At the 11th hour today, Teamsters, along with Public Citizen filed a lawsuit in 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco seeking to stop implementation of the Mexican Cross Border Program. The suit was filed against the US Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration alleging that the pilot program sets standards that
As expected, James P. Hoffa came out with the expected denouncement of FMCSA’s announced Cross Border Pilot Program with Mexico late this after noon, and Hoffa didn’t disappoint using his tired worn out mantra of “unsafe” Mexican trucks to lead off his rant. And, as expected, he is using the targeted violence in Mexico as
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
The governing idea behind [cref nafta-for-dummies NAFTA] is to remove trade restrictions so as to encourage the free-flow of goods and services across the North American continent. Along the U.S. – Mexican border, however, the reality is that the ground transportation of such goods remains highly congested and drawn out. Long-haul trucks from Mexico are
Yesterday was the tenth month of the Mexican Cross Border Pilot Program and an assessment of the performance of the participants reveals no surprises, at least for me. For those who oppose the program, the results might be an eye opener disputing Jimmy Hoffa’s claims of “dangerous Mexican trucks”. Ironically, it coincided with Byron Dorgan’s
Senator Byron Lesly Dorgan, jumping at the command of Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, offered an amendment to the 2009 Transportation Appropriations Bill aimed at shutting down the successful Mexican Cross Border Demonstration Truck Program. Of course, Hoffa and OOIDA are praising the efforts, but the effort at what? The current Cross Border Program is slated
I couldn’t help but break out laughing, or as Stevie Sommers puts it, “chuckle”, listening to OOIDA and LandlineNow on XM-171 last Thursday, I think it was, when they brought up the almost dead subject of the Cross Border Program. I think Mark Reddig was talking with their Washington lobbyist about the status of the
Has anyone ever wondered why it seemed that FMCSA ignored the comments posted concerning Cross Border Program when making their decision to continue with the program? Did anyone with a brain read some of the 2300 comments posted, most in opposition to the program? Here is an example of a comment posted on the FMCSA
OOIDA immediately responds with unsupported allegations against the company. In what has become a common practice with OOIDA, they have once again gone on the attack against a participant in the Cross Border Program, citing statistics not in existence to further their fear mongering about non existent safety issues. The latest target of their attack
Has anyone ever wondered why a Senator from a nowhere state like Norht Dakota, would have such a passionate opposition to a Cross Border Truck Program that will not impact his state or constituents in the least? I have. As they say, “follow the money”! These politicians rarely do anything for the benefit of the
A misguided Pennsylvania state lawmaker, looking to get his name in the media, is calling for President Bush to comply with the federal law regarding trucks from Mexico. State Rep. Dan Surra, D-Elk, has offered a resolution that urges the Bush administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation to obey recently enacted federal law. “Allowing
The first company to remove itself from the Cross Border Program was TRINITY INDUSTRIES DE MEXICO SA de C V the Mexican subsidiary of Trinity Industries with worldwide headquarters in Dallas Texas. Leonel Olivares, terminal manager at Trinity Industries in Eagle Pass, Texas, said its Mexican affiliate “never had intentions of the drivers actually driving
