Trucker Alert! Looking at The Issues Affecting Truckers

Trucker Alert - Truckers and Citizens United of New York Are Scheduled to Protest High Fuel Cost and the Ton Mile Tax in Albany, New York on June 19,2008.

Protest DATE: June 19th, 2008, 8:00am (EST) LOCATION: Our convoy will assemble in Fultonville (the base will be at the Betty Beaver Truck Stop) Thursday June 19 and hit the road at 9:00 AM sharp. We expect to parade down State Street in Albany by 10:00 AM and encircle the Capitol Building. Join us at any point along the way in your own vehicle! Be heard! Be seen! Take back our state!

ATTENTION TRUCKERS - FOR CONVOY DETAILS AND MORE INFORMATION (INCLUDING TOLL REIMBURSMENT) CALL (800) 724-5345

Contact Info For More Information please contact: NY Reps Charles Claburn Director TACU:NY – 518-810-1776 Paul Looman – 518-774-0997 Bill Sutton – 585-300-7327

Also reach our National reps at: Mark Kirsch Director TACU 717-717-821-2013 Ronald Wenger 717-821-6237 Leon Martin -717-507-6587

Support is growing after the lack of support from trucking companies, company drivers, owner operators and American citizens for the first strike in a long time that took place on April 1, 2008.

Use the link to find out information about current and future Trucker High Fuel Cost Protests to take "The Protest" to Washington D.C. to let the congressmen, senators and the Whitehouse know the pain is real.

Truckers will not stay invisible as they and ordinary citizens take the brunt of inept government policies such as keeping the interest rate too low which devalues the dollar and drives up the price of a barrel of oil.

Government inaction for the last 30 years to make America energy self sufficient is a tragedy that long time politicians should be held accountable for at the voting booths.

Continuing inaction in areas such as creating the guidelines for coal to liquid fuel conversion is helping to drive the price of oil even higher.

It cost about around $55.00 to create a barrel of oil from coal compared to $120.00 barrels of oil coming from the Middle East, Venzuela, Mexico, Africa and Canada.

Washington ("smarter than us") politicans will not make settling the carbon footprint issue and developing other alternative fuels national emergencies.

Their one feeble attempt and mistake in using corn as the main ingredient to make ethanol instead of renewable biomass materials for the fuel source has only driven the price of food even higher further hurting the average American.

Washington politicians are choosing to allow American Truckers and ordinary citizens to feel the sting of higher fuel prices yet for the most part they continue to do nothing since their high salary insulates them from the pain presently being felt by the average American trucker and citizen.

It is time to kick the politicians who are happily feeding at the government trough out of office for not helping to solve these issues especially the veteran congressmen and senators who have for years ignored this energy cost crisis. They are not entitled to earn a paycheck for doing nothing but showing up at Capitol Hill and sitting in their chair.

Truckers are tired and it is going to be a long hot summer.

They are tired and frustrated with rising diesel fuel prices, higher operating cost and with corporate America's intent to drive down their wages by importing truck drivers to replace them.

The truckers are seeing the profits from the increase in food and clothes costs attributed to the rising diesel cost going to the middle man and manufacturers with no percentage for the trucking industry. In fact, the trucking industry is being hammered by corporate America to deliver services at even lower rates while corporate America enjoy the profits of higher priced products.

What are the truckers looking for with the National Shut-Down Protest to be repeated several times with better coordination and more support certain to grow over the long hot summer unless Washington politicians get their head out of the sand and their hands out of our pockets?

Truckers are looking for help to stay in business. Diesel fuel prices going over $4.00 per gallon is eating away at the core of the trucking industry and threatening the survival of many in the trucking industry especially the owner operators.

They hope to see shell shocked Washington do something to help them survive like opening up the oil reserves to stabilize the rising diesel fuel prices.

There are no easy answers as truckers have watched good paying jobs leave the country, fuel prices rise and now they see their own paychecks and jobs threatened by Washington as they allow big trucking companies like Schneider to import truck drivers into America at lower wages.

Is there hope?

Yes, because the American truckers have had enough of the crap coming from Washington and today's strike is the beginning of the explosion of frustration and anger simmering just below the surface in the trucking industry.

You don't mess with America and you don't mess with the American trucker.

What can you do?

1. Check out the web site Truckers and Citizens United where organizers are leading the fight to take back America from politicians who owe their allegiance to lobbyists and multi-national companies by organizing the National Shut-Down Protest.

2. Use the links below to your senators, congressmen and state leaders to serve notice that you wil be voting them out of office for neglecting and abandoning the American Trucker.

3. Contact any and all trucking organizations that you are a member of or may join to see if the organization's leaders have plans to help coordinate any future strikes to draw attention to the plight of the American Trucker.

Washington has abandoned what makes America great, the American worker in favor of multi national companies who could less if you can feed your family in America.

Remember the old saying, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall".

It is as true today as it was several hundred years ago.

Yes, it is going to be a long hot summer for the resilient American Trucker.

This is not just a battle over diesel fuel prices. This is not just a battle for the lone trucker working hard out on the road trying to survive.

It is time for the truckers, owner operators and the owners of small and medium trucking companies to come together to draw attention to and fight the attempts by Washington, the large trucking companies and multi national companies to drive down the freight rates and wages of the American Trucker.

The first protest on April 1, 2008 was the wake up call and the first shot over the bow to acknowledge the growing discontent and frustration over how the American trucker is being treated.

Share the message and get involved to show Washington insiders and their corporate lobbyists that the American Trucker has had enough of their attempt to destroy the lives of you and your family.

JD Russell

Are groups within the industry trying or not trying to drive down the wages of the American Trucker?

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, Dr. Christopher Lofgren, Propose?

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 Big Rig Central.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 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

"By the end of the 1980's, the industry had exhausted the normal supply of such travel adapted people and had to begin recruiting from the general population. This was the point when recruiting, training and turnover expenses began their steady rise. The problem is now of crisis proportions for two reasons. First, we are recruiting a very significant portion of drivers from the unadapted population - close to 50% in some applications. He continues by saying that there are two solutions to the "driver crises". One is more home time, but even a modest improvements in time at home will increase trucking costs by 10%. So here is his second solution, in his own words: The second solution is the "expansion of immigration rules to allow the recruiting of experienced truck drivers from overseas."

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 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/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 At Fault for This Assault on the American Trucker?

•The federal government, dating back to the first President Bush and up to President Bush 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 and Keep Americans Willing to Drive Trucks?

•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.

•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.

Add us as a favorite or sign up for our RSS Feed to be notified when new issues are posted.

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.

Return to Top of Trucker Alert Page
Return to Big Rig Central Home Page