Ann Ferro, FMCSA Administrator told a group of SMC3 executives that the Cross Border Pilot Program will be happening "soon" with the first trucks crossing in August.
Speaking to a group of trucking, logistics and technology industry executives at SMC3’s annual summer conference last Thursday in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro said that new cross-border trucking program with Mexico could be in place within two months although she added she doesn’t expect a wave of Mexican trucks heading for the U.S. border.
The FMCSA and it’s Mexican counterpart SCT, expects the U.S. and Mexico to agree on a final program “quite soon” and to grant authority to the first Mexican carrier in the program “sometime in August.” Sources suggest the agreement could be signed sometime this week, with 50% of the legal retaliatory tariff’s being lifted immediately and the remainder when the first Mexican truck is granted authority under the proposed Mexican Cross Border Pilot Proposal.
As you may recall last week we reported that Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari had suggested the agreement could be signed “soon”. This got OOIDA all stirred up with them sending their allies “Chicken Little” emails suggesting that the agreement would be signed as soon as the next day and exhorting people to “Call their Representatives”, for all the good that will do.
FEDERAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORIZATION BILL
Speaking of OOIDA and their concentrated interest in getting a Highway Bill passed, we ran across the reason in the form of a letter sent to the chairmen’s of the “Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure” and the “Subcommittee on Highways and Transit”, John Mica and John J. Duncan Jr.
The letter, co-signed by who else, but the corrupt little Congress critter, Peter DeFazio (D-OR) who is also a member of the subcommittee, lays out some of the things they want to see in the 2011 Highway Authorization Bill.
Of specific interest to this debate is the following passage:
We also support inclusion of a provision to block attempts to open the US-Mexico border to cross border truck traffic until the safety, security and job concerns raised by Congress are addressed.
Problem with this is, safety, security and job concerns are a red herring, formed on baseless assumptions not backed by facts. Mexican politicians could take lessons on corruption from Peter DeFazio and his handlers at OOIDA and the TEAMSTERS.
Status of Mexican Trucks in the United States
The Congressional Research service recently prepared for Members and Committees of Congress a report titled
“Status of Mexican Trucks in the United States” which pretty much debunks what Defazio, Teamsters, OOIDA and others have been saying about Mexican trucks. The report can be read or downloaded HERE.
Here’s some excerpts of the report:
Are Mexican Trucks Less Safe Than U.S. Trucks?
Currently, there are about 4,600 Mexican carriers operating within the commercial zones andabout 1,000 Mexico-based but U.S.-owned carriers that have limited operating authority beyondthe commercial zones.
Based on the results of roadside truck inspections in the United Statesover the last five years, Mexican trucks and drivers have a comparable, if not slightly better, safety record than U.S. trucks and drivers.
The long-haul Mexican trucks participating in theBush pilot program also demonstrated a superior safety record compared to U.S. trucks, althoughthe sample size was too small to be statistically significant.
The safety of trucks may have less to do with whether they are of U.S. or Mexican origin andmore to do with the type of truck. Drayage carriers, trucks that make short-haul movements and spend much time idling while awaiting customs processing, tend to use older equipment. Long-haul trucks tend to carry relatively high-value goods or temperature-controlled cargo, because lower-value goods and less time-sensitive goods can be carried over long distances much more economically by rail or water. If shippers are willing to pay a substantial premium over rail or water transport to truck their product long distances, it seems plausible that they would choose a reliable trucker with modern equipment to avoid risk of delay or spoilage. For instance, since refrigeration technology is continually improving, shippers expect carriers to have the latest equipment for temperature and atmospheric control. The difference in economic incentives for short-haul versus long-haul trucking raises an important policy issue. If safety is more important to long-haul trucking than it is to short-haul trucking, limits on cross-border travel by long-haul trucks may increase the presence of older,less safe trucking equipment in the border zones.
A congressionally mandated study of the causation of accidents in the United States involving large trucks that resulted in at least one fatality or injury found that the driver is a more critical factor than the vehicle.
The study reported that in 87% of those incidents in which a truck was determined to be primarily responsible for a crash, the driver was the critical factor, while a problem with the truck was the critical factor in only about 10% of the cases. FMCSA has determined that a Mexican commercial driver’s license is equivalent to a U.S.commercial driver’s license, and that the knowledge and skills testing for obtaining a Mexican commercial driver’s license is similar to that in the United States. It also found that, unlike the United States, Mexico requires pre-test training for all new truck drivers, with additional training prior to each license renewal. FMCSA has access to traffic violation data for violations that occur in Mexico.
What About Hauling Domestic Freight in the United States?
NAFTA does not require that Mexican trucks be allowed to carry U.S. domestic cargo, and theObama Administration pilot plan would not allow them to do so.
