A.M. Executive Briefing - Mar. 22
This Morning's Headlines:
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DOT Internet Sites to Accept Applications, Payments of Fines
Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater said customers will now be able to conduct various transactions with the Transportation Department online, and motor carriers will be able to file registration applications and pay safety violation fines to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at fmcsa.dot.gov.Freedom of Information Act requests, civil penalties, and assessments can be paid for at the Office of Pipeline Safety and Office of Hazardous Materials Safety Web sites. The Maritime Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Federal Railroad Administration have sites as well.
Officials, Police Thank Trucker Who Helped Embattled Officer
At the Gwinnett County (Ga.) Commission meeting Tuesday, Consolidated Freightways trucker David Zorn was given plaques from the county police, a commendation from the commission, and a standing ovation for helping stop a fight between a police officer and a man suspected of driving drunk.Northbound on Interstate 85 on the early morning of Nov. 21, Zorn witnessed the struggle taking place on the shoulder and pulled over to stop, concerned that the officer may not have had an opportunity to call for backup.
By the time Zorn ran back to the scene of the fight, the suspect was holding Officer Louis Gregoire down and attempting to take his gun away. Zorn yelled, which caused the suspect to run away; Zorn chased the suspect and told him to get down, then pinned him as the officer ran up and handcuffed the man.
At Tuesday's meeting, Gregoire said he believed that "one of us would've been dead" if the trucker had not been there. Atlanta Journal-Constitution (03/22/00) P. 1JJ; Shelton, Stacy
Truckers Rally for Rights
Fourteen Augusta, Ga., truckers held an eight-mile convoy Tuesday prior to an informational meeting with the municipal commission that afternoon regarding a local ban on parking their rigs on their property.Neighborhood associations' complaints have prompted increased enforcement by the Richmond County Sheriff's Department; the 15-year-old law, which carries a fine of up to $300, regards trucks with over three axles and a capacity exceeding one ton.
The Sand Ridge Neighborhood Association's Nathaniel Charles said roads will be destroyed if trucks are allowed in neighborhoods and that the law was in effect when the drivers bought their houses there. Truckers support a ban on trailers and maintenance in the yards and a five-minute limit on idling, said trucker Curtis Robinson.
The commission will not act on the issue until the conclusion of a case in Richmond County Magistrate Court regarding one of the truckers. Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle Online (03/22/00); Coryell, Heidi
Truckers Ask Police for Help
Houston saw its second recent Teamsters-led rally of independent drayage truckers Monday as the drivers requested that Mayor Lee Brown and police stop charging truckers high fines for intermodal equipment they say is owned by shipping companies.An aide to the mayor told the rally that Brown understands the truckers' issues, and she also said it is not fair that drivers pay the penalties.
Houston Police Department truck enforcement officer Harold Barthe said the trucking industry backs the laws the police are enforcing. He also said state lawmakers turned down legislation last year that would have put responsibility for the equipment on the trucking companies rather than truckers.
At the picnic and rally, the union asked drivers to sign petitions requesting that 60 area trucking firms certify that the Teamsters are the drivers' representative. Drivers for All Zones Express have been recognized as employees, and as represented by the union, by the owner of that small trucking firm.
After local truckers boycotted the J.J. Flanagan Shipping yard for two days last week, saying the company's equipment is not safe, the company said it would overhaul its repair facility and purchase new equipment. Houston Chronicle (03/21/00) P. 1C; Moreno, Jenalia
Paccar Plans to Lay Off 308 in Tenn. as Sales Decline
Truck manufacturer Paccar, which is already planning 300 layoffs at two plants in Washington state this month, is also laying off 308 of the 1,700 assembly employees at another plant in Tennessee. The Tennessee layoffs will take place March 31, prompted by dropping sales, and production will be lowered from 70 units a day to 50; the plant was also idled on March 17 and will be again on Friday. Seattle Times (03/21/00) P. C2SAIA Workers to Vote on Teamsters Bid
SAIA Motor Freight Line employees in Grand Prairie, Texas, will vote on Teamsters representation April 16-17; the union has been conducting an organizing drive at the nonunion Yellow Corp.egional subsidiary since June.
A National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge's ruling released Monday said the carrier had unlawfully attempted to impede the drive. According to Claude Witherspoon of the NLRB's Fort Worth office, officials at SAIA had questioned employees regarding the drive, and one employee was given a disciplinary notice for union-related activities.
However, Rick O'Dell, company president, said several charges had been dismissed in the ruling and that the judge had ruled the disciplinary notice was merely too broadly written.
The Teamsters are also conducting a drive at SAIA in Houston and have filed an NLRB petition for elections in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Fort Worth Star-Telegram (03/21/00) P. 2, Business Section; Cox, Bob
M.S. Carriers Raises Pay $3,000 to $5,000 a Year
Truckers for M.S. Carriers last week received the first higher paychecks reflecting the pay raise, which will increase yearly wages between $3,000 and $5,000, enacted as the company makes an effort to retain and attract drivers. The higher pay will be passed along to customers; company Chairman and CEO Mike Starnes said drivers' pay is still too low; they "should be making $50,000 a year, but we can't extract that much from the marketplace," he said.Linehaul drivers who have been working for one year will now be paid 31 cents per mile, up from 27 cents, and those who have been working for at least four years will be paid 34 cents per mile. Their pay will be raised another penny for each additional year, with 40 cents as the highest pay.
Phoenix regional drivers, whose pay went up in early 1999, are getting an additional 7% tacked onto their rate per mile, and those brought on board with two years experience who make 30 cents a mile will get another penny per mile each year, up to 32 cents a mile.
Memphis, Atlanta, and Dallas regional drivers are having their pay per mile hiked from 27 cents to 30 cents, and Northeastern drivers will have their pay raised from 32 cents to 36 cents. Owner-operators' base rate is being increased to 82 cents per mile, up 2 cents, and Professional Drivers' Academy graduates who have been working six months or more will be paid 31 cents a mile, up 4 cents. Memphis Commercial Appeal (03/21/00) P. B6; Thompson, Richard
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