Truckers and Long Shoreman - VITAL

[New York Central]

The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) is a step in the direction of a North American Union and is a huge threat to the livelihoods of US Truckers and US Longshoreman.

The SPP is NAFTA on Steroids. Mexico will become the ports of choice for these huge new ships from China. A Mexican Long Shoreman is substantially cheaper than the same in California. A Mexican truck driver is again a much cheaper alternative than an American Trucker. Which do you think the corporations will use? No doubt a huge number of Americans will lose their jobs. There are other aspects to this which come into play that I'm aware of and probably many I'm not aware of.

It would be prudent for Ron Paul's campaign to capture the attention of American Truckers and Long Shoremen. They are extremely powerful groups. Ron Paul's policies are the best for this group of American workers. Anyone denying (and that's most candidates) the progress towards this unconstitutional union is going to hurt this sector of our economy tremendously.

We need to jump out of the internet NOW and capture the attention and resources these powerful groups have. Someone much more knowledgeable than myself on this topic needs to organize a strong effort into this arena. They are a natural for Ron Paul, nobody would serve them better.

Imagine the highways flooded with Ron Paul's image and positions plastered on the sides of trailers. Imagine the mobile network reaching every segment of America and driving right through the security gates to load/unload at the corporations. This is powerful. I can not overstate the importance of this segment. I also feel honestly Ron Paul serves these Americans best, that's why I'll put this strategy out in public right here.

Mobilize the troops.

Todd

[New York Central]

ATTN: Ron Paul Campaign Managers - You need to pursue the trucking industy immediately. Ron Paul is the only one who will save their jobs and the US economy from continual outsourcing. This is a very large group of americans who would support Ron. They are also traveling billboards. To not aggressively introduce Ron Paul's vision to this group would be a fatal mistake. The sooner the better

AP
Court: Mexican Trucks Program to Proceed
Saturday September 1, 3:43 am ET
By Jordan Robertson, Associated Press Writer

Court: Bush Administration Can Go Ahead With Trial Program to Allow Mexican Trucks Into U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The Bush administration can go ahead with a pilot program to allow as many as 100 Mexican trucking companies to freely haul their cargo anywhere within the U.S. for the next year, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request made by the Teamsters union, the Sierra Club and the nonprofit Public Citizen to halt the program.
The appeals court ruled the groups have not satisfied the legal requirements to immediately stop what the government is calling a "demonstration project," but can continue to argue their case.

The trucking program is scheduled to begin Thursday.

In court papers filed this week, the Teamsters and Sierra Club argued there won't be enough oversight of the drivers coming into the U.S. from Mexico.
They also argued that public safety would be endangered in a hasty attempt by the government to comply with parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The trade agreement requires that all roads in the United States, Mexico and Canada to be opened to carriers from all three countries.

Canadian trucking companies have full access to U.S. roads, but Mexican trucks can travel only about 20 miles inside the country at certain border crossings, such as ones in San Diego and El Paso, Texas.

The government contends that further delays in the project will strain the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.

In court filings this week, government lawyers said that the program is an important interim step in fulfilling the United States' obligations under NAFTA. They said that Mexican trucking companies would have to meet the same regulations governing U.S. trucking companies, and that in some cases the requirements are stricter.

Representatives of the Teamsters did not immediately return calls late Friday from The Associated Press, and a Sierra Club spokeswoman declined to comment immediately.

The program is designed to study whether opening the U.S.-Mexico border to all trucks could be done safely.

Congress ordered the Department of Transportation this year to launch a pilot program to investigate the issue. As the start date neared, the Teamsters and the Sierra Club claimed the public wasn't given enough opportunity to comment on a program that, as proposed now, won't yield statistically valid results.

The government says it has imposed rigorous safety protocols in the program, including drug and alcohol testing for drivers done by U.S. companies. In addition, law enforcement officials have stepped up nationwide enforcement of a law that's been on the books since the 1970s requiring interstate truck and bus drivers to have a basic understanding of written and spoken English.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Department of Transportation agency charged with managing the program, said Friday that the court's decision is "welcome news for U.S. truck drivers anxious to compete south of the border and U.S. consumers eager to realize the savings of more efficient shipments with one of our largest trading partners."

