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Socio-Fascism STILL Rampant!
As is the norm around my house, we're usually too busy to keep up with the printed material that comes it. To that end, I started reading the NOVEMBER issue of LandLine Magazine from OOIDA. The back page of the magazine has a column of "Roses and Razzberries." That means kudos to those who do positives with and for the trucking industry; 'razzberries' for those who defame the industry.
Someone--possibly the editors--gave Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio "roses" for a letter he wrote to the FMCSA Administrator, quering her motives as she administers the Cross-Border Trucking Initiative as perscribed by NAFTA. The letter:
September 16, 2011
The Honorable Anne S. Ferro
AdministratorFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
1200 New Jersey Ave,
SEWashington, DC 20590
Dear Administrator Ferro:
I am writing to express my concern over the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) recent actions to move one step closer to allowing Mexican trucking companies to operate long-haul in the United States, in advance of fulfilling a statutory mandate to correct deficiencies in its proposed program and to report to Congress. In 2007, in response to the previous Administration's attempt to rush into an ill-advised trucking pilot program, Congress required the Office of Inspector General (IG) to audit FMCSA's readiness to enforce compliance with U.S. safety rules and regulations before the agency could initiate any future pilot program (Section 6901, P.L. 110-28). The law requires FMCSA to take action to address any issues raised by the IG, and to report to Congress on the measures taken. The IG completed its audit on August 19 and made the results available to the public on September 6, 2011.
The report identified a number of areas that FMCSA must address. Specifically, the IG found that FMCSA did not yet have plans in place to: conduct on-site safety reviews in Mexico for at least half of participating carriers, as required by law; ensure that pilot program drivers and trucks are identified and inspected at each unique border crossing; verify driver and truck eligibility for the pilot program; acquire electronic monitoring devices for use in the pilot program; and train inspection and enforcement personnel at the border and within the United States.
To date, FMSCA has not sent a report to Congress or otherwise communicated plans to address the issues identified by the IG. Yet the agency is moving full speed ahead. On the same day the audit was made public, FMCSA published in the FMCSA Register the application of the first Mexican carrier to successfully complete a pre-authorization safety audit. This week, FMCSA published the name of another carrier. According to FMCSA's regulations, listing a carrier in the FMCSA register is a "preliminary grant of operating authority" (49 CFR 365.507). I fail to see how the agency is authorized to grant authority prior to meeting all statutory requirements.
This further reinforces my longstanding concern that the Administration is not launching a pilot program, but rather starting the full liberalization of cross-border trucking that will have significant impacts on safety, security, and American jobs. Proceeding with the processing of Mexican carriers' applications on a separate track from meeting any requirements the agency believes apply to the pilot program confirms that FMCSA intends for this pilot program to casually terminate and morph into an open border. This flies in the face of the limitation enacted by Congress. I know you hold FMCSA's mission to protect the safety of the traveling public in the highest regard.
I hope you will agree that addressing the deficiencies identified by the Inspector General in a meaningful way is the only prudent course before Mexican trucks can be permitted to operate long-haul in the U.S.
Sincerely,
Peter A. DeFazio
Apparently, Ms Ferro has partaken of the owe-bama "KoolAid" in her administration of the safety aspects of her position as Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. As such, she's tasked by statute for the safety of both the various portions of those 'motor carrier' aspects as well as the safety of the general public. she is failing miserably, just as Mr DeFazio is suggesting!!
One needs to spend but twenty-minutes in a border city such as Laredo, El Paso, Brownsville, Texas; Nogales, Douglas, Arizona; Otey Mesa, California, to witness the general lawlessness that permeates the country of Mexico!!
Need we another reason for impeachment?!?
Til Nex'Time....
Ref: The Sunday 'Report;' 09/04/2011
I remember the referenced article clearly (and fondly); it dealt with my chosen career: an over-the-road truck driver! The 'google' query--from Charlotte, N.C.,--most probably was concerned over the earnings claimed by the subject: Jeff McGee, 37, who earns ~~$160,000/year.
I can't speak directly to Mr McGee's annual earnings; he's in a specialized segment of the the trucking industry: He picks up brand-new road tractors (singularly, or in groups like 2,3,4), and delivers them to trucking companies or truck retail sales companies. I was an over-the-road driver from July, 1995 to January, 2006.
The industry:
**The most notable distinction is that practically everything in any American's daily life was on a truck at some point! Railroad tracks don't go the local Walmart's back door!!
**The O-T-R driving career is quite segmented: longhaul (coast-to-coast); regional (like Northeast: New England, New York, New Jersey, etc); dedicated (hauling for a particular company like: the auto manufacturers, General Mills or John Deere, and related suppliers) as well as other segments I'm not familiar with.
Each segment has it's pluses and minuses like:
~Some pluses in longhaul are: You wake up each morning in a locale you've probably never been before; you see sights others pay 'tons 'a' money' to visit; you will meet some of the nicest folks on the planet, etc.
~Some of the minuses in longhaul are: most companies require an 'away-from-home' period of at least two-weeks; extended periods away from home and family; the stress involved in meeting loading and delivery appointments; the stress involved in traffic and construction conjestion; you'll meet some of the biggest a'holes and bullshit artists on the planet; the stress of dealing with company dispatchers and their road-service departments.
