News Briefs - March 23
The Latest Headlines:
- Saks Chooses FedEx as Exclusive Shipping Provider
- Caterpillar Workers Approve Strike Authorization
- Journal: Judge, Lawyer Socialized Prior to EPA Case
- Rep. Boozman Seeks to Amend HOS Rules
- Study Finds Pollution at Ports Is a Threat
- Caterpillar Workers Approve Strike Authorization
Saks Chooses FedEx as Exclusive Shipping Provider
FedEx Corp. said Tuesday that department store retailer Saks Inc. selected two of its operating companies as exclusive providers of shipping services for all its divisions.Saks, which operates more than 350 stores, will use FedEx Express for domestic, international and express freight deliveries and FedEx Ground for ground and home deliveries.
The agreement includes shipments from vendors to Saks' distribution centers, from distribution centers to stores, and to customers ordering on the Internet or directly from stores, FedEx said in a statement.
Caterpillar Workers Approve Strike Authorization
The United Auto Workers said Monday about 8,500 union workers in Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Tennessee voted to authorize a strike against Caterpillar Inc. if contract negotiations break down.The union’s current contract with the company expires at the end of this month, UAW said in a statement on its Web site.
Caterpillar spokesman Ben Cordani told the Associated Press reported the strike authorization is a routine procedure in the late stages of contract negotiations. He said talks are continuing.
The existing contract followed a 6 1/2-year stalemate that included two failed walkouts, AP said. The second strike lasted 17 months, the longest ever against Caterpillar. Transport Topics
Journal: Judge, Lawyer Socialized Prior to ATA Case
Ed Warren, the lead attorney who argued against pending air-pollution regulations, had social contacts with two federal appellate judges before they decided the 1999 American Trucking Associations vs. the Environmental Protection Agency case, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.The appeals court struck down the regulations on soot and smog, claiming that Congress had never delegated the authority to the EPA, but the Supreme Court later rejected the lower court's decision, the Journal said.
While the case was pending, U.S. Circuit Judge Douglas Ginsburg, who made the decision, and Warren were directors of the Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment, the Journal said.
The group holds periodic seminars at a resort hotel and a rustic ranch for selected federal judges and feature plenty of time for fishing, hiking, cocktails and other forms of socializing, the Journal said. Transport Topics
Rep. Boozman Seeks to Amend HOS Rules
Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) wants to amend new hours-of-service rules for short-haul drivers who make frequent stops so they will not use up their allotted time with "non-driving activities," the Associated Press reported.The new rules took effect Jan. 4. They expanded the time a driver could drive from 10 to 11 hours a day, but cut back on the number of hours a driver can be on-duty from 15 to 14 hours a day and eliminated the ability of drivers to “clock out” during meals and fuel breaks and for loading and unloading activity.
Boozman sent a letter on Friday, co-signed by 57 other House members, to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, asking to introduce an amendment to the trucking rules. The committee is scheduled to take up the trucking rules segment of the transportation bill in the coming days, AP said.
Dave Longo, spokesman for the Department of Transportation, told AP it was too early to determine the actual safety and economic benefits from the new rules. Transport Topics
Study Finds Pollution at Ports Is a Threat
A new study found that increased global trade is taking a toll on the nation's major seaports as container ships, trucks and port equipment produce air and water pollutants, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.The study by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Coalition for Clean Air found that the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex is the single largest fixed source of air pollution in Southern California, according to the Times.
The report rates the environmental records of the 10 largest U.S. seaports, giving the highest marks to the Port of Oakland and the lowest to the Port of Houston.
The group suggested stricter regulation of port pollution, but did not directly address how much ports, shipping companies, retailers and consumers would have to pay to reduce air and water pollution, the Times said. Transport Topics
