Dear Editor,

We have read with some considerable interest, indeed amazement, your Editorial Comment in the July 2000 issue of Truck News (Teamsters campaign is misguided). While there are so many points with which we can agree, there are also several with which we do not agree. Most importantly, there is one we simply do not understand.

We do not understand how the writer and your publication can accept the propaganda of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, which is based on flawed, simple arithmetic. It is no wonder that many Canadian trucking companies are in financial difficulty if the so-called leaders in the industry cannot do simple addition and subtraction. You are aware that the current rules permit a truck driver to drive a maximum of 13 hours. As well, the driver can have two hours of wait time in a single cycle. While the proposal espoused by the profit-oriented trucking alliance, and supported by a few apparently confused ministries of transportation, would reduce the paid trucker’s day from 15 to 14 hours, it would also increase the legal driving time by one hour from 13 to 14 hours. To suggest that the Canadian Trucking Alliance’s proposal reduces the workload on a trucker, when it actually increases the number of hours which a company can require a trucker to drive, is roughly akin to saying that the Titanic sank because it was a submarine. What twisted logic would say that an additional hour of driving on top of an already long day reduces the driver’s workload or increases public safety? It fails the test of reason of all but the misguided, the deliberately ignorant, or those who would distort the public good for their private gain. Worker health and public interest should be the standard, not corporate profits.

Wayne L. Gibson

Freight Director

Teamsters Canada

London, Ont.

Ed: You’re neglecting to mention an important point. While the proposed rules would technically allow an additional hour of driving time in a single shift, they mean fewer work hours a day. Current rules, as you are well aware, allow 15 hours of on-duty time, followed by eight hours off. The proposal finally changes this to a 24-hour clock, and allows 14 hours of on-duty time. It doesn’t differentiate between work behind the wheel and other elements of the job. It also guarantees more time off in 24 hours. That’s something the Teamsters should support.