The other segments have pretty-much the same pluses. The minuses: Regional-travelling the same routes time-after-time; Dedicated: To-the-minute delivery appointments; constant load scheduling, little time between loads.
My history:
**In early June 1995, I was laid-off from a boring, dusty, piecework, manufacturing job; later that month, I went to the C-1 Drivers School in Indianapolis, Indiana. After a 17-day course--classroom, range and highway time--I graduated on July Third.
**On July 6 or 7th, I reported to my first company, Transport America (TCAM, Eagan, Mn), in North Jackson, Ohio. I was assigned to a company driver/trainer and spent 8 weeks driving with him, earning a flat salary of $250/wk (I think). I stayed with TCAM until the Fall of 1998. My perception was that my dispatcher had slighted me over some detail of my next load; I got pissed-off somewhere in Indiana and bobtailed (no trailer) back to the North Jackson terminal (at my expense-I bought the fuel!); turned in the truck and the keys, unloaded my crap and went home to Cohocton, N.Y. When I was initially assigned my own truck I started earning 23.5 cents-per-mile (CPM). I finished with TCAM earning 34.5 CPM.
**After less than a week, I was certifiably 'stir-crazy!' I had bullshitted with some Crete (Crete Carrier Corp[CCC], Lincoln, Ne) drivers earlier, and decided to call the company for an interview.
CCC had several benefits others didn't offer, like their--at that time--exclusive 'Load-Select' system. Upon delivery, the company offered up to three trips-driver's choice! Those trips were usually in different directions; with different lengths, so whether the driver wanted to 'see the country' or 'get some miles,' the choices were there!! Another great advantage--businesswise--is, CCC is a privately-owned company-owned by the Dwayne Acklie family. Everything the company has is wholly owned--they essentially don't owe nobody, nothin'!!
After an interview and road test at CCC's regional terminal, McGungie, Pa., I drove in a rented car to orientation at their Linoln, Ne., headquarters. I drove with a company driver/trainer for 4 weeks and then was assigned a truck of my own with an initial--as well as final--payrate of 30CPM. I was a CCC company driver for about a year before I bought my own truck and became an 'owner-operator.'
**In October 1999, I bought a 1998 Freightliner FLD120 (a basic, off-the-rack model). The truck only had the basics, but with 106,000 miles-in the industry, that's "just barely broke-in!" I leased the truck to MS Carriers, Inc (MSCC), Memphis, Tn., a the 'empty-and-loaded' rate of 65CPM, which went up over the course of the lease(s). MSCC was an 'alright' company; I leased onto them to get the 'home time' I wanted, I was dating a Dallas-area actress at the time. I stayed with MSCC until they were near finalization of a sell-out to Swift Transportation, Phoenix, Az. I knew from experience that we would NOT be a good fit: a the time, Swift castrated (demanded they be governed) owner-operator trucks to 65MPH! It's my truck, I'm payin' for it, I'll drive it as fast or slow as I want to!!
**In the Summer of 2001, I returned to CCC, leasing my truck under their sliding-pay-scale, plus 65CPM-empty. The shorter the trip miles, the more CPM and the converse. I stayed with CCC as an owner-operator until September 2005 when I sold my truck (at that time, the truck had 843,000, very profitable miles!!). I then became a CCC company-driver until January, 2006, when "The Young Miss Lovely" made the decision that I should sleep in our bed more than just every-other weekend!!
In conclusion, YES-the basic facts of what I've presented here are the truth as I remember them. One should not consider--or enter into--the trucking industry, lightly! It can be a hell'uva stressful job; it can be the most rewarding job you will ever have! It worked well for me; I had no wife or girlfriend at the time I became a trucker; my kids were all grown with families of their own. I was--and will always be--a nomad! I loved the job so much that--during a couple of years of my owner-operator days--I wouldn't see 'the homestead' for three months at a time; if money is your goal, that's one way it's done. With fuel prices being what they are; with the fluxuation they suffer, I'm not so sure that owner-operatorship is the way to go. Company-driver pay has gone up in the past few years; one can make a very comfortable living, with every-other weekend at home. This career is certainly 'worth a look' for practically anyone: man, woman, the retired, the retired-and-bored former professional, the returning veteran-anyone! I've met all kinds of people out on the road: retired doctors, lawyers, accountants; some of the nicest ladies anywhere; just the average 'joes' trying to make a living!
For further information, check some of the sites below, among others. I've included a couple from OOIDA (Owner-Operator, Independent Drivers Ass'n, Grain Valley, Mo.). OOIDA is the only organization that TRULY has the drivers' best interests at heart. I've been a life-member for years, back to when I first bought the Freightliner.
Hey YOU!! That 'googler' from Charlotte: if you see this, I hope it helps to answer some of the questions you may have!!
Til Nex'Time....http://c1training.com/
http://www.transportamericadrivers.com/otr/
http://cretecarrier.com/careers/
http://www.swifttruckingjobs.com/
http://www.classadrivers.com/
www.ooida.com
www.landlinemag.com
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