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Aug 4, 2017

PORT TRUCKERS' SLAVERY * USA - CONGRESSIONAL ACTIONS AGAINST

* California - Senators pressure retailers to root out “shameful” labor abuse of truckers

  (Video  USA TODAY Network investigation - See: blogspot entry)

 --- A group of high-profile Democratic Senators, led by Sherrod Brown of Ohio, wrote letters to the nation’s top retail CEOs Monday, demanding they crack down on trucking companies that turned their workers into modern-day indentured servants... The call to action comes in response to a yearlong USA TODAY Network investigation that found port trucking companies in California forced their drivers into debt, pressured them to work up to 20 hours a day and paid them pennies per hour... The investigation focused on trucking companies around Los Angeles, where two ports are responsible for about half of all imports brought into the country... In 2008, California officials ordered trucking companies at the ports to replace old big rigs with cleaner trucks. The companies pushed that cost onto drivers with a lease-to-own program, forcing many drivers to work around the clock. When they got sick or fell behind on payments, companies fired them, seizing their trucks and thousands they had paid in... Company owners deny the claims made by their drivers, arguing most drivers are successful, and those who aren’t have the freedom to quit... Weston LaBar, executive director of the Harbor Trucking Association, which represents port trucking companies, said most of the complaints so far have been “noise drummed up by the Teamsters union” ... 
Los Angeles, CAL, USA - USA TODAY, by Brett Murphy - July 31, 2017

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May 2, 2017

TRUCKERS AGAINST TAX * France - The Fillon tax: Fixes 50% tax on early retirement

* Paris - The signing of the protocol on end-of-life leave reassures the profession


--- The signing of the end of activity protocol (CFA) by Alain Vidalies, Secretary of State for Transport, prompted several reactions from the professional organizations concerned about the absence of the government Table of discussions... In the meantime, the State plans to specify the conditions for its participation in the future scheme by 30 June 2019... Its entry into force should then take place on 1 January 2021 and concern requests made after 31 December 2020... Through a joint press release, FNTR, Unostra, TLF and CSD are pleased to see companies no longer "undergo the Fillon tax (which fixes a 50% tax on early retirement, does not apply to branch agreements and therefore does not concern the CFA) on CFA, starts as of January 1 , 2018"... 
(Adobe Photo Credit - End of activity - The adoption of the government amendment would allow the social partners to calmly begin discussions on the CFA, as set out in the framework agreement of 20 April)   --  Paris, France - ActuTransport-Logistique.fr, by DIANE-ISABELLE LAUTRÉDOU - 30 April 2017

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ROAD TRANSPORT * Europe: Mobilization against social dumping

* Belgium - The ETF organized a demonstration in Brussels
--- The European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) organized a demonstration in Brussels on 26 April... A few weeks before the publication of a package of measures for road transport, the ETF says that the objective of combating social dumping is forgotten... The European Commission has promised to tackle social legislation in road transport . But according to the ETF, the account is not there, contrary to the initial promises. "DG Move is set to launch on 31 May a series of measures aimed at reducing weekly rest periods and increasing drivers' driving times, which will increase fatigue and pose a risk to safety, All road users, "the ETF said in a statement released on 24 April... The Federation of Transport Workers also states that the European Commission will not allow fair wage levels and working conditions for drivers from low-cost countries... 
Brussels, Belgium - ActuTransport-Logistique.fr, by ANNE KERRIOU - 26 April 2017

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Apr 11, 2016

TRUCKER SAYS * USA: Leave the GPS alone

* Virginia - More truck restriction signs being added
-- Truck traffic restriction signs are becoming more common throughout the region and across the state. "No Through Trucks" signs becoming more common in the area... These signs are trying to prevent truck drivers from going down roads that may not be safe... It's not only a problem for residents living on these roads, it's also a problem for truckers who often have a GPS directing them that way... The GPS system that truck drivers use can be very expensive which is why some use their phones instead... Truck driver, Aaron Taylor, who has been driving trucks for 29 years, says either way, both methods are unreliable so he navigates the old fashion way. He demonstrated why paper is better... 
(Photo: More truck restriction signs being added on Central and Southwest VA)  --  Roanoke, VA, USA - WDBJ7, by Noell Saunders - Apr 08, 2016

