Mexico Trucker Online

 

Under the usual mantra of maximum pay for minimal work, Teamster’s Union President Jimmy boy Hoffa came out swinging today against the Hour of Service rules published by FMCSA.

Hoffa said the Bush administration is undermining highway safety with its “last-minute regulation” that lets truckers drive longer hours.

Where’s Hoffa been the past 5 years? Last minute regulations?

“We will continue to fight this dangerous midnight rule through the courts and through Congress,” Hoffa said. “We’re currently reviewing our legal options, especially since the court threw out this regulation twice.

“Letting tired truck drivers spend even more time behind the wheel is foolish and dangerous.… I just hope this country can survive the last 61 days of the Bush administration as it goes into a frenzy of gutting public health and safety protections.”

Yep! That’s Hoffa alright! More fear mongering to the public on things he doesn’t like!

He seems to ignore the fact that the HOS rules, which I don’t particularly care for either, have contributed to a decrease in big truck accidents over the past 5 years. Nor does he bother to let people know the rules were not thrown out but were sent back to FMCSA for technical revisions.

Sorry Jimbo! Your precious Teamsters might have to work an extra hour or two a day.

Come to think of it also, Hoffa hasn’t said a word about the recent Independent Review Panels Report on the Mexican Cross Border Program. Could it be that he thinks he has bought a President who will do his bidding?

For the sake of the country and this econom, let’s hope Mr. Hoffa’s dreams are shattered.

McALLEN, Texas-(AP) A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County’s federal detention centers.

The indictment criticizes Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and “at least misdemeanor assaults” on detainees by working through the prison companies.
Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation into abuses at the federal detention centers.

Another indictment charges state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. with profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison management companies.

The indictments were first reported by KRGV-TV.

A Wal-Mart truck driver will face federal charges for allegedly trying to sneak illegal immigrants into the country in a company tractor-trailer.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Alejandro Hernandez, 50, after finding four Mexican nationals locked in the back of his 18-wheeler, according to court filings obtained Monday.

Investigators believe Hernandez made at least five similar smuggling trips through the Falfurrias checkpoint in the last year and was working with another known coyote.

“At Wal-Mart we expect our associates to conduct themselves in a lawful and ethical manner,” company spokesman Don Fogleman said. “This situation is of deep concern.”

ICE agents began following Hernandez on Thursday after receiving a tip about his purported illegal activity, according to the criminal complaint filed in his case.

Read the rest of this entry »

 

International truck freight will cross the border in Laredo more efficiently starting Jan. 5 when the World Trade Bridge expands operations to 24 hours a day, five days a week in a six-month U.S.-Mexico pilot test program.

The main beneficiaries will be grocery stores in Texas and Mexico because of more timely deliveries of perishable goods, and factories that operate around the clock and need just-in-time deliveries.

“The benefit will be seen all up and down the supply chain,” said Roger Creery, Laredo Development Foundation executive director.

A formal announcement of the bridge’s expanded hours will be made today at a news conference planned by the city of Laredo Bridge Department at the commercial truck-only bridge. The bridge opened in 2000 at a cost of about $100 million.

The World Trade Bridge now crosses about 4,500 trucks per day northbound and about 4,000 southbound. The bridge, manned by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency and Mexico’s customs service, already handles the most cargo of any U.S.-Mexico crossing.

Read the rest of this entry »

A US District Judge today resentenced Former Border Patrol Agent Jose Alonso Compean to 10 years for his conviction of using a weapon in the commission of a felony, plus two years for assault and other charges.

Compean and former agent Ignacio Ramos were convicted in 2006 of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila and trying to cover it up.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out some convictions against Ramos and Compean earlier this year, prompting Wednesday’s resentencing, but the court upheld the majority of the case. Ramos is due to be resentenced Thursday.

Compean’s lawyers said Wednesday they are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. One of his attorneys, Bob Baskett, didn’t immediately respond to calls seeking details on the review Wednesday.

Supporters, including members of Congress, have asked President Bush to pardon the men or at least commute their sentences.

An independent evaluation panel’s report on the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking demonstration project prepared at the request of Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters, definitively shows that Mexican domiciled trucks can operate safely and in compliance with all US laws and USDOT regulations.

The report was prepared by Mortimer L. Downey III, chairman of the board of PB Consult Inc., James T. Kolbe, senior advisor at McLarty Associates and a professor in the college of business at the University of Arizona, and Kenneth M. Mead, a special consultant at Baker Botts LLP and former inspector general of the Department of Transportation.

Read the rest of this entry »