Movers Oppose Petri Bill To Raise Damage Liability

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>LA QUINTA, Calif.— Leaders of the American Moving and Storage Association endorsed alternative consumer protection legislation they hope Congress will pass instead of a bill introduced March 4 that AMSA said would decimate the industry by exposing it to much greater liability for damage.

The disliked legislation, introduced by House Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis.), “is probably the biggest issue the industry faces,” Michael P. Fergus, president of Sirva Moving Services and current AMSA chairman, said at the group’s annual conference held here April 5-8.

In addition to the Petri bill, movers are also concerned about new hours-of-service rules expected soon from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the potential that Congress will try to tinker with trucking’s exemption from federal overtime pay rules.