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Apr 4, 2016

TRUCKINGs' UNFAIR COMPETITION * France: And a lack of effective controls

* Paris - FNTR, TLF and UNOSTRA, react to Alain Vidal expressions about cabotage


-- In an interview with L’Officiel des Transporteurs, March 22, 2016, Alain Vidal expressed his opposition to any reform of cabotage rules...  A statement that caused an uproar in the ranks of three (FNTR -in english, National Federation of Road Transport-, TLF -Fédération des entreprises de Transport et Logistique de France-, UNOSTRA -Union Nationale des Organisations Syndicales des Transporteurs Routiers Automobiles-) of the four professional federations... FNTR, TLF and UNOSTRA have, by way of press release published on 29 March expressed their "amazement" before the words of Alain Vidal, Secretary of State for Transport... FNTR has made ​​one of his warhorses the reform of the cabotage rules. It's, she says, a must, a prerequisite for all measures likely to tackle head-related harm unfair competition by countries of Eastern Europe... While at the UR, as well as within the Professional Alliance of road transport, we rise against the illegal cabotage (and lack of effectiveness of controls), the FNTR is estimated that the trial problem is the current mode of operation of cabotage... They call for a reform of the cabotage rules to reduce both the legal duration (3 days instead of 5) and the number of operations. "Remove irregular cabotage, which represents only a small share of cabotage in France, will not remove the problem," can be read as the site of the FNTR, which also advocates a European regulations for less 3.5 t. ... "Today, the first cabotage contributes to unbalanced competition in Europe, to the extent that it allows companies working with social and tax costs lower, to work directly on the territories where they clearly proving to be more competitive" ... FNTR, and TLF and UNOSTRA with her, so waiting for the public authorities to support this claim to Brussels... But, Alain Vidal surprised everyone by declaring his opposition to any reform of cabotage rules... 
(Photo: A truck drives past a sign near Bayonne, France)   --  Paris, France - WK Transport et Logistique - 29 March 2016

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Mar 30, 2016

RETIRED TRUCKERS * USA: SIGNIFICANT CUTS IN PENSIONS

* Ohio - A "Pension  Rescue Plan" for members of the IBT

-- Retired truck driver John Fredritz’s pension could be cut by 53 percent, to $1,335 per month, as early as July. It is part of a “pension rescue plan” proposed by Central States Pension Fund for members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters... But for Fredritz, 66, of Carey, and for others, it feels more like being thrown under the bus... Over 400,000 other pension members would see benefits reduced.. It is a particularly bitter pill for Fredritz and over 220,000 retirees who would lose 50 to 70 percent of their pensions... He and many others gave up years of pay increases, even took pay cuts, and contributed thousands of dollars from their pay each year toward their promised pensions. Today, many of them have little savings outside of their pension benefits and Social Security... Holden would lose 66 percent of the pension benefits he contributed to and was promised for 30 years... Too the Teamsters union no longer covers retiree health insurance. At 63, Holden still must wait a couple of years before being eligible for Medicare. Health insurance and health care are costing the Holdens heavily. “That’s where it’s hitting us hard,” he said... And the proposed pension cut would be devastating...
(Photo: Teamster meeting held in Cincinnati Ohio)   --   Findlay, OH, USA - The Courier, by Lou Wilin - Mar 26th, 2016

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Feb 6, 2016

UNSAFE TRUCKING * USA: COMPLAINTS about FMCSA follow procedures

* DC - Coalition pushes Congress to block FMCSA rating proposal: "... continues to use questionable data" ...


-- A coalition of small-business groups continues to press Congress about the use of questionable data in the new plan to determine if a trucking company is too unsafe to operate... About the proposed revision to the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) rule, the groups argue that the SFD proposal violates provisions in the new highway bill, or FAST Act, passed late last year... Under the proposal, roadside inspection data does indeed play a more significant role in determining if a carrier is to be officially deemed “unfit” to operate. Essentially, a truck operator can be shut down if roadside inspection results fall below specific minimum standards. The ratings under the proposal would be updated monthly. Currently, a safety fitness determination cannot be issued without an on-site investigation by government representatives... FMCSA has emphasized that the proposal “incorporates rigorous data sufficiency standards” and would require that a significant pattern of non-compliance be documented in order for a carrier to fail a BASIC...
Washington, DC, USA - Fleet Owner, by Kevin Jones - Feb 4, 2016

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Jan 16, 2016

CALAIS TROUBLES * UK / France: "Truck drivers should change their jobs"