As is already the case with Canadian trucks, Mexican trucks would be allowed to operate in the United States only if they are carrying cross-border cargo or if they are running empty for the purpose of picking up cross-border cargo. Mexican trucks would be allowed to pick up a load in the United States and deliver it to either Mexico or Canada, but they would not be permitted to carry freight from one U.S.point to another. A corresponding restriction applies to U.S. trucks operating in Canada or Mexico. However, an inconsistency in trucking regulations may cause some confusion with respect to Mexican trucks. In 1999, the U.S. Customs Service (now U.S. Customs and Border Protection) amended its regulations to allow a foreign motor carrier to make a domestic delivery as long as that movement is “incidental” to the international delivery. Under this exception, a Mexican or Canadian truck could carry U.S. domestic freight along the route it would follow to return to its home country. This change was made purposely to increase the efficiency and utilization of trucks.
However, immigration regulations require a foreign national driving a foreign-based truck to obtain a B-1 visitor visa, which prohibits the holder from engaging in such incidental domestic movements.
Thus, it is immigration regulations, rather than trucking regulations, that require Canadian or Mexican truck drivers to carry only cross-border cargo when operating in the United States
Are U.S. Truckers Interested in Operating in Mexico?
Before the Bush pilot program, Mexico did not allow U.S. trucks anywhere in Mexico. Under the Bush pilot program, 10 U.S. carriers participated in Mexico’s reciprocal pilot project. These carriers operated 55 trucks on 2,245 trips into Mexico.
Mexico continued to allow these U.S.trucking firms to operate in Mexico after the United States terminated its pilot program in 2009. As of April 2011, four of the 10 U.S. carriers were continuing to operate in Mexico.
Most U.S.trucking firms offering services in Mexico do so through a partnership with a Mexican trucking firm
Where Would Mexican Trucks Travel and How Many Would There Be?
Relative to rail and coastal shipping, trucking is more costly for long-distance shipments, even with a driver paid according to Mexican wage scales. Therefore, it is likely that most Mexican trucks in the pilot program will not travel beyond the border states. The results of the 2007-2009 Bush pilot program bears this out. Under that program, Mexican participants made 12,516 trips into the United States. Of these, 1,439, or 11.5%, were to destinations beyond the commercial zone. Only 4% of these long-haul trips (a total of 80 trips) were to destinations beyond a border state. Almost all of the trips beyond the border commercial zone were to destinations within Texas andCalifornia. In more than 30 states no Mexican project participant was identified at roadside inspections during the 18 months of the program.
Guess DeFazio missed that memo.
This is a Mexican truck! No different from a truck owned by a US company
Time for readers and other interested parties to call their assorted Senators and Congress critters and ask them to support the proposed Cross Border Pilot Program with Mexico which would bring the United States into compliance with it’s international obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The legal retaliatory tariff’s Mexico but on 99 US export products has cost more than 25,000 Americans their jobs and agri business loss of more than 14% market share, most going to Canada.
To contact your Congressman and both of your Senators, call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, tell the operator that you want to speak with your Congressman and provide the operator with your home zip code.
Tell them to SUPPORT the cross-border trucking plan and save American jobs!
There are many different reasons why a trucking program with Mexico is a good idea. The following are just a few things that public officials need to know:
- Mexico’s regulatory standards of their trucking industry,while not exactly mirroring ours, is sufficient to insure their trucking companies and drivers can and will comply with our rules and regulations as proven in the previous cross border demonstration program. At present, the United States is working to raise regulatory standards in the US to reflect the standards in Mexico concerning medical requirements and CDL/Medical Card integration.
- Every year, US truckers are burdened with new safety, security and environmental regulations. Those regulations come with considerable compliance costs. Mexico-domiciled trucking companies and drivers will also be burdened with these exact same costs when operating in the United States in addition to the regulatory costs of operating in their own country.
- It has been determined that Mexico’s regulations and enforcement programs are similar to those in the United States. Mexico has been a full member of CVSA since 1991.
- To ensure the safety and security of U.S. citizens, Mexico-domiciled trucking companies and truck drivers must will required to comply with the same level of safety, security and environmental standards that already apply to U.S.-based companies and drivers.
- Without complying with our international obligations made with Mexico, thousands more U.S. jobs will be lost if the cross-border trucking program is delayed or not initiated at this time.
CALL NOW AND KEEP CALLING UNTIL LAWMAKERS REALIZE JUST HOW BAD AN IDEA IT REALLY IS TO KEEP IGNORING OUR PROMISES AND FAILING TO INSTITUTE THE PROPOSED CROSS BORDER PILOT PROGRAM
"We're as close as you can be," Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari (left, shown here with US Trade Rep Ron Kirk) said yesterday, confirming that his country is preparing to sign the formal Cross Border Trucking agreement to end the trucking dispute with the U.S. as early as this month
“We’re as close as you can be,” Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari said yesterday, confirming that his country is preparing to sign the formal Cross Border Trucking agreement to end the trucking dispute with the U.S. as early as this month, setting the stage for the country to remove the punitive tariffs that have cost 25,000 or more US jobs and market share.
