Port Houston Earns 2024 Great Place To Work Certification™

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 7, 2024--

Port Houston is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work®. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Port Houston. This year, 75% of employees said it’s a great place to work – 18% higher than the average U.S. company.

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Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention, and increased innovation.

"Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, the Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. She emphasizes that Certification is the sole official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Port Houston stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees."

“I am excited to share that Port Houston has officially been certified as a Great Place To Work! This achievement is particularly special because we also had our highest participation in the history of this survey being conducted at Port Houston,” said Port Houston CEO Charlie Jenkins. “I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, but I also want to emphasize that this is just the beginning.”

At Port Houston, we believe our strength lies in our people, and we work hard to create an environment that is a great place for our employees to work, connect, and grow. To bring employees together, we host events like Waterside Chats and employee-retiree appreciation gatherings, among others. We also offer various employee development programs that cater to all levels of the organization, helping employees grow and advance. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion remains strong, with focused initiatives such as pay equity, cultural celebrations, and training on topics like Microaggressions & Respect in the Workplace. In addition, we place great importance on employee well-being through our Wellness program, day-one healthcare coverage, retirement planning, and our Employee Assistance Program. We ensure employees have the support needed for a healthy work-life balance and long-term security.

To recognize our employees' contributions to our overall success, we provided incentive pay through our 2023 Incentive Rewards Plan. The payout, made in early 2024, was based on achievement of our strategic objectives set in the prior year. Our people are our most valuable asset, and these rewards serve as tangible acknowledgments of the hard work that makes our success possible.

One of the many ways employees engage in our mission and contribute to our strategic efforts is through community outreach and volunteering. Port Houston’s dedication to community engagement, maritime workforce development, and environmental sustainability is shared across our team. Employees dedicate thousands of hours every year to supporting environmental efforts, such as cleaning beaches and bayous, as well as marsh planting and restoration events. Additionally, employee volunteers support the annual Maritime Youth Expo, career fairs, Port Houston’s annual community resource fair, and participate in projects with Habitat for Humanity and local food banks.

At Port Houston, we are proud of the strides we've made in fostering a vibrant, inclusive culture for our employees, engaging with our local communities, and advancing environmental stewardship as a team. As we continue to grow, we remain committed to creating a workplace where people thrive and where we make a positive, lasting impact on our community and environment.

WE’RE HIRING!

Looking to grow your career at a company that puts its people first? Visit our careers page at: https://porthouston.com/about/our-people/careers/.

About Great Place To Work Certification™

Great Place To Work® Certification™ is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place To Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place To Work-Certified.

Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About Port Houston

For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, including the area’s largest breakbulk facility and two of the most efficient container terminals in the country. Port Houston is the advocate and a strategic leader for the Channel. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 private and eight public terminals is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the U.S. The Port of Houston supports the creation of nearly 1.5 million jobs in Texas and 3.37 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $439 billion in Texas and $906 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit the website at PortHouston.com.

Port Houston employees volunteer at its annual Marsh Mania event that improves wildlife habitat & beautifies greenspaces. (Photo: Business Wire)

Port Houston employees enjoy a friendly game of softball at its annual company picnic. (Photo: Business Wire)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Voters in Portland, Oregon, have elected political outsider Keith Wilson as their new mayor, following a campaign in which he capitalized on years of growing frustration over homeless encampments, open drug use and quality of life concerns to outperform three City Council members — including one ensnared in a driving record scandal — who had also sought to lead the city.

Wilson, the CEO of a trucking company and founder of a nonprofit working to increase homeless shelter capacity, ran on an ambitious pledge to end unsheltered homelessness within a year of taking office. The Portland native says he will accomplish this in part by increasing the number of nighttime walk-in emergency shelters in existing facilities such as churches and community centers.

His message appears to have resonated in a city where surveys conducted over the past few years have shown that residents view homelessness as a top issue.

“It’s time to end unsheltered homelessness and open drug use, and it’s time to restore public safety in Portland,” he said in his acceptance speech Thursday, speaking at a community center in north Portland that has also served as an emergency overnight shelter during extreme cold and heat waves. "Voters aren’t interested in pointing fingers. They just want us to get things done."

The mayoral race, which featured 19 candidates, was thrown open when Mayor Ted Wheeler decided against seeking reelection after holding the city’s top post since 2017. Wheeler rose to national prominence in 2020 as nightly protests erupted on Portland streets and around the country in response to the the police killing of George Floyd.

Wilson won in an election in which Portland voters used ranked-choice voting for the first time. Under ranked-choice voting, voters rank their picks in order of preference on the ballot. If a candidate is the first choice of more than 50% of voters in the first round of counting, that candidate wins.

Otherwise, the count continues to a second round. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who chose that candidate as their top pick have their votes redistributed to their next choice. The process continues with the candidate with the fewest votes getting eliminated until someone emerges with a majority of votes.

About 35% of voters ranked Wilson as their first choice, according to the first and second rounds of preliminary results released Tuesday and Wednesday. That is compared with City Council members Carmen Rubio and Rene Gonzalez, who were ranked first by roughly 19% of voters, and Mingus Mapps, ranked first by some 13% of voters.

Rubio and Gonzalez said they called Wilson to congratulate him on his new role.

For much of the year, the two City Council members were viewed as frontrunners. But recent revelations about Rubio’s driving record — as well as Gonzalez’s, to a much lesser extent — shook up the race.

Rubio has received roughly 150 parking and traffic violations over the last two decades. She failed to pay many of them for months or even years and had her license suspended six times. She lost some endorsements following the news, which was first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Gonzalez also had his license suspended twice over 20 years ago and racked up seven speeding tickets between 1998 and 2013, including one that was dismissed, as first reported by Willamette Week.

In previous statements, Rubio apologized for her actions, and Gonzalez said he had grown more responsible with age.

Wilson will oversee a completely new system of government. Portland is expanding its City Council from five to 12 members, elected by voters in individual districts rather than citywide, and adding a city manager position.

With Mount Hood in the background, Tara Bellido kisses Seth Herzog, both of Baltimore, as the sun sets on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Portland mayoral candidate Keith Wilson looks at a large screen projecting a live television broadcast about the Portland mayoral race at Old Town Brewing in Northeast Portland, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)

Portland mayoral candidate Keith Wilson with his wife, Katherine, watch local news election returns on a large screen at Old Town Brewing in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)