Trucker Alert! Looking at The Issues

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Fraudulent DOT Procurement Letter

Is It Nigerian, European, or Russian Scammers or Is It Home-Grown American Scammers Gaining Access To Banking Accounts?

It Is Hard To Say But One Thing Is for Sure; Trucking Companies/Owner Operators Are Falling For This Scam Involving Faxed Fake DOT Paperwork.

Fraudulent DOT Procurement Letter Makes Unauthorized Request For Trucking Company/Owner Operator Financial Information

Recently, many contractors (trucking companies/owner operators) have received a faxed letter that is part of a recurring identity theft scheme asking recipients to provide bank account information on an “Authorization to Release Financial Information” form.

The letter is typically signed by someone claiming to be a “Senior Procurement Officer” at DOT and appears on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) letterhead containing a Washington, D.C. address, but little other identifying information.

Information on this recurring scam and an example of these fraudulent letters can be seen here

THIS IS A FRAUDULENT REQUEST–DO NOT RESPOND. Any direct communication from DOT should always be accompanied with detailed contact information. In addition, DOT procurement representatives will only request financial information in reference to specific contracts awarded.

DOT does not request financial information from prospective contractors wishing to submit a bid proposal or quote. If you have questions about a DOT request regarding procurement, please contact the Office of the Senior Procurement Executive at (202) 366–4263 or the office of procurement for any of the individual DOT operating administrations.

If you would like to report a fraudulent request for information to DOT, please contact the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Hotline here, or by calling (800) 424–9071. The OIG may also provide your information to the U.S. Secret Service office in DC.

If you have already responded to such a request, please notify your financial institution immediately and contact the OIG Hotline. We also encourage you to contact your local law enforcement agency and your regional U.S. Secret Service office.

Because these types of identity theft scams are often conducted from outside the United States of America, it may be extremely difficult to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. If you think you have been a victim of identity theft, you may want to review the Secret Service’s tips for victims of fraud located at the bottom of this page.

Big Rig Driver Tribute

Driver Shortage Issues and Guest Truck Driver Quotas

Driver shortage as well as wages are important issues that are of great concern to many in the trucking industry and should be very important to the American Truck Drivers who are quietly and visciously being assaulted by special interest trucking lobbyists and the large trucking companies that hired them. 

There are several groups attempting to drive down the prevailing wage of the American trucker under the guise of a trucker shortage that is being caused by the larger trucking companies wanting to Walmartize the trucking industry. They are wanting to see the expansion of immigration rules and quotas to allow the recruiting of experienced truck drivers from overseas

If the large trucking companies were not part of the group ramping up their plan to drive down the wages of the American Truckers, they would be raising the pay of truckers and changing how often the workers get home to attract more workers to the industry.
 
According to industry analysts; there is an immediate need for 20,000 additional truck drivers with future driver shortages projected to be 45,000 in 2009 and growing to 111,000 by 2014.

Would there really be a driver shortage in the first place if the wages were higher and more competitive with industries who try to hire from the same labor pool.

The construction industry who typically recruits from the same labor pool pays a higher annual start salary and you are home each night. Large trucking companies created this labor shortage by not maintaining a competitive salary to stay attractive to potential employees.

What Does the President and CEO of Schneider National Propose?

Will cost really go up by 10% as suggested by Dr. Christopher Lofgren, the President and CEO of Schneider National when he testified before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, US House of Representatives on September 7, 2006 if more home time is granted to truckers?

He didn’t like that idea based on his second option.

Dr. Lofgren’s second option dooms the American Trucker and You Won’t Like His Solution

Trucker Alert: Maybe we're not the smartest group in the room but BigRigCentral.com doesn’t see how putting more money in a trucker’s pocket is a bad thing especially when it allows him or her to buy more of the goods he or she hauls everday yet for the most remain out of their reach financially.

Okay, back to dangerous economic option urged by the President and CEO of Schneider National.

Dr. Christopher Lofgren, the President and CEO of Schneider National's other option to the congressional committee in his own words

Yes, you heard right.

Instead of sharing the wealth with the truck drivers who help build companies like Schneider National; Dr. Christopher Lofgren, the President & CEO of Schneider National, is wanting the assistance of the US Government to help take away the gains truck drivers have gained over the years by bringing over truck drivers from overseas who are certain to make a lot less per year plus as guest workers they will be less hesitant to complain because of their fear of being sent back home.

 
Will the trucker guest workers be a temporary workforce to alleviate the shortage?

Dr. Lofgren stated, "Employment visas for trucking would need to be permanent. The significant investment for training and orientation ($15,000 per driver) rule out the possibility of temporary visas." He adds, "Schneider National has proved the practicality of recruiting foreign drivers in small numbers under the current law. We have successfully recruited drivers from Ireland when quotas were available in the 1990's and are currently bringing in twenty-two drivers from South Africa."