Opponents of the program, The Teamsters and OOIDA in particular, in their desperation appear to be pulling out all stops, including turning to recognized HATE GROUPS to spread their message.
In this case, the organization in question is FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM (FAIR), a misnomer meant to confuse the public and lend them legitimacy.
FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, has employed white supremacists in key leadershpi roles, has accepted over a million dollars from a eugenics foundation AND, as if that weren’t enough, has helped to bolster racist conspiracy theories throughout the country.
FAIR is not the voice of the mainstream, it’s the voice of individuals who have helped fuel the 40% increase in the number of hate groups in the US. These aren’t citizen advocacy groups, or simply groups of concerned folk- they are hate groups plain and tall. But then, neither is the TEAMSTERS nor OOIDA.
A recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, outlines the story of FAIR as a hate group, and it justifies their official addition to the national list of hate groups maintained by the organization.
It’s been proven that opposition to Mexican trucks has nothing to do with safety, the ability of the Mexican carriers and their drivers to comply with and follow our rules and regulation, but is simply a veiled attempt to keep Mexicans out of this country. Jumping in bed with organizations such as FAIR, the largest and most vile anti-Hispanic organization in the US further proves this.
FAIR has an “Action Alert” posted urging all their nativist members to harass Congress to stop the program. Not much chance of that happening of course, but it there. and like this article in the CONSERVATIVE DAILY NEWS, has OOIDA executive vice president Todd Spencer’s prints all over it. As the article states, “Where is the Outrage?” We should all be outraged that these two groups, insignificant at best, continue to cost Americans thousands of jobs while pushing their anti-Mexican agenda.
For the most part, they’ve failed. More than 1400 trade associations, the majority of Congress have gotten behind this latest effort to bring us into compliance with our international obligations.
Despite being proven otherwise, we still see people showing their gross stupidity of the issue, or maybe it’s not stupidity, but their bigotry and prejudices coming to the surface such as this letter written to the Tuscaloosa News by Dwight Stripling of Northport Alabama.
Stripling writes;
Dear Editor: Under the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement, which President (Barack) Obama is working to get passed, Mexico will be entitled to haul goods throughout the United States.
But it was discovered that many of the trucks used in the program were poorly maintained, uninspected, and overloaded. Their brakes were bad, their tires were bald and almost always dangerously over the legal weight limit, but that’s not the worst of it.
The United States has safety regulations about how many hours a trucker can drive before he has to take a mandatory break, but the Mexican drivers have no such restrictions, and most are popping pills to keep themselves awake. There is also a possibility of them transporting illegal aliens, drugs, and potential terrorists and their weapons.
When Mexico began sending its trucks across the border, most of the drivers who were stopped for inspection were carrying some kind of contraband to supplement their incomes.
Back then, they carried marijuana and illegal aliens. Today, who knows what they could be carrying in those trucks besides drugs and illegals? Terrorists? Roadside bombs? Anthrax? Think about it!
As you can see, Stripling hasn’t a clue what he’s writing about. He blindly follows what he’s been told.
Rusty Wade, aka Yoda, webmaster for Dale “Trucking Bozo” Sommers website, even jumped into the mix with a article he titled, “UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED AGAIN”. Yoda claims;
A friend sent me pictures from his cell phone of trucks in Arizona that had just come across the border from Mexico at Nogales, Az.
I wondered how safe these Mexican trucks were, so I decided to check them with the FMCSA.
Things I noticed, the authorities were all valid, and there is nothing in that authority that specifies only in the border region, many of those trucks have both Mexican and Arizona tags. I have seen trucks tagged like this in every state of the union. Some do have a “z” after the DOT number some do not!
The absolute truth is these trucks are unsafe, they have repeated inspections that find the same defects.
What did Yoda think he found? Well, one company with 3 drivers, 2 tractors, 2 straight trucks and 4 trailers would seem to have racked up a total of 607 vehicle inspections, 752 driver inspections and 128 haz mat inspections in a 2 year period and they have an AWFUL CMS score if you look at it on the surface. However digging down, you see the majority of the driver violations is for a “non English speaking” driver, and all inspections of this cross border drayage company were done in Arizona.
Another company he lists, LOGISTICA DE CARGA DEL NOROESTE SA DE CV, similar stats. A vehicle OOS rate of 22% and a driver OOS rate of 2%, comparable to that of US drivers.
And it goes on. Many of these violations of these companies could probably be “DataQed” and removed, but at the end of the day, it’s more smoke and mirrors to mask the truth and shows the lengths opponents of Mexican trucking will go to.
And James Hoffa talks about "unsafe Mexican trucks" when he represents drivers like this?