* England - British charity condemned for saying truck drivers who complain about refugees attacking their vehicles should 'change their jobs'

  (Video from tilestove, by Á.L. Jeddi - Published on Nov 26, 2015) 

-- "Care4Calais" founder Clare Moseley has sparked outrage among truckers. She said truckers facing intimidation in Calais should find a new job. The charity worker also said it wasn't 'the end of the world' for lorry drivers... Haulage chiefs have labelled her comments 'outrageous' and 'naive'. Richard Burnett, from the RHA, called for the camp at Calais to be moved... Care4Calais later apologised for the comments, saying it supported RHA members' right to continue driving through Calais port. 'We apologise to anyone offended by comments taken from the BBC Inside Out interview... Last month transport bosses warned drivers were facing unprecedented levels of aggression and attacks involving knives, hammers, iron bars, baseball bats and even guns. Migrants are dropping lumps of concrete from motorway bridges or threatening injury unless drivers let them inside their cabs in a desperate bid to reach Britain... Bosses say the problem is far worse in the run-up as firms transport more goods across the Channel... 
London, EN, UK - MAILONLINE, by COREY CHARLTON - 14 January 2016

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Jan 9, 2016

TRUCKERS' COMPLAINTS & PROTESTS * Russia

* Moscow - For protesting russian truckers, A Christmas far from home

  (Video from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - Jan 7, 2016: A small group of Russian truck drivers have been staging a protest at an Ikea parking lot since December 2, voicing their opposition to a new road-tax collection system which they say will drive them out of business. Their protests meant spending Orthodox Christmas at the freezing site)

 -- After dark in the frigid parking lot of an Ikea outlet north of Moscow, in the trailer of a grubby white truck heated by a generator, a dozen men are sitting in winter coats and hats watching a Soviet blockbuster on a projector... They intend to stay until spring -- or longer -- to protest a new road-tax-collection system called Platon that they say will drive them out of business... With its 10 or so parked trucks draped with banners lambasting the road tax and the state media that has largely ignored their protest action, the encampment in Khimki, 20 kilometers north of Moscow, makes for a forlorn but defiant spectacle... Alutai says he has no intention of abandoning his protest in the face of the cold temperatures that have dropped to -16 degrees Celsius. "I've already got nothing to lose," he says... Ivan Alutai, a 31-year-old trucker from Petrozavodsk, far north of Moscow, who owns his own truck and is self-employed, says that the tax will severely erode his profits. He's also angry that the payment collection system is run by a company controlled by a son of Arkady Rotenberg, an old friend and judo sparring partner of Putin... 
Khimki, North Moscow, Russia Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, by Tom Balmforth - 7 Jan 2016

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Oct 13, 2015

TRUCKERS' COMPLAINTS * USA: 'Cab sway' in Volvo VNL 780

* Florida - Couple's complaints of 'cab sway' in Volvo VNL 780 prompt NHTSA assessment

-- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking input from truckers who may have experienced excessive cab sway or lean in late-model Volvo VNL 780 vehicles that may be contributing to driver fatigue and injury or to loss of vehicle control... On Sept. 28, NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation responded to a petition for an assessment. According to ODI’s summary, three complaints received by the agency claimed both driver fatigue and loss of control due to the swaying of the cab. One driver claimed the sway was so pronounced it activated the truck’s crash avoidance system while rounding a corner on a four-lane divided highway at a speed of 40 mph. The summary states that in all cases, claims of cab sway were evident from the first day of use... Nate Seymour, a safety defect engineer with NHTSA, said the agency is in an information-gathering stage right now, and is seeking input from both Volvo engineers and other drivers who may have complaints similar to the ones reported... For its part, Volvo spokesman John Mies said the nation’s largest commercial truck maker takes customer feedback “very seriously,” and has followed up individually with customers who’ve complained about “perceived ‘cab sway’" ... 
 (Photo by Greg Grisolano - OOIDA Members Nancy and Albert Cusson)  --  Kathleen, FLA, USA - Land Line, by Greg Grisolano - 9 Oct 2015

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Aug 29, 2015

MIGRANT CRISIS * France / UK: Truckers suffer intimidation and violence - ** Austria-Hungary: 50 deaths in a truck