This is where you really need be worried:

If enough of the larger trucking companies follow the lead of Schneider National, you can expect the prevailing wages to be driven down because you, an American, will be replaced by the guest worker if you don’t like your new wage.

The new permanent guest worker happy to be making more money than he was in his home country and fearful of being sent back home will quietly go about doing your job for less money.

Who Is Hurting The American Trucker?

There are many groups at fault:

•The federal government, dating back to the first President Bush and up to President Obama now in office, has been active in destroying the American way of life by their driven ambition to create a North American market consisting of Canada, Mexico and the United States called the North American Union.

The massive wealth gained by the elite group of already wealthy individuals in the United States, Mexico and Canada at the expense of the American Trucker is not right and is helping to destroy the American Middle Class.

The deafening silence of the American Truckers not voicing their dissention about getting shafted is shocking.

By not telling the elected officials “Hell No” to the unfavorable anti-trucker actions and votes taken by many of our elected officials at the state and federal level, you are quietly allowing them to drive down the wages of the American Trucker and if Schneider National has their way, you will be replaced by the imported drivers when you start complaining about the lower wages.

"Don't Let Schneider National, Their Paid Lobbyists and Politicians Owing Favors Destroy the American Truckers"

Use the links directly below to contact your state's politicians to tell them that you are holding them accountable at election time for not helping to protect the American Trucking Industry.

U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senators Contact Information
Governors Contact Information
State Legislators Contact Information

•Another group to watch is the Truck Load Carriers Association. They have started their national advertising campaigns required by the federal government to prove there is not enough Americans willing to be truck drivers before the government will agree to increase the quota of “permanent” truck driver immigrants. This is a crock because carrier members will keep wages down and trips away from home long to keep the industry from looking attractive to American prospects until they get their way with the government. They are actively training carrier members on how to recruit guest workers who should be called permanent workers.

•Let’s look at the Department of Labor who classifies truck driving as an unskilled labor. Their misclassification of the professional truck driver is allowing big trucking companies to exploit this designation to bring lower paid truck drivers into the United States as a way to drive down the American trucker’s wages.

That designation is a slap in the face of the men and women who have to take the CDL test and specialized training for hazmat endorsement among other endorsements attached to their CDL license. Truckers have to handle paperwork and now many use computers in their day to day business. The Department of Labor is wrong and you need to raise hell about their misclassification of truck drivers.

Big Rig Central.com believes the plan to import truck drivers to the United States will ultimately drive down the wages of the American trucker and if left unchallenged the attempt will become reality in the near future once the larger trucking companies get their increased quota to import lower wage truckers. The larger trucking companies know they can’t export trucker jobs but they can sure import drivers to use to drive down the wages.

Where Do We Find Americans Willing to Drive Trucks?

•With more jobs being lost overseas each month, there will be more men and women needing a good paying jobs to support their families. There will be millions of baby boomers who stripped of their pensions and forced out of their current jobs will need to find work at a decent wage.

•Increase the pay of the trucker to be more competitive in the labor market.

•Create a plan that allows for more home time to help reduce employee turnover.

At a time when more and more unions are being broken to satisfy Wall Street and the backers of the North America Union, the American worker is slowly losing the American dream.

Also keep in mind; publicly traded trucking companies have only one mission and that is to make their shareholders profit at your expense if necessary and if that includes replacing you with lower paid guest quota (permanent) workers; the trucking executives will not hesitate to do so to save their nest egg.

What Can You As A Trucker Do? Your silence will say it is okay to drive your wages down.

•Use the links above to Contact Your Senator and House of Representative for your state to tell them you are watching to see if they vote to destroy the American Trucker. Tell them you also expect them to fight the Department of Labor’s unskilled classification given to truck drivers.

•Contact any trucking association you are a member of to see what they are doing to win this economic war that is taking place to destroy your way of life. Demand they start looking out for your financial interest if they are clueless to what is taking place in the trucking industry.

•Start working for medium and small trucking companies where the owners actually believe in the American Dream to make large trucking companies aware of your disgust with their plans to drive down your wages.

•Tell shippers that you know to use medium and small trucking companies to help save the American Middle Class. Remind them as Middle Class Americans, they could be the next ones replaced by lower wages of quota quest workers.

There are House of Representatives member who understand the real economic damage facing the American Trucker.

After Dr. Christopher Lofgren, the President & CEO of Schneider National made his intentions public about Schneider National’s plans to drive down the wages of the American Trucker, House Representative Defazio of Oregon told the Schneider CEO, "If you're trying to put drivers in the poverty class you are headed in the right direction"

Trucker Alert will be used by Big Rig central.com to discuss issues that affect our friends, the American Truckers.

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If you have any comments for or against the push by larger trucking companies to use guest quota (permanent) drivers to drive down wages or any other issues hurting American Truckers, use our “Contact Us” form to send us your comments.

Remember, your silence and inaction on this issue tells them you have no problem with having your wages driven down to third world labor rates.