MEXICO TRUCKER ONLINE is pleased to help educate members of the TEAMSTERS who seem to lack the wherewithal to find answers to question on their own about the upcoming Mexican Cross Border Pilot Program.
Today, they made a post titled Truck driving champ says ‘NO’ to Mexican trucks where it appears a TEAMSTERS member and 13th place runner up in the ATA’s Truck Driver Championship (Straight Trucks) asks some questions about Mexican trucks that need answering.
YRCW driver Scott Archer posed these questions.
Will these men and women be trained as U.S. drivers? Look at the ATA 2011 Facts for Drivers book G6011. Will the Mexican truckers understand or be trained on this important material?…Will they have the following:
- CDL license?
- Fingerprint check?
- Background check?
- Medical physical card?
- Proper insurance?
- Commercial Cehicle Safety Alliance?
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration?
- Hours of service log?
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration?
- TWIC cards?
- National Transportation Safety Board?…
We really have no idea what the hell he’s talking about concerning a 2011 ATA Fact Book for Drivers. US drivers are not trained according to this publication and NO, Mexican drivers won’t be trained as US drivers. After all, they’re Mexican and training standards in Mexico are much more stringent than the non existent training standards for US drivers.
On February 17, 2011, representatives from FMCSA, CVSA and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators visited a Mexican driver license facility, medical qualification facility, and test and inspection location. During these site visits FMCSA and its partner organizations observed Mexico to have rigorous requirements for knowledge and skills testing that are similar to those in the United States. In addition, Mexico requires that all new commercial drivers undergo training prior to testing and requires additional retraining each time the license is renewed. In contrast, U.S. regulations do not currently require any specific training prior to testing for, or renewal of, a U.S. CDL.
But we’ll take Mr. Archers other concerns as he listed them.
CDL license?
Yes, all Mexican drivers will have a Licencia Federal de Conductor, with an international endorsement, which states the holder has provided the SCT with documentation of completion of an English language course. Since a 1991 Mutual Understanding Agreement (MUA) between the SCT and the USDOT, Mexican LF were found to be significantly equal to a US CDL.
Mexican Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL). The United States’ acceptance of a Mexican LF dates back to November 21, 1991, when the Federal Highway Administrator determined that the Mexican CDLs are equivalent to the standards of the U.S. regulations and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mexico.
Fingerprint Check – Background Check?
Had Mr. Scott read the proposal, he wouldn ‘t have asked these lame questions. The Pilot Program proposal states that all drivers who are accepted into the program will be vetted by DHS (Homeland Security) which includes fingerprinting and background checks using numerous databases in the US and Mexico. In addition, Mexican drivers, unlike Canadians, must have a US entry Visa to even cross the border. These are provided by the State Department after thorough vetting.
Security Screening. FMCSA would submit information on the applicant motor carriers and their drivers designated for long-haul operations in the pilot program to DHS for security screening. Motor carriers and/or drivers that fail DHS’s security screening would not be eligible for participation in the pilot program. Reasons a motor carrier or driver may not pass DHS security screening may include: providing false or incomplete information; conviction of any criminal offense or pending criminal charges or outstanding warrants; violation of any customs, immigration or agriculture regulations or laws; the carrier or driver is the subject of an ongoing investigation by any Federal, State or local law enforcement agency; the motor carrier or driver is inadmissible to the United States under immigration regulations, including applicants with approved waivers of inadmissibility or parole documentation; DHS is not satisfied concerning the motor carrier’s or driver’s low-risk status; DHS cannot determine an applicant’s criminal, residence or employment history; or the motor carrier or driver is subject to National Security Entry Exit Registration System or other special registration programs.
Medical Physical Card?
Of course they will as the medical certification is part of the licensing process in Mexico and is part of the Licencia Federal. As stated in the FMCSA Pilot Program Proposal:
The Secretary of Transportation will also consider that physical examinations conducted by Mexican doctors and drug testing specimens collected by Mexican medical collection facilities are equivalent to the process for examinations conducted, and test specimens collected, in the United States.
In Mexico, in order to obtain the LF a driver must meet the requirements established by the Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal (LCPAF or Roads, Bridges and Federal Motor Carrier Transportation Act) Article 36, and Reglamento de Autotransporte Federal y Servicios Auxiliares (RAFSA, or Federal Motor Carrier Transportation Act) Article 89, which states that a Mexican driver must pass the medical examination required by Mexico’s Transport and Communications Ministry (SCT), Directorship General of Protection and Prevention Medicine in Transportation (DGPMPT). This is the same medical exam performed on applicants in all modes of transportation (airline pilots, merchant mariners, and locomotive operators).
The medical examination may be completed by government doctors or certified private physicians.FMCSA examined the Mexican medical fitness for duty requirements and has found that the Mexican physical qualification regulations are more prescriptive, detailed, and stricter than those in the United States. For example, Mexican regulations address body mass index, cancers and tumors, skin and appendages, psychiatric and psychological disorders, and have specific standards for evaluation of the ear, nose and throat and the genitourinary system.