* England - Firms dig in for the long haul as they count cost of migrant crisis

-- Intimidation, threats of violence, spoilt goods and missed deliveries resulting in spiralling costs – all things Yorkshire drivers and haulage firms are having to deal with on an almost daily basis owing to the migrant crisis in Calais... Nidd Transport, which is based near Ripon, North Yorkshire, sends four or five trucks a night through the Eurotunnel... Its drivers have suffered intimidation by migrants in Calais and have had goods ruined by stowaways who manage to make their way into the back of lorries, and it has had to absorb significant costs of re-routing loads through northern ports to ensure customers’ needs are filled. Commercial director Steve Curtis said: “This has been going on since May" ... Over recent weeks, thousands of migrants have to attempted to get to the Channel Tunnel, and an estimated 5,000 migrants from countries including Syria, Libya and Eritrea are believed to be camped in and around the port...  The delays put on haulage firms bringing in freight from continental Europe have a knock-on effect on other Yorkshire firms... 
(Image: An estimated 5,000 migrants from countries including Syria, Libya and Eritrea camped iaround the port, to get to the Channel Tunnel)  --  Calais, France / Yorkshire, EN, UK - The Yorkshire Post - 15 August 2015


* Austria-Hungary border - Dozens of decomposing refugee bodies found in truck

-- Dozens of dead refugees have been found in the back of a lorry in Austria, in another incident in a spate tragedies involving desperate migrants embarking on the perilous journey to Europe in search of a better life... The vehicle, belonging to a food company, was parked on the hard shoulder of a highway near the eastern town of Parndorf, not far from the border with Hungary and Slovakia... The truck, with Hungarian license plates, was spotted by staff at a nearby service station who became suspicious when it had not moved for a long time, Krone newspaper reported. Police were called to the scene and made the grim discovery... Authorities said that according to an early assessment the lorry had become a 'grave' for between 20 and 50 people, believed to have died of asphyxiation... A police official told broadcaster ORF the refugees had been dead for some time, as some corpses appeared to be partially decomposed... 
(Photo by DIETER NAGL/AFP/Getty Images - Forensic officers stand in front of truck believed to contain large number of dead migrants on a motorway in Austria)  --  Parndorf, Hungary - IBT, by Umberto Bacchi - August 27, 2015

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Aug 9, 2015

TRUCKERS FIRED * South Africa: They joined the Motor Transport Workers' Union of South Africa (MTWU)

* Western Cape - Trucking company fires unionised employees



-- Six Zimbabwean men have accused a Stikland trucking company of dismissing them for having joined the Motor Transport Workers' Union of South Africa (MTWU). They accuse the company of exploitation and ill treatment, and claim they are owed pay... A disturbing aspect of this story is that the company claimed it was retrenching the workers because it was closing down at the end of July. But as far as GroundUp can tell the company is still in business...
(Photo: South African truckers on job)  --  Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa - All Africa, by Tariro Washinyira - 6 Aug 2015

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Aug 6, 2015

TRUCKERS COMPLAINT * Canada: Legal Action against Trucking Commissioner

* British Columbia - Metro Vancouver truck drivers go to court over unpaid wages


-- The labour strife continues with Metro Vancouver’s container truck drivers... Their union plans to take legal action today against B.C.’s trucking commissioner because drivers still haven’t been paid wages owed to them from an agreement signed more than a year ago... In March of last year, the truckers set up picket lines and shut down Port Metro Vancouver for nearly a month... They complained of wage undercutting and long wait lines... They eventually signed a deal with the Port and government that brought in a new rate structure... But on Tuesday, Unifor officials claim the commissioner isn’t committed to enforced those new rates, and they’ve had enough... 
(Photo)-- Vancouver, BC, Canada - News Talk 980 CKNW, by Laura Baziuk - August 04, 2015

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Jul 30, 2015

TRUCKERS' NEWS * USA: Ports' ones, supported by Long Beach Councilwoman, said “modern-day indentured servitude”

