Mexico Trucker Online

I was listening to Steve Sommers on the American Trucking Network the other night and as usual, the subject came around to Mexican trucks and illegal aliens.

There was a letter to the editor on Transport Topics website that he felt the need to comment on, yet his comments were really not relevant to the subject of Mexican trucks in the U.S. Here, I’ll share the letter with you.

I was hoping to see some relaxation in the cross-border commercial traffic fiasco. Once again, this is on hold until the next attempt — probably during the next administration.

I was under the impression the United States was part of NAFTA and relaxed cross-border trade was part of that agreement. Obviously, the lobbyists have won yet again with more scaremongering.

The simple solution is to follow the example set by the European Economic Community and en-force commercial safety inspections on truck traffic currently on the statute books. Then you won’t have those “unsafe Mexican trucks” entering the U.S. outside the current “safety zone.” I think there are plenty of unsafe U.S. and Canadian trucks to keep inspectors gainfully employed.

What a red herring.

Dennis Williams
Owner
Linden Engineering Inc.
Golden, Colo.

Pretty straightforward comment and one I happen to agree with. But not L’il Stevie. How dare anyone disagree with his opinions or thoughts on a matter such as this.

Since the safety issue of Mexican trucks has pretty much been resolved except in the minds of the most ignorant pinheads, Steve got off on the economics of opening the border.

Comparing the opening of the border and the resultant damage to the trucking industry to the loss of jobs from companies moving manufacturing south of the border. The whole idea is ludicrous.

What they don’t get or choose to ignore is opening the border to Mexican carriers will have absolutely zero effect on this industry. In the beginning, we’re talking 145 Mexican trucks, some of them private carriers.

Perhaps when the border is fully open, if that occurs, some of the drivers that look forward to coming to Laredo, the RGV and El Paso, to lay over for several days and raise hell across the border, may be inconvenienced, but then, that is not what trucking is about.

But to compare what could happen to the American trucking industry in the same sense as as loss of manufacturing and tech jobs is ridiculous.

Mexico is not to blame for the loss of these jobs. They presented and option to companies faced with union demands for higher wages, more benefits, while the employees stood with their hands out also wanting more and refusing to give an inch, even when it was obvious it would cost them their jobs.

Mexican carriers coming into the U.S., driven by employees of those Mexican carriers will not take jobs from Americans.

There has existed for years, a visa program to allow workers into this country to fill jobs that there are not qualified Americans to fill. The H2 program. That has been available across the spectrum, including trucking. And if there was such a severe driver shortage, I am certain the companies would have taken advantage of a qualified workforce closer to home than New Zealand. No, the Mexican carriers will conduct business in the same manner as the Canadians.

And there is more than enough NAFTA freight to keep those of us whose business it is to haul it in business for years to come.

But Stevie chooses to ignore this fact, instead, preferring to use fear instead of facts to move forward his agenda. But then, isn’t this the same person that said several months ago, that he was going to Washington to put “fear into the hearts of soccer mom’s” to stop the Pilot Program.

Aside from the fact that Steve and Harold are playing some excellent tunes on the show now, I fail to see what illegal immigration has to do with trucking radio.

Illegal immigrants have little impact on the normal citizens day to day life. Oh, I know. There are those out there scouring the news wires for anything derogatory about a Mexican to try and prove their point, but in the end, there is little if any impact on our lives. These people are simply using their positions to further their own prejudices. But in the end, nothing changes.