These are all areas for which the United States has no regulatory standards. The only notable difference involves vision. Mexico only requires red color vision while the United States requires a color vision test for at least red, green, and yellow. FMCSA believes that, taken as a whole, Mexico’s medical regulations are comparable to those in the United States, and provide a level of safety at least equivalent to the U.S. regulations. FMCSA also notes that Mexico’s medical examinations are performed almost exclusively by physicians at Mexican government facilities, and when performed by private doctors, those doctors are specifically approved by the SCT.
Proper Insurance?
The Pilot Program Proposal CLEARLY STATES that all OP-1MX applicants will have insurance or a surety bond posted with a US insurance or Surety company, the same as was required during the 2007 demonstration program and the same as is required for OP2-MX carriers (drayage) and “Certificate Carriers” operating in the US today.
Liability Insurance. Mexico-domiciled motor carriers participating in the pilot program must maintain a certificate of insurance or surety bond on file with FMCSA, as prescribed in 49 CFR 387.313, throughout the pilot program. The insurance or surety bond must be underwritten by a U.S. insurance or surety bond company.
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance?
Mexico has been a full and equal participating member of CVSA for years. Furthermore, the Pilot Program Proposal states carriers must display a current CVSA decal for three years from the date operating authority is granted. These decals are must be renewed by a level I inspection every 90 days.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration?
We have no idea what Mr. Archer refers to here, other than FMCSA will have full oversight of the Mexican carriers as they do now and have in the past. Mexico’s equivalent SCT has oversight in Mexico.
Hours of Service Log?
EOBR’s, if approved, will track drivers hours of service, on both sides of the border, although like the Canadians, HOS rules are different in Mexico and should not have any bearing on a Mexican drivers performance in this country. They will comply with our HOS regulations when operating in this country, as they do now and have in the past.National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration? TWIC cards? National Transportation Safety Board?
TWIC Cards? not mentioned in the proposal, however, it is doubtful the Mexican driver would need one. His background checks for immigration visa and the pilot program should be sufficient. However, should a Mexican driver need access to a port facility, they would fall under the same rules as those of us who do not have a TWIC. To wit: a paid escort inside the port facility. As for the NTSA and NTSB? We have no idea what Mr. Archer is referring to as it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Truth be known, Mr Archer probably hasn’t a clue. After all, he’s a TEAMSTER and only came in 13th in the Truck Driving Championships, in the Straight Truck Division
Street stands selling pirated DVDs and other contraband are easy to find all across Mexico, but certainly not a reason to oppose Mexican trucks, unless you're a TEAMSTER
James Hoffa’s mantra of “unsafe Mexican trucks” has been debunked and ridiculed. Mexico’s regulatory environment has been shown to be sufficient to ensure the safe compliant operations of their trucks in their country and the 2007 Cross Border Demonstration Project proved Mexican trucks were quite capable of complying to the regulatory standards and laws of the United States, so what now?
TEAMSTERSNATION has perhaps found the ULTIMATE REASON to keep those naughty Mexican trucks out of our country and allow Mexico to continue with their legal job killing tariff’s.
It has nothing to do with drugs, violence or illegals. Hang onto the edge of your seats kiddies and be skeered, real skeered, as Teamsters President James P. Hoffa wants you to be.
Ready for this?
Drum roll please!
DVD PIRACY!!!!
Okay. Once you pick yourself up off the floor from laughing so hard you fell on your ass from your chair, read on!
The Teamsters have latched on to a story in the Washington Post
The Post stories mentions;
Disk piracy and U.S. copyright violations are a challenge around the world, but in Mexico the sale of bootleg copies of “Toy Story 3” and Microsoft Windows XP are funding the powerful mafias whose relentless violence has left more than 35,000 Mexicans dead in the past four years.
Not exactly true of course, but who cares about the truth when it comes to bashing Mexico. The bootleg DVD’s sell for about $20.00 pesos on the street and are a favorite of truckers visiting the border cities for their nightly sojourns of pleasure.
But really. It’s a stretch of the imagination to use this as an excuse to continue to oppose Mexican trucks on US highways. But for the TEAMSTERS and their allies, credibility went out the window years ago.
About as ridiculous as octogenarian nutjob and Hoffa ally Phyllis Schlafly wrote in a recent TOWN HALL column where one of her reasons for opposing Mexican trucks was;
7. When Mexican truck drivers have their layovers and turn-arounds in the U.S., what’s to prevent them from enjoying a frolic and diversion? They could use that time to father a baby who would then be proclaimed a U.S. citizen and get generous financial benefits and handouts provided by U.S. taxpayers.
It’s interesting this wackadoodle also included this in her comments to the FMCSA.