* California - Port truckers’ cause receives support from Suja Lowenthal


-- Long Beach Councilwoman, Suja Lowenthal, believes port truckers are working in conditions of “modern-day indentured servitude” ... Lowenthal made her statement Tuesday evening near the conclusion of a Tidelands and Harbor Committee study session focused on port truckers... The ongoing controversy around the harbor is over whether the more than 14,000 truck drivers who move goods between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach should be considered employees or independent contractors. In some cases, the debate has prompted truckers to go on strike... The majority of truckers work on an independent basis. The Teamsters union and other labor groups want drivers to be classified as employees, and thus able to join unions... Five years ago, independent truckers’ median earnings were nearly $29,000, Smith said. That’s lower than $35,000 in median earnings paid to employee drivers, according to her data... Harbor Trucking Association Executive Director, Weston LaBar, was the only person who spoke Tuesday in defense of the independent contractor model, had much different numbers to show...  He said the Harbor Trucking Association’s wage survey shows local employee drivers earn less than their independent counterparts... Independent drivers can earn an average of $2,650 per week, compared to $800 in weekly earnings for employee drivers. Trucking firms, he said, have lately sought to improve compensation plans for drivers who would otherwise be losing out on pay as a result of port congestion limiting the amount of turns that can make from terminals to warehouses...  
(Photo: Movement of goods through Los Angeles' Port)   --  Long Beach, CAL, USA - The Press-Telegram, by Andrew Edwards - 28 July 2015


 * Tennessee - Trucker’s heart attack is compensable

-- A long-haul truck driver’s heart attack arose out of and in the scope of his employment, the Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled... On Oct. 21, 2011, Curtis Marvel started having chest pains while securing steel coils to the back of his flatbed truck in Rose Bud, Illinois, for Roane Transportation Services L.L.C., court records show. Though Mr. Marvel planned to carry out his scheduled delivery, he had to pull over at a truck stop for help when his chest pains worsened... Paramedics ended up taking him to Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he was diagnosed with a heart attack, records show. He had a stent placed in one of his coronary arteries and spent five days in the hospital... Mr. Marvel learned he lost his job after being discharged, as Rockwood, Tennessee-based Roane Transportation decided he was “medically unable” to drive a truck, according to records. And, determining his injury wasn’t work related, Roane Transportation denied his claim for workers comp benefits... The Circuit Court of Sevier County found that Mr. Marvel’s heart attack arose out of and in the scope of his employment and that, as a result, he was permanently and totally disabled, according to records... On appeal, the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel on Thursday affirmed the circuit court’s decision, ruling in favor or Mr. Marvel... 
Nashville, TENN, USA - Business insurance, by Stephanie Goldberg - 28 July 2015

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Jun 10, 2015

ROAD WORRIERS * USA: Truckers FULL FILING and NOT FULL FILLING LAWS, at the same time

* North Carolina - Troopers ordered to catch truckers napping
-- Sleepy truck drivers who park for naps alongside interstate on-ramps can expect rude awakenings this summer from state troopers under orders to enforce an overlooked no-parking law... The first wake-up message was delivered in a May 26 “attention all truckers” memo from the Highway Patrol that focused on Interstate 77 in the western Piedmont. It spelled out a stern prohibition against parking on the shoulders, exit ramps and on-ramps of interstate highways and rest areas, and at weigh stations after hours. Col. Bill Grey, the Highway Patrol commander, called it a safety issue... Citing traffic statistics from the state Department of Transportation, Baker said parked vehicles were a factor in 101 out of the 512 deaths recorded in interstate highway crashes over the past five years... Truckers say the Highway Patrol may be missing the real safety issues raised by those naps on the freeway ramp. They stop there because they’ve run up against federal work limits – designed to reduce driver fatigue – or because they really do need some shut-eye... Hours of service rules require truckers to stop after they’ve worked 14 hours in 24, or have driven 11 of those hours. Company-employed drivers rely on their dispatchers to schedule their trips so they’ll be able to rest at a safe and legal spot, such as a truck stop. Independent drivers have more responsibility for their own schedules... So when that trooper rousts you from your nap and demands your license and registration, ask her if you can borrow her pen first... 
(Photo by Harry Lynch/News Observer - Drivers approach their semi-truck while parked in a rest area of the Truckstops of America Travel Center at the Highway 61 exit in Guilford County, NC Friday, June 5, 2015. This popular truck stop is on the busy I-40/85 interstate corridor through North Carolina) Raleigh, NC, USA - The News Observer - 8 June 2015