However, the agency said it must still wait for final report by the inspector general and for Mexico to begin giving U.S. trucking companies reciprocal access before the program can begin.

The Teamsters had complained that the government has provided not details of the reciprocal agreement.

[New York Central]

ATTN: Ron Paul Campaign Managers - You need to pursue the trucking industy immediately. Ron Paul is the only one who will save their jobs and the US economy from continual outsourcing. This is a very large group of americans who would support Ron. They are also traveling billboards. To not aggressively introduce Ron Paul's vision to this group would be a fatal mistake. The sooner the better

Truckers protest Mexican competition By ELIZABETH WHITE, Associated Press Writer
Thu Sep 6, 7:22 PM ET

LAREDO, Texas - Dozens of truckers rallied at Mexican border crossings in California and Texas Thursday to protest a pilot program to allow up to 100 Mexican trucking companies to haul their cargo anywhere in the United States.

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Carrying signs reading "NAFTA Kills" and "Unsafe Mexican Trucks," a few dozen protesters circled in the heat for two hours at Laredo's port of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border.

"What do we want? Safe highways. When do we want them? Now!" they chanted.

The U.S. Transportation Department said no Mexican trucks had arrived under the program as of late Thursday afternoon. But 38 Mexican firms were poised for U.S. permits, said Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, a spokeswoman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates truck safety.

The Teamsters union, Sierra Club and watchdog group Public Citizen sued to stop the program, arguing there won't be enough oversight of drivers, but a federal appeals court ruled the Bush administration could move ahead.

Government lawyers said the program is a necessary part of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the trucks would meet U.S. regulations.

Near San Diego's Otay Mesa border crossing, dozens of truckers led by the Teamsters mixed with anti-illegal-immigration activists. Business was uninterrupted, said Lt. Hector Paredes of the California Highway Patrol, which inspects about 3,000 trucks a day at the crossing.

"We're already inspecting Mexican trucks and will continue to inspect them the same way," Paredes said. "These trucks already haul product from Tijuana to San Diego. Now they will be able to go beyond San Diego."

Critics such as Teamsters organizer Hugo Flores doubt that Mexican drivers will be held to the same rules, such as the length of work shifts and drug testing.

"There are no means to regulate these guys. Bush has opened up highways to unsafe trucks," Flores said at the Laredo protest. "I don't want them sharing the roads with my family."

NAFTA requires that all roads in the United States, Mexico and Canada be opened to carriers from all three countries. Canadian trucking companies already have full access to U.S. roads, but Mexican trucks can travel only about 20 miles inside the country at certain border crossings.

The one-year pilot program is designed to study whether opening the U.S.-Mexico border to all trucks could be done safely.

The government says it has imposed rigorous safety protocols in the program, including drug and alcohol testing for drivers done by U.S. companies. Additionally, law enforcement officials have stepped up nationwide enforcement of a law requiring interstate truck and bus drivers to have a basic understanding of written and spoken English.

Besides the safety issues, Flores said there are also concerns about job security and pollution from emissions.

"Now they're trying to export all our driving jobs to Mexico," Flores said. "That's one less American job."

At a Petro truck stop near El Paso along Interstate 10, reactions to the program were mixed.

Carlos Moreno, who has been a truck driver for nearly four decades, said he doesn't begrudge anyone trying to make a living.

"There's enough for all of us," said Moreno, an El Paso resident.

But he is concerned that some of the drivers from Mexico can't read highway signs written in English. "You can always tell in construction zones," he said.

Omar Nunez, a 34-year-old driver from Pecos, said he worries that freight prices will drop as shippers turn to Mexican trucking companies that may offer cheaper services.

"As it is, I'm barely making it right now," he said.

Among those most concerned were a group of drivers gathered at the Flying J truck stop in Edinburg, Texas. Much of their business has come from picking up loads that Mexican drivers previously had to leave at the border.

"That's my business," said Gerald Fernow, 36, from Flatonia, Texas. "What am I supposed to do? I'm screwed."

___

Associated Press writers Alicia A. Caldwell in El Paso, Lynn Brezosky in Edinburg and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

[Robert Johnson]

http://www.truckers4ronpaul.org/

[ghemminger]

Go truckers