DVD piracy and copyright infringement is nothing new, in Mexico nor in any other country on this planet and an absurd excuse to keep Mexico’s trucks from our highways.
Mexican T-660 Kenworth southbound for Monterrey on Mx 85
That’s the question posed on the blog “ALL THAT’S TRUCKING” as she writes about the many nasty, racially tinged comments being thrown about as the red hot debate over Mexican cross border trucking heats up once again, and the usual actors, OOIDA, TEAMSTERS and their allies in talk radio fan the flames of their listeners prejudices. “Is racism rearing its ugly head in the debate over the long-delayed opening of the border to long-haul Mexican trucks, as required under the North American Free Trade Agreement that was signed nearly 20 years ago? I’m not saying anyone who opposes opening the border is racist or prejudiced, but in reading and listening to some of the comments on the debate, I can’t help but think it’s a factor.” says Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief at truckinginfo.com She goes on to write;
Many in this country appear to believe in a stereotype of Hispanics as lazy, greasy, thieving good-for-nothings — you know, the guy in the sombrero sleeping under the cactus. But in case you haven’t looked lately, Mexican immigrants (both legal and illegal) have become a vital part of our economy. Check out “A gringo in the lettuce fields” and think about how long you could keep up with one of these “lazy” migrant workers. Back in 2004, the film “A Day Without a Mexican” tried to “make the invisible visible” by taking a satirical look at what would happen to California if its Mexican population suddenly disappeared. Lawn work? Restaurants? Nannies? Construction crews? Maids? Car washes? Nada. So I wonder: Are some in the trucking industry letting racism, either consciously or subconsciously, affect their views on the wisdom of opening the border?
You can read the rest of the article here We tend to agree with her, especially after reading some of the 2274 comments received following the call to comment on the Cross Border Proposal by FMCSA. Comments such as this one, calling into question an FMCSA officials heritage, as if it matters.
This Mexican trucker issue is an insult to every hard working American!! (noting you are Mexican or of Mexican descent?). I have put much thought toward this issue and have come up with many reasons this should not become law. That said, bottom line??? There is NOTHING of value for us LEGAL Americans to support such a bill. Don’t do it! This is just one more idiotic move of Obama! We are Americans! Not Russians/Soviets, Not Mexicans, Not Chinese. This country as we have known it is rapidly deteriorating. Thank you for your time. Geoffrey A. Blair Lease operator
Or perhaps this one, proof that stirring the pot of hysteria and prejudice has worked for groups like OOIDA and TEAMSTERS
Hello, I am a US born citizen. I am also a self-employed truck driver. Cross border trucking will be devastating to the trucking industry. It will drive wages and rates that are already low ,even lower. Last year was the safest highways on record and you want to bring in the Mexicans. They will not abide to our laws because they won’t understand them. Highway travel will become unsafe because they can’t read ENGLISH signs. They will be making wrong turns in front of us and our families. U-turns on a Interstate Highway will become the norm and very dangerous. Mexican trucks are not maintained to our standard. When there is an accident (and there will be) ; how will the victims collect for damages or even worse ? Illegal drugs will be more common. Rape and crime will be on the increase because these people do not have the same morals as an AMERICAN. PLEASE WAKE UP AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT ! KEEP THE MEXICANS IN MEXICO – MIKE BOOKS
Here’s another one submitted by “Anonymous”, rightfully so with his apparent lack of education and more.
what kind of idiots are you . taking americans jobs away and allowing non americans ones that dont pay taxes to work here what the fuck are you dong . in this day and time when so many are out of work you alow this to pass do you know how many trucking companies are going to be out of work because of this
That one is sure to get the FMCSA to sit up and take notice. Actually, when you ignore the more than 1500 boilerplate “form letters” submitted by Teamsters members and the few such as those above, submitted by obvious OOIDA members, there are a number of good comments from folks such as mom and pop pork producers and other agri-business owners who give logical valid reasons why the proposal should go forward, as it will. The number of comments received, 2271 as of today, isn’t a realistic number though as there are many duplicates by the same commenter. However, the strategy appears to be for TEAMSTERS and others to submit as many meaningless and irrelevant comments as possible as a delaying tactic. The FMCSA must read each and every one of them, even the form letters, and that takes time. However, it is only delaying the inevitable.
Despite found guilty of bribery and trying to rig an upcoming union election, Teamster President James P. Hoffa still has time to lie to the public, Congress and his membership about Mexican trucking
Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, himself in hot water after caught using his position to offer union jobs, salaries, and pensions to bribe people for political support, released a “presser” giving his totally irrelevant and patently untrue rant in opposition to the upcoming cross border pilot program with Mexico.
THE PUBLIC OPPOSES ILLEGAL, UNSAFE MEXICAN TRUCK PROGRAM is the title of this crapola presser released today which Hoffa continues to lie to his membership and the American public.
