Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 – With the election barely weeks behind us, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association isn’t wasting any time in educating the Obama administration on the plight of truckers and the trucking industry.

And, Monday will be a big step forward in that process.

Obama’s transition team reached out to OOIDA and asked for a meeting. Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s executive vice president, will get together with members of the transition team on Monday, Nov. 24.

The conversations will not revolve around potential picks for the Secretary of Transportation, but rather will be focused on the issues facing the trucking industry.

“What they’re most interested in hearing are the pressing concerns of the industry overall, and then of course the pressing concerns of the members of our organization,” Spencer said.

Spencer’s list of issues to address includes the cross-border program with Mexico, hours of service, loading and unloading, and transparency in trucking business transactions – just to name a few.

In addition to highlighting needed changes to existing DOT regulations and programs, Spencer is prepared to encourage the Obama administration to also focus on enforcing regulations already on the books.

As examples, Spencer said that the lumping law on the books since 1980 is not enforced at all and that brokers see very little oversight from FMCSA.

Spencer encouraged truckers to understand the importance of being in on the ground floor as policy is being developed by the administration.

“That doesn’t mean you always get what you want. You have to be right on the issues. And you have to present solutions,” Spencer said. “We’re going to present the solutions, and we’re optimistic these folks will listen.

“To put things in perspective, we’re 35 years old now with 160,000 members. That’s a lot of credibility. It’s not nearly as much as it needs to be for the segment of trucking that we represent to get the recognition it rightly deserves. But we’re getting there.”

Spencer is optimistic that strides made by the Association in legislative action on issues such as the TRUCC Act and the cross-border program will enjoy more success once the transition of power to Obama is completed.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that, for example, the issue of Mexican trucks will be looked at completely differently with the Obama administration than it has been in the past,” Spencer said. “That’s got to be positive.”

– By Jami Jones, senior editor
jami_jones@landlinemag.com