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8 • June 1-14, 2020 Nation b 20 days from page 1 b questions as the meeting commenced, but that they held their ground. “What we can back up with truth and our experience, they can’t touch,” Landis said. Landis spoke to the administration officials about the lack of representation of the small business truckers. He pointed out that organizations such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA) often have the ear of government agencies despite representing only a small percentage of carriers. “That has to change,” Landis told officials. The previous evening, Landis outlined his position in an exclusive interview with The Trucker. “The ATA represents trucking to the government, but little guys like us can’t be members,” he said. “The interests of the people with money are overriding the concerns of the little guy.” Landis continued, “If you think that 89.7% of for-hire carriers are little guys, (with) 10 trucks or less, and ATA does the talking, that means that 89.7% of us aren’t represented.” Landis conceded that the percentage he quoted was a year or more old and might have changed, but, he said, the number wouldn’t have changed by much. Preparing for the White House meeting, he said, “We have a chance to be a true voice of what we’re doing on the road, and the truth behind it. We need to have active truck drivers that can have a say in things,” adding, “I want to use this as a way to create that open line of communication, from now on.” One of the high points of the meeting occurred when the pair explained that brokers were not complying with the requirements of 49 CFR 371.3, which requires disclosure of information for each load hauled to all parties who participated, upon request. Karman related that Meadows then asked Mullen, “Is that a rule?” Mullen responded in the affirmative. “Then why aren’t you enforcing it?” Meadows reportedly asked. As Mullen explained issues with authority and jurisdiction, Meadows asked for five “setup” packets from brokerage firms and the names of five brokerage CEOs. Landis and Karman explained how brokers were asking carriers to waive their rights to information in their contracts, refusing to do business with those who refused. “Is that true?” Meadows asked Mullen. When Mullen answered affirmatively, Meadows told him, according to Karman, “You need to fix that.” The topic of the petition filed the day before by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) asking the FMCSA to require brokers to provide load information within 48 hours was discussed. Karman made it plain that the protesters don’t think the OOIDA proposal goes far enough. “We need that information up front, while we are negotiating the load,” he said. Karman further called on truckers to report claims of broker gouging to the Department of Justice, which Meadows said would be investigated. Landis went on to explain how he had discussed his claim that small business truckers are not represented at government agencies and committees, using the same argument he had given to The Trucker the previous evening. “For us, this is a pretty good step in the right direction. I’m not going to call ‘victory,’ but they understand that we have no representation except for ourselves,” Landis said. “It’s a ‘sort of’ victory,” Karman interjected. “They understand the issues and they understand that we, as Americans, want this fixed, that as Americans, for Americans, we want a voice,” Landis continued. Karman added that when the pair asked if President Trump would be joining the meeting, they were told by Lyons that Trump couldn’t attend but was, in fact, listening to the live feed. Karman related that Meadows had expressed thanks to the protesters for sticking together throughout the protest and that the chief of staff said, “It’s time to go home.” Karman then recommended the protesters stay one more day, “to see what happens and to celebrate.” The journey to the White House Successes were small, at first. At 9:42 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, President Donald Trump tweeted, “I’m with the TRUCKERS all the way,” adding, “It is all going to work out well!” Earlier in the day, White House representatives showed up at the demonstration site bearing gifts — a cloth bag emblazoned with the presidential seal and filled with hats bearing the messages “USA Strong” and “Keep America Great.” The Trump tweet was the first public acknowledgement from the government of awareness of the protest. Two days later, on May 5, the president spoke about the protest again during a call-in appearance on the FOX News network’s “Fox and Friends” show. During a discussion about COVID-19 and other topics with the president, co-host Ainsley Earhardt prompted the comments by asking, “Everything in front of us, our paper, our water bottles, our pencils, our phones, delivered on a truck, and you tweeted about American truckers being price gouged. What are you going to do about that?” The president responded “Oh, they are price gouged,” acknowledging the protest near the White House and saying, “It looked like a thousand trucks.” He continued, “All they want is to be treated fairly, and we’re going to treat them fairly. You know, what they’re asking is almost nothing in many cases.” After claiming, “They’re great, great people, Trump concluded his answer by saying, “We’re going to take care of them.” Tensions rose with the events on May 12, as hundreds of buses descended on Washington for a protest of their own, decrying the lack of a monetary bailout for their industry. Earlier in the day, trucking protesters were angered by a Department of Justice (DOJ) announcement that charges of broker malfeasance would not be investigated. When buses began to convoy down Constitution Avenue, where truckers were parked, the patience of some protesters wore thin. Within minutes, buses were making U-turns and seeking other routes as the thoroughfare was blocked by stopped trucks and demonstrators who paraded with flags and signs. Within moments, however, trucks were parked again and the street reopened. A day later, on May 13, Meadows sent shockwaves through the demonstrators by showing up, security detail in tow, to discuss the issues. He spent 45 minutes listening to and answering questions from the group. At one point, the crowd erupted when Landis stepped forward to speak, prompting Meadows to ask, “You all like Mike?” Cheers and applause followed, and Landis’ White House visit began to take form. The protest in the capital grew noticeably smaller after the Meadows visit. After the event, some owner-operators felt the protest had made enough progress to continue without their presence, while