September 05, 2007
Public Citizen and the Teamsters join up!
I don't know about you, but if I was a legislator, I wouldn't be too scared of Public Citizen. Don't get me wrong, it's a great group but it's been unable to make much of an impact in recent years. However, I would be scared as hell of the Teamsters. The two forces together? Forget about it. Apparently, NAFTA is being used to force us to allow Mexican truckers to deliver goods in the US on a long haul basis, something that will severely impact safety on our highways here in Texas especially.
The suit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, maintains that the Bush administration’s pilot program, which authorizes up to 100 carriers based in Mexico to perform long-haul operations within the U.S., violates several key congressional requirements. The groups filing suit include Public Citizen; the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Sierra Club; Environmental Law Foundation; and the Brotherhood of Teamsters, Auto and Truck Drivers, Local 70. The groups filed an emergency motion asking the court to delay the pilot program before it goes into effect in a matter of days...In 2001, a NAFTA tribunal ordered the U.S. to fully open its border to Mexico-domiciled trucking companies. In response, the Bush administration said it would implement a pilot program to allow up to 100 motor carriers from Mexico full access to U.S. highways. However, the project violated U.S. laws governing the conduct of pilot programs, in addition to a 2001 congressional mandate that Mexico-domiciled trucking companies meet U.S. safety standards regarding hours of service, driver training and licensing, and vehicle safety before being allowed access to the nation’s roadways.
Congress this year held hearings examining the plan to allow trucks from Mexico to travel beyond the border zones. Lawmakers uncovered serious safety deficiencies and deemed the pilot program a sham and in violation of existing law. In response, Congress passed a measure designed to ensure that any pilot program does not circumvent safety standards or congressional oversight and that such a program is conducted within strict parameters designed to facilitate informed decision making.
On Aug. 6, the Department of Transportation Inspector General released a report finding that the system used to monitor Mexico-domiciled carrier drivers with license convictions is not yet adequate. Officials still don’t have the data necessary to identify drivers not permitted to operate on U.S. highways. Further, the system designed to ensure that Mexico-domiciled carriers comply with U.S. motor vehicle manufacturing safety standards is incomplete, and it is not clear whether the drug and alcohol testing program is functional, the inspector general found.
I'm fine with competition... just as soon as the Mexicans implement the same standards we have the in US. Failing that, I don't give a damn what a free trade tribunal says. We should not be forced to open our roads up to people and transports that haven't had to pass the same safety and environmental standards that US truckers and vehicles have to pass.
Posted by mcblogger at September 5, 2007 01:18 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.mcblogger.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/2390
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