Hoffa says;
DOT’s proposal to open the border “fails to adequately protect our members, their families and the traveling public from the potential danger of unsafe Mexican trucks and drivers, who do not meet or will not adhere to all U.S. safety standards.”
It’s already been established that Mexican trucks and their drivers are not unsafe and strictly adhere to our rules and regulations.
Based on a Travel advisory issued by the US State Department on April 22, advising Americans against unnecessary travel to Mexico, Hoffa uses this as to make the ridiculous assertion that the proposed Pilot Program with Mexico is illegal because in his opinion, it violates Section 6901 of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Act of 2007.
What he is referring to is a section in the above titled act that does not allow funds to be spent on a cross-border trucking program unless “simultaneous and comparable authority to operate within Mexico is made available to motor carriers domiciled in the United States.”
Hoffa is grasping at straws while at the same time blowing smoke up the asses of anyone who still listens to his mindless ramblings.
Hoffa said the Mexican government is incapable of granting comparable authority under the current travel warning issued by the U.S. State Department on April 22.
It is very clear that the safety of the U.S. drivers traveling into Mexico cannot be ensured, and therefore simultaneous and comparable authority is not made available to U.S. motor carriers under the pilot program,” Hoffa said.
That is the statutes interpretation according to Hoffa and not the letter, spirit or intent of the statute as it was written and passed.
Comparable authority means that we allow Mexican carriers to operate in this country and Mexico in turn, allows US carriers to operate in Mexico, under similar rules. There is nothing in the NAFTA rules concerning cross border trucking that says Mexico nor the US has to “ensure” the safety of one another’s drivers.
Who is going to “ensure” the safety of Mexican drivers coming into this country from violence directed at them, through ignorance, prejudice and bigotry, inflamed by the rhetoric of the TEAMSTERS, OOIDA and their mouthpieces on talk radio. Some callers have claimed they will stop the Mexican by any means possible, up to and including sabotaging their trucks or burning them to the ground.
Hoffa and his union have become increasingly irrelevant and to most, a joke.
And remember we said Hoffa was caught up in a bribery scandal? It’s true. I guess corruption runs in the family.
Teamsters for a Democratic Union report that James Hoffa tried to pay off three top Teamster officials who had broken with his administration by offering them lucrative jobs and an additional pension in exchange for their backing in the upcoming International Union election.
In a 30 page report issued by an elections supervisor, revealed thatHoffa running mate Ken Hall offered Carhaul Director Fred Zuckerman a raise and entrance into the “Family Plan”, a lucrative extra pension exclusively for full-time IBT officials. In exchange, Zuckerman would have to back Hoffa and drop his bid to be on the General Executive Board. It was further revealed that Hoffa operatives approached several other International Union trustees with similar offers to buy campaign support with members’ dues. Those Trustees were offered jobs as full-time International Representatives if they would resign from the General Executive Board but continue to back Hoffa and donate to his campaign.
Instead, the officials turned down the bribes and blew the whistle on Hoffa.
Hoffa hatched the bribery scheme to try to hold together his unraveling administration, in which 6 top union officials have jumped ship in the face of Hoffa’s corruption.
The Elections Appeals Master found that Hoffa and three of his closest thugs “tried, but failed, to buy electoral support and stifle opposition in exchange for salaried union jobs.”
Of course, Hoffa, pathological liar he has proven himself to be denied any role in the scheme. The Election Supervisor did not find Hoffa credible, and credited witnesses and evidence that contradicted the cover story put forward by Hoffa and his thugs.
And what will Hoffa’s punishment be? After six months of investigation and three months of appeals, court-appointed election overseers have ordered Hoffa to acknowledge that he attempted to buy election support by offering jobs and pensions.
Hoffa must pay for a mailing to all Teamster locals publicizing the attempt, and place a notice on the union’s website and magazine.
So far, Hoffa is giving the judge the finger! Anybody surprised?
Safe, well maintained trucks from Mexico such as this Kenworth T-660 driven by professional safe Mexican drivers would finally be permitted access under the proposed Pilot Program released today by the US DOT
The deadline for comments on FMCSA’s Proposed Cross Border Pilot Program ended Friday night at 23:59 with results being about as we suspected. 1,580 comments were submitted compared with 2,359 submitted in 2007. Very few of them provided salient objections as to why FMCSA should not proceed with the proposal.
According to FMCSA, the purpose for the notice and comment process is to provide all interested parties with the opportunity to review information published by the Agency and comment on the specific details about the demonstration project. The operative word is “SPECIFIC”. This time, as in 2007, the views of the respondents opposed to allowing Mexicans into this country, prevailed over those of us who support the proposal.
You read it right. I said MEXICANS, not Mexican trucks, which is what this proposal is all about. It’s never been about the safety of Mexican carriers or their ability to comply with our rules and regulations. They proved their fitness to do so long ago. It’s simply that there are some that cringe at the thought of allowing Mexicans, whom they see as inferior to themselves, do business in this country. Imagine that. Scared of a 100 or so safe well maintained trucks operated by well managed Mexican carriers.