others left to return to work after two unpaid weeks of protest. Others stayed, vowing to persist until they saw actual results. More truckers announced on social media that they were on the way. National attention, finally Two days after the Meadows visit, on May 15, the protesters’ air horns brought the protest into the national spotlight as the sound could clearly be heard in the background of a Rose Garden press conference during which President Trump spoke to the nation about the administration’s latest work on the COVID-19 pandemic. Hours earlier, the president incensed protesters when he claimed in a FOX News interview, “They’re not protesting. They’re there to support me. They love their president.” Trump made similar comments during the interrupted press conference. Although the protest had received copious amounts of coverage from trucking-industry media sources, the national media was suddenly interested. CNN, which had, for the most part, ignored the Washington protesters, decided it was newsworthy after all once the truckers’ protest provided an opportunity to criticize Trump. The organization — one that Trump has repeatedly referred to as “fake news” — posted a clip that began with the president saying, “And you hear that outside, that beautiful sound? Those are truckers that are with us all the way. They’re protesting in favor of President Trump as opposed to against. There’s hundreds of trucks out there, and that’s the sign of love, not the sign of your typical protest. So, I want to thank our great truckers. They like me, and I like them. We’re working on something together.” Those comments were not well received by the protesting truckers, who swarmed social media sites to set the record straight. While the president generally enjoys strong support among drivers, the group made it clear that it did not want their message hijacked for political purposes. Some denounced Trump for his comments, while others simply restated their reasons for being in the capital. Mission accomplished? With the White House meeting on May 20, it seemed the protest had finally attracted the attention it sought. While the accomplishments of the group can’t be measured yet, in revised regulations or completed investigations, the successes were significant. One victory occurred when the DOJ reversed its decision not to investigate brokers for collusion and for price gouging during a time of crisis. The original announcement not to investigate had prompted the most active day of the protest. Another occurred when the FMCSA was prompted into a review of 49 CFR 371.3 and how it is enforced, under the watchful eye of the president’s chief of staff. A revision of the rule requiring full disclosure of load information to all parties without the requirement for a formal request, is a real possibility. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) noticeably increased the urgency of its activity during the protest. Although OOIDA was already working toward some of the same reforms as the protest group, things weren’t proceeding quickly enough for the protesters. During — or perhaps because of — the protest, activity at OOIDA increased. THETRUCKER.COM Courtesy: Mike Landis Following the meeting at the White House, the protestors posed for a group photo in front of the Washington Monument. The organization sent a call to action to its members, sent letters to all members of Congress and then sent another letter to House and Senate leadership, filed a petition with the FMCSA and issued numerous press releases and articles through its in-house publication, Land Line magazine. Whether they agree with the truckers’ complaints or not, brokers now know the spotlight is aimed squarely at them. The protesters acknowledge the free-market system and, except for a scant few, aren’t calling for limits on broker revenues. But the protests shined a light on those shadowy parts of the brokerage business, such as demanding large payments from customers while only spending a small percentage for the actual service performed. There are more arguments and, perhaps, litigation to come, but brokers are on notice that they are being watched and questioned. Regardless of final results, protesters earned the respect and admiration of many among the millions of truckers who couldn’t participate with the protesters’ display of unity and their perseverance. Many people doubted the group would get anything done. They were wrong. A group of people who, as Jeremy Johnson, administrator of the Facebook Group The Disrespected Trucker, said “couldn’t agree on a free cup of coffee” stood together with the Eastern European group, the Hispanic contingent, the Sikh business owners and the rest, a diverse group of ethnicities and genders. They weren’t sure who would speak for them, and demands varied from group to group, but they were determined to be heard. So, while concrete results are still to come, the protest has achieved more than anyone expected it to. More importantly, the protest has brought together more truckers than any in recent memory. While it’s doubtful that the number of trucks in Washington ever exceeded 200 at one time, many participants rotated in and out, trying to devote time to the cause while dealing with personal and family matters and maintaining at least a partial revenue stream for their businesses. Estimates range from 500 to 1,000 total truckers spending at least some time at the protest. After describing the successful White House meeting to the tired but happy protesters, Landis concluded, “The president is on our side. He wants us to succeed, and he doesn’t want us to be overrun. We won the battle, but we’re still in a war.” To wild cheering, he said, “Let’s go celebrate.” Satisfied that, after 20 days of protest, they had finally achieved their goal of a White House meeting, the group gathered for a photo with the Washington Monument in the background. The feeling was that their voices, as well as their air horns, had finally been heard. 8
