OOU Recognizes an Issue and Takes Action 

I was well pleased to note that Dan Little, President of Owner-Operators United (OOU) has dispatched a letter to Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell expressing his displeasure on behalf of OOU membership about the fuel tax increase that is scheduled to take effect in that state on July1.  While some of the larger trucking associations have taken note of the action, any reporting of their activity in opposition has been disappointing.  In short, nary a peep of action or activity has been discovered on the Internet. 

TruckerToTrucker previously reported this planned increase to our readers and was glad to see that the OOU is picking up the gauntlet on our behalf.     

This planned increase of fuel taxes in Connecticut which is to take place on July 1 is part of an automatic increase that was mandated in previous legislation.  Instead of recognizing that a clear statement in opposition to this increase is a necessity to protect small trucking companies, independents and owner-operators from additional financial burdens, the Connecticut Governor seems to be testing the political waters by stating that she will entertain a deferral of the tax if the legislature can find the $25,000,000 that will be lost.   

Connecticut has a budget of over $15 billion dollars and the loss of this revenue is akin to losing less than two cents when you have a $1000 dollars in your pocket.  Seems to me that much more than that will be lost as trucking companies lay-off employees, defer new hires and retrench their operations to accommodate an additional 7.7 cent hike in already high diesel fuel prices in Connecticut. As we all know, higher fuel costs impact every segment of our economy and letting this increase take effect will harm not only truckers, but every citizen of Connecticut and those that may transit the state.  

Absent any outcry both locally as well as nationally, it would seem that the increase will be allowed to occur.  Thank you Dan Little for taking some positive action on behalf of the folks that are struggling.  Make sure you voice your objections if you operate in or around Connecticut and the north-east corridor.  This planned increase needs to be squashed as soon as possible and the voices of the tucking community need to heard.  You can contact the office of Governor Rell and make your thoughts known here.  Your support is a necessity. 

There is a lot of information out there today with regard to what can be done about high fuel prices.  I am sure that a lot of you are aware of this information, but for those of you who are not, here is an email that I received this morning.  The more people who know about this proposed bill the better; if you are like me, you think that our taxes are high enough.  It is my position that the government should practice what they expect from every business owner in America, establish a budget and stick to it.  Just because the government can’t keep a budget does not mean that the only answer is to raise taxes to bail them out.  Also included in this email is a link to www.AmericanSolutions.com read up on the DrillNow section.  Again, I think that you will find some really good information there.

The Boxer-Warner-Lieberman Gas Tax Hike bill is being debated in the Senate.

If adopted, this bill will lead to an increase in gas prices by as much as $3.00 per gallon in the next two decades.

Call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge your Senators to vote against the Boxer-Warner-Lieberman Gas Tax Hike.  Tell them that gas prices are high enough and we need real solutions, not more taxes.

Thank you for your help to keep our drive to lower gas prices alive.

Visit www.AmericanSolutions.com/DrillNow for more ways you can help.

Farm Subsidies and Trucking 

Is there a connection between farm subsidies and the owner-operator trucking community?  At first glance one would think that was ridiculous, but let's examine it for a minute.  Our government just passed a $307 billion (yes billion!) farm subsidy to benefit an industry that is already profitable.   

USA Today reports that, “At a time of soaring food prices and record farm income, the legislation would authorize billions in subsidies for wealthy agribusiness interests that give millions in political contributions.”  The report continues, “The 673-page bill is replete with narrowly tailored provisions sought by lobbying groups, records show. Those measures include $93 million in tax breaks for horse breeders, $170 million in grants for the salmon industry and what Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., called a "backroom" deal that he said mainly benefits one Montana timber company.” 

Powerful lobbying interests have benefited farmers – sure would be nice if the trucking industry had a group that could deliver that much to benefit the independent owner-operator or small trucking companies.  Wow - $93 million for horse breeders.   

Instead, the trucking community bickers among themselves in many instances instead of uniting for the benefit of all. The recent initiation of Owners-Operators United offers a chance to gain power and many are ridiculing the efforts.  The host of a truck call-in show said he adamantly opposed the OOU.  He said all they were looking for was a government hand-out.  Duh!  The government does it all the time – it would be irresponsible and bad business not to lobby for anything that is of benefit to the industry.  One example is a proposed OOU government subsidy for APU's.  It saves fuel, saves money, is an environmental  improvement over present practices and benefits producers and consumers.  But perhaps I don't fully understand -  the salmon industry and horse breeders are important too.   

Actually, the farmers, salmon fishing industry and horse breeders are simply getting a return on their investment in strong politically powerful groups that lobby Congressmen and articulate their needs.  Many call it a hand-up in a competitive arena, while some in the trucking community would say they are just getting a government hand-out.  One has to bet the salmon industry and horse breeders are laughing all the way to the bank. 

Joining the OOU offers an opportunity.  It's hard to make an impact overnight, but over several years changes can be made to benefit truckers.  The OOU has already made an impact in just a month – imagine the possibilities if they can grow in strength.  On the down-side, what if they fail?  Is anything substantive been lost?  I don't think so.  Having a powerful group that can lobby on behalf of owner-operators and small trucking businesses only offers an edge.  Business is always tough as I've written in the past and the smart business person always looks for opportunity when it's available. 

Oh well, – you folks continue to bicker – I'm getting my fishing pole and gonna join those salmon guys – hell, I might even buy a horse and set up a breeding facility. Looks like there's money to be made by joining those groups.

Ronald Nunn has written a petition to Jesse White, the Secretary of State for Illinois asking for a halt in fuel taxes until fuel costs return to a normal level. So far there are over 565 signatures but much more are needed.

