLERS, LATEX GLOVES AND OTHER RUBBER PROTECTIVE PRODUCTS, WOOD PALLETS TO MOVE FOOD, MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND CRITICAL GOODS, LUMBER/PLYWOOD FOR MAKE SHIFT HOSPITALS, FUEL FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION AND HEATING. {** remember timber is Louisiana’s largest renewable resource and the ONLY Agricultural crop that pays in severance tax - $13,439,253.10 was collected on all products in 2019}
Louisiana Loggers are not only filling these orders, but we are continuing to fuel the economy during a time of a health and economic crisis, oil crisis, and commercial auto liability crisis!!
HOW DO WE DO IT?
During these uncertain times, the LLA is more than relieved to be considered “ESSENTIAL” and we are pushing forward. BUT timber markets are shrinking, the uncharted economy is moving us down a path no one has ever traveled. Commercial insurance is still rising and loggers are still struggling to afford it! The industry is teetering, as we have never faced so many obstacles at once. But we will PERSEVERE! It’s who we are as a people. WE are innovators and will make something out of nothing with very little reward.
WHAT IS NEXT?
There is much fear moving forward in 2020. Unemployment is higher than ever, and more people are suffering financially. With this, comes an unease that billboard attorneys and frivolous lawsuits will have more motivation, which in turn, could be the demise of Louisiana’s LARGEST agricultural industry! We are encouraging the “ambulance chasers” to put their personal agendas aside and discourage this type of mentality for the benefit of the industry and the state of Louisiana.
The Louisiana Loggers Association is waiting in anticipation to see how the 2020 regular legislative session will unfold. There are many significant bills that have been filed and some on our behalf. We are hopeful that the legislature will deem them important enough to take time to hear and move them forward. It is imperative that our 2020 legislators will resume to not only to pass a budget, but to move forward on the issues that are plaguing our state!