THETRUCKER.COM THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES While many areas of the U.S. have “reopened” following full or partial shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as federal, state and local governments, continue to recommend social distancing to help curb the spread of COVID-19. To comply with these guidelines, some trucking-industry events are being moved to a “virtual” format. One such event is the 2020 Walcott Truckers Jamboree, scheduled for July 9-11. The event would normally held at the Iowa 80 truck stop in Walcott, Iowa, which is touted as the “world’s largest truck stop, but in compliance with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynold’s orders, organizers have moved the entire event online. “The good news is we will most definitely continue with our long-standing tradition of celebrating America’s truckers,” said Heather DeBaille, vice president of marketing. “While we can’t host 45,000 people at Iowa 80 to celebrate, we will take the jamboree virtual and still celebrate the important job of the professional driver.” Many events, including the Antique Truck Display, Super Truck Beauty Contest, Trucker’s Best Friend Pet Contest and more have been revamped to fit an online format. All concerts will be rescheduled for the 2021. The antique truck display will feature a slideshow of photos from entrants, along with information about their antique vehicles. Drivers participating in the super truck beauty contest can choose competitive categories and submit photos. The public will vote for their favorites, and winners will be announced July 11. Drivers entering the Trucker’s Best Friend Pet Contest are encouraged to register their pets and submit photos or videos for the competition. After voting, prizes will be awarded for “best dressed,” “owner lookalike” and “best trick.” On Friday, July 10, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum will celebrate the 100th birthday one of its exhibits, a 1920 GMC, with a video event that will be posted on the museum’s Facebook page. While the jamboree cannot be held on site, all professional truck drivers with a commercial driver’s license who stop at the Iowa 80 July 9, 10 or 11 can receive a free meal in the Iowa 80 Kitchen restaurant. Meal certificates will be available at the fuel center, service center, truck wash and Super Truck Showroom. “We want drivers to know who much we appreciate the hard work they do. This certainly isn’t the way we thought our 41st jamboree would play out, but we care about drivers and their families, and we still want to celebrate them,” Nation June 1-14, 2020 • 9 Truck shows, conventions move to virtual format to accommodate social-distancing guidelines The Trucker File Photo In years past, the Walcott Truckers Jamboree has drawn thousands of participants from around the world. said Delia Moon Meier, senior vice president. “We truly hope everyone understands, and we hope that you will join us in spirit and online July 9-11 in celebration of trucking,” she continued. “We look forward to seeing everyone in person in 2021.” For more information or to register, visit iowa80truckstop.com/trucker-jamboree. Another event that moved to an online format was the American Truck Historical Society’s (ATHS) national convention and truck show, which took place May 28-30. Event organizers re-envisioned every aspect of the three-day gathering to fit an online format, allowing truck enthusiasts around the world to enjoy the event from the comfort and safety of their homes. “In just a few short weeks, we unraveled 18 months of planning for a live event to create what looks to be the largest virtual convention and show like this to date,” said Tom Mullen, president of ATHS. “I am extremely proud to be able to bring the fun and excitement of our event directly to our dedicated members and the public,” he continued. “With travel restrictions, stay-at-home orders and levels of quarantine varying from place to place, country to country, bringing this whole event online was a natural choice.” The online event included industry-related webinar presentations, a silent auction, trucker storytelling booths, companion activities, a vendor hall and, of course, a truck show. “Normally we would host 1,000 trucks representing 100 years of trucking history and have guests coming from as far away as Australia to participate,” said Laurence Gration, executive director of ATHS, adding that organizers worked “twice as hard” to make sure the online event conveyed the organization’s sense of community. 8 b TCA from page 6 b Hall said TCA, which was founded in 1938, is the only trade association whose sole focus is the truckload segment of the motor carrier industry. TCA’s scholarship program includes seven larger scholarships named after significant contributors to the fund. To have a scholarship named in their honor, donors must give $50,000 for that scholarship, or at least $10,000 over the course of five years. Students receive up to $6,250 for the full year, split between the two semesters. The application process begins in early March through an online application. To qualify for any of the scholarships, a student must be in good standing, with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0, and attend an accredited four-year college as an undergraduate. The student must also be a child, grandchild or spouse of either an employee of a TCA member or an independent contractor affiliated with a TCA member. “We try to be as transparent as possible,” Hall said. “This is what you need to have to be eligible and the qualifications considered. We also share when the winners are posted.” Hall said the application process includes submitting headshots, school transcripts and a course schedule. Hall said TCA is up front with what is needed before prospective recipients “dive into an application.” “We’ve got some guidelines for the judges — a framework — but for the most part, it is up to their discretion,” Hall said. “They judge (the applicants) on their workload, such as are they taking 12 credit hours or 21, or are they in honors classes, and they take (the students’) extracurricular activities into account.” She said even if a student does not have a 3.0 GPA, but is close, perhaps with a 2.8, he or she is still encouraged to apply because the judges will take into account factors such as extracurricular activities or a student working to pay for classes. The scholarships are funded by members of the trucking community. Hall said anyone who wants to give to the program can, and that “there are lots of different avenues to do so.” “We are working on a campaign, which has been placed on the back burner for now,” Hall said. “Once the economy picks back up and starts to improve, we will reach out for funds. In the past, one of the largest ways we generated funds was through a scholarship gala.” Hall said the gala, which was held annually until 2018, raised about $90,000 each year, adding that some years the event brought in closer to $200,000. She said the gala was held in conjunction with the annual convention and would usually host about 400 people. For more information, visit www.truckload. org. For questions about the program, Hall can be reached at TCA@truckload.org. 8 ALL THINGS TRUCKING News Gears Reviews Demos Rig Report How-to’s Trade Shows @truckbossshow
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