This morning, General President James P. Hoffa is thanking his membership for filing more than 1000 comments opposing the program.
Great job, everybody, on submitting those comments on Mexican trucks! Teamsters and our allies filed at least a thousand comments telling the Department of Transportation to keep the border closed to dangerous Mexican trucks. - TEAMSTER NATION
Great job indeed. A semi-trained monkey could have followed instruction by going their web pages set up to guide the lemmings through the process. There, they had a choice of 7 pre-written letters. All they had to do was look at their union cards to figure out who they were, fill in the blanks and click SEND. And the views of James P. Hoffa were automatically published on regulations.gov under the members named. As I said, semi-trained monkeys, and no disrespect to the primates equating them to a TEAMSTER.
Hoffa supposedly made a comment on behalf of the “entire union” but it hasn’t appeared in the register yet. Hoffa’s comment, showing how brain addled and clueless he is, read in part;
The law requires Mexico to offer “comparable authority” for U.S. trucks to operate there. But Hoffa points out that Mexico is so dangerous the government isn’t capable of offering comparable authority. Therefore, the proposed program is illegal.
“Comparable authority” simply means, the US complies with it’s legal and lawful obligations under NAFTA to allow Mexican carriers operating authority in the US, and Mexico allows US carriers operating authority in Mexico. Nothing more, nothing less. The violence in Mexico has absolutely nothing to do with our obligations nor Mexico’s.
At the end of the day, the TEAMSTERS opposition has nothing to do with job losses to their membership. Their opposition to this program is wrecking segments of our economy as we recover from the recession. It has everything to do with Mexican law and labor unions not allowing the Teamsters to come in and organize as they did in Canada. Many of the same objections Hoffa makes against Mexico and Mexican trucks would be valid against the Canadians, but we don’t hear that from him.
The states who share a border with Mexico are all “Right to Work” states. Warehouses along the border are all non-union and will remain that way. Allowing Mexican carriers to operate in the US will in no way impact the TEAMSTERS nor their members.
OOIDA’s FALSE AND MISLEADING ATTEMPTS TO STOP MEXICAN TRUCKS
OOIDA, through lies and fear mongering used the Mexican truck issue to increase their membership from about 140,000 to 160,000 between 2007 and 2009 when the original demonstration program was defunded. Now, they’ve slipped back to around 150,000 members as truckers wised up and realized what a waste of time and money belonging to OOIDA was.
In desperation, OOIDA continues to lie and appeal to the prejudices and ignorance of some of it’s membership in their opposition to the Mexican truck issue.
Despite the fact that it has been proven that Mexico has much more stringent requirements for obtaining a FEDERAL COMMERCIAL LICENSE and their MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS are much more stringent than ours, OOIDA continues to insist Mexico has no drug testing requirements, no medical requirements and that a valid Mexican CDL can be obtained on any street corner in any city. And some actually believe this crap, which is what OOIDA counts on.
They tell you that allowing 100 Mexican trucks, strictly monitored will put hundreds of thousands of American truckers out of work is believed and spreads like wildfire across the internet. Beyond belief!
But OOIDA has completely destroyed their credibility with their latest caper. Imagine, hiring a free lance photographer to go to the border and take pictures of the oldest, dirtiest trucks he could find so that OOIDA could use them in their cover story in the May 2011 issue of LAND LINE. They continue to want people to believe, that OP-2 authority drayage trucks are the actual trucks used throughout Mexico and will be used to haul freight throughout the US.
ULTIMATELY, THEIR EFFORTS WILL FAIL BECAUSE OF THEIR COMMENTS
Let me share with you FMCSA’s response to the comments received in 2007 against that demonstration project and published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. You’ll see why that the proposed pilot program will go ahead and why the comments from OOIDA and TEAMSTERS members will help it become reality.
As of July 31, FMCSA received 2,359 comments, or docket submissions, in response to the May 1 and June 8
notices…….
About 2,330 of the comments were submissions by individuals that were no more than a few sentences and consisted of conclusory statements indicating that Mexico-domiciled carriers are unsafe and that the demonstration project should be abandoned. These comments, most of which were submitted
electronically, did not include information concerning technical (e.g.)specific safety oversight procedures or
processes) or legal aspects of the demonstration project or economic issues, or any other information
supporting the assertions made therein. While FMCSA is not responding to these comments individually, the
Agency is neither ignoring them, but instead believes that its responses to the substantive comments it has received more than adequately addresses the brief comments submitted by these individuals
Now, as it was then, the results will be the same! With exception to the objections to FMCSA paying for EOBR’s to be installed in the Mexican participants, which we object to also, there was absolutely nothing of a technical nature included in any of the “canned” comments submitted by TEAMSTERS.
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