OOIDA to urge Congress to improve treatment of truckers

by Truck News

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – The group that promotes the interests of American truck drivers will testify before a U.S. congressional panel on Wednesday about the state of the country’s trucking industry.

The testimony will be led by Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, OOIDA. Under a hearing titled “Under Pressure: The State of Trucking in America”, the subcommittee is seeking inputs on the challenges for those working in the industry and ways to address those issues.

Spencer is expected to raise concerns about the lack of driver training, truck parking shortage, excessive detention time and over-regulation.

He believes that the U.S. trucking industry is broken, but certainly not beyond repair, and that the most critical components are the drivers.

“Large motor carriers are pressuring Congress to enact unsafe policies to combat a fictitious driver shortage, while doing nothing to address their precariously high turnover rates,” he said in a statement ahead of the hearing.

“The American economy is stronger than it has been in years, but many drivers are still struggling to make ends meet.”

One of the biggest “inefficiencies” in the industry is excessive detention, according to the association. It says it is a problem that makes it difficult for drivers to earn a living since they are typically paid by the mile and not by the hour.

With more than 160,000 members, the group is the largest association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and truck drivers in the United States.


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  • Quote:

    ” He believes that the U.S. trucking industry is broken, but certainly not beyond repair, and that the most critical components are the drivers.”

    BINGO !!!

    Quote:
    “Large motor carriers are pressuring Congress to enact unsafe policies to combat a fictitious driver shortage, while doing nothing to address their precariously high turnover rates,” he said in a statement ahead of the hearing.”

    Mr. Todd Spencer, you’re speaking my language ! However , large carriers are doing a lot more negatives than the one’s you mentioned, of which I am quite sure we are both very well aware of , in my humble opinion …………..

    And concerning driver treatment to improve , we don’t need congress . We need drivers to come together and unite as one . And we do that by using a plan that will attract drivers to unite . And what is the main attraction on this planet ? MONEY !

    Therefore the “plan” needs to include an increase in income for drivers . They will go to whom offers the highest return for their time .

    WE can do this ! It’s child’s play , extremely simple to accomplish . Much easier than one can imagine . Then “carriers” will be at the drivers mercy …… Guaranteed !

    In my humble opinion !

  • Concerning “detention time” ………

    That particular issue concerns management . However, most shippers generally have “unions” .

    Unions want fair pay and treatment for labourers . However, labourers are overseen by unions to make sure they are performing and behaving according to certain standards rendering the environment safe , “efficient” , and profitable .

    The more income the “company” generates , the more bargaining power the union obtains to negotiate labourer benefits . The more labourer benefits labourers obtain , the more they pay in percentage on their income to unions through member fees .

    In Conclusion :

    Unions will understand that by being more efficient they will render their companies more profitable .

    Just as “unions” don’t give their labourers time away , they should not expect truck drivers(labourers) to give their time away neither .

    Efficiency leads to cost decrease and profit increase which is beneficial for all parties involved .

    problem solved …….

    NEXT !

    In my humble opinion ……………….