"The petition is located online at http://www.petitiononline.com/iltax001/petition.html  and after enough signatures have been added (I'm hoping for 1,000,000) I plan to have a convoy set up to deliver the petition to Jesse White in Springfield, IL"

Any help you can offer in getting the word out about this petition would be much appreciated.

Ronald A. Nunn
Golden Harvest Media
owner@thetruckingindustry.net
http://www.thetruckingindustry.net

I'm sure you've all heard of New York's proposal to tax vehicles traveling into New York City during working hours. I have a daughter who lives in Brooklyn, so I've spent some time navigating the streets of Manhattan and the neighboring boroughs. It's like crawling through a parking lot filled with rejects from the local high school driver's ed class! I can appreciate NYC's concerns about traffic congestion and exhaust pollution, but saddling truckers with a congestion tax just isn't right. We pay more than our fair share of fuel and road taxes, and we don't get to choose our delivery times. We work the same hours as everyone else. It's just not fair to single out truckers. Fortunately, the NY State Legislature agrees. This week they rejected a proposal that would have charged truck drivers $21 to enter the city between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. The decision was applauded by the American Trucking Associations.

With sporadic trucker protests continuing across the country, legislators appear to be listening. The Vermont state senate directed the Attorney General to conduct "an aggressive" criminal investigation of major oil companies, charging possible price-fixing and consumer fraud.

"At the same time that we are paying $3 and $4 a gallon for gas and oil, the oil companies are making record profits, billions and billions of dollars," Senator Peter Shumlin told the Associated Press. "It's puzzling to us that so few politicians both on a state and national level are saying enough is enough."

NAFTA and the Mexican Trucking Issue - Who Voted for it?

Do you think it was the Democrats or the Republicans?

The arrival of Mexican trucks in the United States brought NAFTA home to the trucking community.  It has been an issue in many parts of the manufacturing sector for years.  Whether it is good or bad depends on what position you are looking from.  A review of the vote for NAFTA is interesting and makes one wonder who was for it then – who is for it now – or is this a case of first I voted for it and  now I am against it by our Congressional representatives?

NAFTA passed in 1993 when the majority party in the Congress was still weighted in favor of the Democrats and Bill Clinton was President. The Senate composition was 56 Democrats and 44 Republicans.  The House composition was 258 Democrats and 176 Republicans and one independent.

In the Senate 27 Democrats voted for NAFTA along with 34 Republicans while 28 Democrats voted against it as did 10 Republicans.  The vote was in 1993 so Clinton and Obama were not in the Senate.  McCain voted for NAFTA.  It passed the Senate 61-38 with one Senator (Dorkin D-ND)
not voting.

In the House of Representatives the vote was 234-200 with 102 Democrats and 132 Republicans voting yes and the no votes were cast by 156 Democrats and 43 Republicans.

In a victory for truckers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied Public Citizen's motion to vacate the Federal Hours of Service (HOS) regulations that govern truck driver work and rest requirements. It ruled that its (the court's) concerns in the matter had been purely procedural and not a judgment on the safety of HOS regulations.

In laying out his massive $3.1 trillion budget for 2009, President Bush has earmarked $68 billion for the federal Department of Transportation, a $1 billion increase over last year’s request from the perennially strapped agency. If it makes it through Congress unscathed (doubtful), the budget will provide funding for critical safety programs and congestion relief for both roads and airways. The budget also includes a record $10.1 billion for transit programs.

In January, it seems like everyone's talking about their weight and the trucking industry is no exception. Maine just passed a temporary weight increase for loggers in an effort to help counteract high diesel prices. Taking the opposite tact, New Hampshire is considering tripling fines for overweight trucks. And farmers are pushing for uniform weight regulations for interstate ag haulers.

M. Bruce has something to say to us.....

I hope that all your members are going to NumbersUSA to fight amnesty. They let us send free faxes. We all know that if amnesty happens we will all be fighting the illegals for low paying jobs and that will keep reducing wages for all of us. America is lost if amnesty passes. Please see that your members do what they can to fight it. I sent faxes to my representatives thru NumbersUSA to fight the Mexican trucks but that won't do any good if amnesty passes. Please do anything you can to help fight this. All the Dem candidates and some of the Reps say they support comprehensive immigration which translates to amnesty. Please do what you can to help save America. If amesty passes there will be no unions. There are no unions in Mexico. And we will all be fighting illegals for low paying jobs.
M.Bruce

December 27, 2007 is the deadline for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to decide changes for the hours-of service regulations.

Earlier this month Federal Court dismissed the increased driving time changes (11 hrs reduced to 10) and the 34 hour restart provision, citing death and injury statistics. OOIDA and the ATA were unsuccessful in their requests for a new hearing on hours-of-service. Also, the OOIDA and ATA requests for implementing new rules in 8 or 12 months, rather than in December 2007 were denied.

FMCSA has less than 90 days to decide on options for further action.

And now, in light of the well publicized and awful disaster, the 15 rig pileup in the Newhall Pass Tunnel between Santa Clarita and Los Angeles, California  tunnel disaster it would be surprising if the OODIA and ATA would ever get much agreement or cooperation from federal regulators concerning any increase of driving hours. This one disaster will have repercussions for years to come on many levels. The trucking industry, of course will be affected, but so will traffic control, road construction, fire fighting techniques, etc. Experts will be rethinking things for a long time. Hopefully something good will come of it.

Meanwhile, our hearts go out to the loved ones and friends of any truckers who were involved. A disaster of this magnitude will be long remembered.