MaddogCT Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/08/trucker.rules.ap/index.html Retailers want 16-hour trucker workday Critics: 'Sweatshop-on-wheels amendment' Tuesday, March 8, 2005 Posted: 7:35 PM EST (0035 GMT) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wal-Mart and other retailers are lobbying Congress to extend the workday for truckers to 16 hours, something labor unions and safety advocates say would make roadways more dangerous for all drivers. Rep. John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican whose district includes Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, is sponsoring a bill that would allow a 16-hour workday as long as the trucker took an unpaid two-hour break. The proposal is expected to be offered as an amendment during debate over the highway spending bill on Wednesday. "Truckers are pushing harder than ever to make their runs within the mandated timeframe," Boozman said. "Optional rest breaks will reduce driver layovers and improve both safety and efficiency." Current rules limit drivers' workdays to 14 hours, with only 11 consecutive hours of driving allowed, union leaders and safety advocates say. That gives truckers three hours to eat, rest or load and unload their trucks. Critics of the proposal accuse Wal-Mart of trying to fatten its profits by forcing truckers to spend more time waiting at the loading dock without getting paid. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters "hasn't gotten one complaint from drivers saying they don't have time for a break or a meal," the union's vice president, John Murphy, said at a news conference Tuesday. Joan Claybrook, president of the safety advocacy group Public Citizen, said drivers could end up starting their workday at 8 a.m. and quitting at midnight. "This is a sweatshop-on-wheels amendment," Claybrook said. "The last thing we need is for tired truckers to become even more fatigued and threaten the safety of those around them on the roads." The current rule had been struck down in federal court because it didn't take into account truck drivers' health. In October, Congress reinstated the rule for one year. If the Boozman proposal is adopted, it would retain the 16-hour workday regardless of any new rule. Nearly 5,000 people were killed in large truck crashes in 2003, and those vehicles were three times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than passenger cars, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Wal-Mart spokesman Erik Winborn said the proposal has broad support among the trucking industry and other retailers. "We support it because we feel it would actually enhance safety rather than hurt safety," said Winborn, whose company employs about 7,000 truck drivers. Wal-Mart employees were Boozman's top contributors in 2003-04, giving him $48,152 for his re-election campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Wal-Mart and its employees gave $44,500 to Boozman for his first successful bid for Congress in 2001-02, the last year corporations could give to congressional candidates. :logo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sith lord Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 I hope this doesn't go through.All it would do is make the roads more unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Walmart is definately an evil empire... I hate shopping there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfan44 Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 This is one of the reasons why I'm glad I am not a Trucker anymore. They (retailers) have been working on this for years. The longer the truckers can drive, the more profit they make. They don't care about the trucker, or public safety, just there bottom line. Everything is run on "just in time deliverys" so the more they drive, the better it is for the shippers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 (psst) Truckers already drive 16+ hours a day. Maybe by changing the law, their would be more oversight and thus, more safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Dog Night Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 A very good friend of mine is a lawyer with the ATA and without going into detail he said that they aren't going to support it, which means Wal-Mart & Mr. Boozman will have a very tough time getting their way here. I had no idea what a massive industry trucking was until my friend clued me in. The ATA is a pretty powerful organization and they have oodles of cash and a very influential lobbyist base. And the trucking industry in general is heavily union supported, so I have a hard time believing that this bill will ever see the light of day. Just another example of republicans trying to fleece the blue collar worker in order to maximize white collar profits. It's sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 And yet, those "blue collar" workers vote overwhelmingly for the GOP. Signifying that maybe THEY know more about their own lives than the Liberals who claim to know best for them. AS I said, these people are already working that many hours "off the books". By allowing a 16hr day, it will improve their jobs, not hurt them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Dog Night Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Originally posted by Kilmer17 And yet, those "blue collar" workers vote overwhelmingly for the GOP. Signifying that maybe THEY know more about their own lives than the Liberals who claim to know best for them. Then again, maybe they don't know, or maybe they vote on issues unrelated to this type of thing. Maybe they can't bear the thought of voting for anyone who would support gay marrige, even though they don't know any gay people. Maybe they don't realize that republican lawmakers don't have their best interests at heart. Maybye the extremely well-funded republican propaganda machine has done an excellent job at diverting their attention away from these issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Sure, that's far more likely than those "blue collar folk" being smart enough about their own lives to make a qualified decision. Typical Liberal response. People vote for GOP because they're stupid. Dont bother addressing the issue itself. Simply call the people involved stupid. The GOP can say the same thing about blacks voting 90% for Dems even though they clearly dont have their best interests in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Dog Night Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Originally posted by Kilmer17 Sure, that's far more likely than those "blue collar folk" being smart enough about their own lives to make a qualified decision. Typical Liberal response. People vote for GOP because they're stupid. Dont bother addressing the issue itself. Simply call the people involved stupid. The GOP can say the same thing about blacks voting 90% for Dems even though they clearly dont have their best interests in mind. I didn't call anybody stupid, so please don't put words in my mouth to support your arguments. That is childish and misleading. Politics is an extremely complicated business and very few people understand it, and even those who do understand it don't have time to look into everything that happens. There are layers of understanding like an onion. Bills and laws and executive orders are purposely worded in such a way as to be tedious and complicated, making it almost impossible for most people to understand exactly what's going on. And let's face it - most people are so occupied with their jobs, raising a family, and all the myriad things in life that take up your time and energy that they simply don't have time to look into the multi-tiered world of how political decision affect their lives. It's not a question of intellect; it's a question of the limits of human beings. Politicians know this and they take advantage of it by framing issues in such a way to appeal to people's base emotions. And in my opinion, republicans do it to a more extreme extent to a more vulnerable population with more negative consequences. You make it sound like every person on the planet is entirely informed about what politicians do, how they do it, and how it affects their lives. Nothing could be further from the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halter91 Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 Critics of the proposal accuse Wal-Mart of trying to fatten its profits by forcing truckers to spend more time waiting at the loading dock without getting paid. Coming from a family of Truckers, I seriously doubt my Dad/Uncles would want a 2 hour break in the middle of the day and NOT GET PAID FOR IT!! Quick story, the dock workers at walmart take lunch from 12-1, so my uncle gets there @ 1, guys comes over and signs the bill of lading and walks away, goes back in the break room. Needless to sat Walmart delivery was left there unattended and a mess. What a bunch of Pricks. I would never ever want to be a trucker. People are complete assholes on the road to top it off with this crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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