* California - New chassis inspection process draws complaints

-- Shipping ports throughout California have begun inspecting cargo container chassis as they leave port facilities... The process slows cargo turn times and adds a burden to truck drivers, according to one organization that represents 200 drayage companies and licensed motor carriers. A spokesman for one labor organization disagrees... One provision of the new labor contract called for container chassis to be inspected as they left ports, adding another step for truck drivers to endure after they wait to enter a port, pick up a cargo container, and leave for their freight’s destination... The Intermodal Conference of the California Trucking Association says the change is unnecessary and has added inefficiency to a delicate and important part of the economy: truckers... Couldn’t chassis be just as easily inspected on the front end of the cargo cycle before trucks are waiting to leave ports? ... 
(Photo: CIMC Intermodal Equipment Services - All chassis receive verifiable testing and inspections prior to release to customers) -- Los Angeles, CAL, USA - Land Line, by Charlie Morasch - 8 June 2015

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Jun 3, 2015

TRUCKERS COMPLAINTS * USA: Long hours may have been a likely factor

* Georgia - Truckers say working conditions likely cause for recent tragedies


-- Responding to two recent accidents involving trucks that resulted in ten deaths, a groups of local truck drivers say long hours may have been a likely factor. The drivers all work for the port as independent contractors, often making numerous short hauls day in and day out. But they say they face many issues that long haul drivers face. That includes pressure from trucking companies to haul additional loads leading to stress and tiredness. They say drivers are often trapped, in the sense that they need the money the extra loads provide... One driver, Carol Cauley says her heart goes out to the families of the victims but also to the two truck drivers in both recent accidents on I-16. She says trucking companies need to be held accountable for working conditions that have created the state that many truck drivers find themselves in today... Teamsters Local 728 representative Jerome Irwin, Sr. stood with local drivers this morning although his union does not represent them. He called on the Georgia Department of Transportation to do more to police trucking companies regarding hours worked...
(Photo: A ten ton truck in a fatal accident) -- Savannah, GA, USA - WSAV, by JoAnn Merrigan - Jun 02, 2015

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May 25, 2015

TRUCKERS' MISSCLASIFICATION at Los Angeles Ports * USA

* California - L.A. County Supervisors to consider proposal to aid port truck drivers
-- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to consider a number of actions to help truck drivers who work at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach they believe have been misclassified as independent contractors and as result have lost wages... Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas introduced a motion requiring county staff to report to the board in 60 days on program that would: Conduct outreach and workshops for truck drivers and employers; allow the county Department of Consumer and Business Affairs to conduct investigations of complaints and give advice to workers who are filing complaints; explore implementing a policy that would prohibit the county from entering into contracts with companies that have had wage law violations; and support state legislation that addresses the issue... The majority of the 16,000 truck drivers who service both ports are classified as independent contractors rather than employees and do not qualify for minimum wage, overtime pay, unemployment benefits or workers compensation, according to a report by Brian J. Stiger, director of the county’s Department of Business and Consumer Affairs. Trucking companies also can deduct business expenses from the drivers pay, such as fuel and maintenance costs... By example: Daniel Linares, a driver for Pac 9 Transportation, testified Tuesday that he had a gross income of $1,345, but after deductions taken by the company, he took home only $438. “Can you imagine working like this hauling valuable cargo?” he said... The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement ruled last year that Linares was misclassified as a independent contractor, he said...
 (Photo: San Pedro Bay, Los Angeles Port)   --   Los Angeles, CAL, USA - The Los Angeles Daily News, by Sarah Favot - 19 May 2015

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May 7, 2015

CONTROVERSIAL TV SHAW * Australia - "Struggle Street it's an attack on the working class of our country"

* New South Wales - Garbage trucks protest against SBS show Struggle Street

  (Video by Steven Lula - May 5, 2015: Garbage workers from Mt Druitt opposed to SBS' new documentary 'Struggle Street' stage a protest by blocking the entrance into SBS headquarters in Artarmon, Sydney) 

-- It was a case of "waiting for garbo" outside the SBS studios in Artarmon on Wednesday morning as an epic press pack amassed for the arrival of 10 garbage trucks and their drivers' message: "We love Mount Druitt"... Led by the mayor of Blacktown, Stephen Bali, and flanked by representatives of Unions NSW, the group demanded SBS stop its planned broadcast on Wednesday night of the documentary Struggle Street, which depicts the lives of working-class families in parts of western Sydney... Mr Bali said that, in one scene to air on Wednesday night, subjects are depicted as having bought junk food using cash they had earned from a scrap metal merchant - but the junk food had been paid for by the producers... SBS says the show must - and will - go on... Fairfax Media was briefly shown an email sent to Kellie and SBS on Tuesday night containing a list of claims and complaints about the documentary, but Cr Bali said the full list and substantiating evidence would not be made public until Thursday - assuming the program was aired as scheduled on Wednesday night... There a 54-year-old from Willmot, near Mount Druitt, said her husband was diagnosed with dementia during the six months of filming, and that the trailer had led to her 19-year-old disabled daughter being identified and bullied... "Struggle Street it's an attack on the working class of Australia"... Bali said the issue "has united the whole of Sydney" and that the garbage trucks had received hundreds of toots of support on their pilgrimage from Mount Druitt to Artarmon... Cr Bali said legal advice indicated there was no possibility of getting an injunction against the documentary going to air. But he expected some of the individual subjects of the program would seek legal advice... Lawyer George Newhouse told the Guardian Australia he was investigating the possibility of legal action, including defamation suits, on behalf of some residents... It is not the first SBS program to attract controversy; the documentary Go Back To Where You Came From explored Australians' attitudes towards refugees, and the comedy Housos poked fun at socio-economically disadvantaged families living in housing commission estates... 
Artarmon, Sydney, NSW, Australia - The Sydney Morning Herald, by Michael Koziol - May 6, 2015

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May 1, 2015

HEAVY TRUCKS BANNED * Canada - Truck drivers upset on Regina's City

* Saskatchewan - Trucking Association says there was no consultation with city


-- Not everybody is happy about the recent decision by Regina city council to ban heavy truck traffic down Dewdney Avenue in the west end of the city... Al Rosseker, Executive Director with the Saskatchewan Trucking Association (STA) said, they could have found a solution that worked for all parties... People living along the Avenue were relieved and happy to learn of council's decision. But while the change will remove headaches for residents, it will create a new set of headaches for truckers... Truck drivers will now have to take a detour coming from the city's north end. Rosseker estimates it will extend the trip by 23 kilometres, which will create even more traffic congestion... He said they understand some of the concerns raised by residents, including safety and traffic volumes. But he said the changes will have an impact on truckers too, especially when it comes to time, productivity and cost, adding some drivers are paid by the mile or by the hour... Rosseker intends to sit down and meet with the city to hopefully try and resolve this issue for truckers. The city has said it will not enforce the new rules until it has spoken directly with the STA and makes sure the trucking group fully understands the changes...
(Photo by Kevin Martel/CJME: A semi drives by people's homes on Dewdney Avenue)   --   Regina, SASK, CAN - CJME, by Kevin Martel - Apr 30, 2015

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OVERWEIGHT TRUCKS * USA - “If County Police they just sit at that road, they can make some money”

* Illinois - Trucking association accuses Will County of unfair overweight ticketing
 -- The head of the Midwest Truckers Association has alleged in a letter to the state that Will County law enforcement are targeting unsuspecting truck drivers along a section of Manhattan-Monee Road near U.S.A. Route 45 and issuing tickets in the tens of thousands of dollars... Trucking association accuses Will County of unfair overweight ticketing, “County police have figured out if they just sit at that road, they can make some money,” said Matt Wells, MTA associate director... Manhattan-Monee Road from U.S. Route 52 east to U.S. 45 serves as a “critical east-west” route for truckers, Wells said. It's a county road, but is maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation... In an April 24 letter to IDOT, Wells alleges local police have made more than $2.5 million issuing tickets to truckers caught crossing an area culvert... Truck drivers often use the road to access U.S. 45, but fewer than 1,500 feet west of U.S. 45 lies a culvert with a 15-ton weight limit. When trucks turn onto the road to gain access to U.S. 45, the first sign they see points out a 15-ton weight limit 5 miles ahead... U.S. 45 also is about 5 miles east of U.S. 52. In the same line of sight is a sign that says the road is a truck route, Wells said... “What's confusing the truckers is, 'Who in the world would [limit] a structure to 15 tons on a road that has a sign that says truck route?'” Wells said. “So everyone has logically assumed that the culvert 5 miles ahead is just past [U.S. 45] because the sign says it's a truck route and they can access U.S. 45 this way” ... Hoffmeyer said traffic sergeants often patrol the area for overweight violations due to safety concerns. IDOT is responsible for setting the weight limit on the culvert, not the sheriff's office, she said...
Manhattan, ILL, USA - The Herald News - April 29, 2015

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