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Oct 26, 2016

THE TRUCKER's TRUCK * Australia: The big rig of his dreams

* Queensland - Phat Cat wins Rig of the Day at LOTH

--- Laurie Williams' Phat Cat Western Star has now won two major truck show awards... Most recently, the truck was voted Rig of the Day at the Lights on the Hill Show and Shine... He said the truck worked daily in his North Queensland Truck and Machinery business carting trucks and machinery from Brisbane to North Queensland... The 4800 used to be white, since then he's stripped her back to a bare shell, had Advance Tech Autos at Coolum change the colour, add feature murals and blinged it up with the help of Rocklea Truck Electrical to the tune of $130,000... Mr Williams has rebuilt the motor and it has now done more than two million kilometres... He's been in transport for 32 years and "finally” has the truck of his dreams... "It took a long time,” he said... 
(Photo: Laurie Williams' Phat Cat took out Rig of the Day at Lights on the Hill and Truck of the Show at the ITTES invitational)  --  Brisbane, QNLD , Australia - Big Rigs, by Carly Morrissey - 20th Oct 2016

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Feb 17, 2016

TRUCKER's STORY * USA: From driver to freight brokering

* Illinois - Immigration reform and impact on logistic industry and U.S. economy


-- Matt Leszczak's story is really not much different from millions of other Americans. Immigrants have been coming to this country's shores for generations to live the American dream. Leszczak was lucky to get in to logistics in Chicago... Starting in warehousing thru dispatching to freight brokering, Leszczak always saw trucking companies struggling with drivers. With 8.2% unemployment in 2012, companies surprisingly say they've had 3 million job openings every month, according to the Labor Department, but employers are having trouble filling these positions because they can't find skilled workers to do the jobs... 200,000 jobs are for truck drivers. The median annual wage for a trucker that works for a private fleet, such as a truck driver employed by Walmart, is $73,000, according to the ATA. The Labor Department pegs the median annual salary for all truck drivers at around $40,000. To become a heavy-hauling driver one needs a CDL driver license and proper training. Some of the bigger freight forwarders will cover training and all CDL costs for new employees... The trucking companies, warehouses, and private sector in the U.S., employ an estimated 8.9 million people in trucking-related jobs; nearly 3.5 million are truck drivers... Immigration reform might help to fulfill the increasing gap in the trucking industry, help lower the cost of truck load as well as LTL freight, and improve freight delivery time... If we have immigration reform, we will have more drivers, freight estimate will be lower, the U.S. trucking industry will boost up, and cost of goods in your market will drop significantly, says Leszczak... It's a job that cannot be shipped overseas and has the potential to drive the cost of goods higher and ultimately hurt the U.S. economy... 
Chicago,ILL, USA - PRNewswire, from Matt Leszczak - Feb 16, 2016

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Jul 31, 2015

TRUCKERS' STORY * Canada & USA: The grueling life of a long-haul trucker

* Manitoba - Logging 12,000 miles a month

(Video My Trucking Life - Trip 32 Day 23 - "Back to home", by Trucker Josh)

-- Long-haul trucker Josh Giesbrecht lives a strange and solitary life, spending weeks on the road at a time while hauling cargo from point A to point B, covering vast distances on seemingly endless stretches of pavement. The 27-year-old native of Manitoba, Canada documents his trials and tribulations on YouTube, showing off his adorable dogs (Diesel and Sergeant) and his long and lonely hours on the road... I have my own rig, but I'm contracted to a company in Canada. I pull their trailers... 
... Having your own truck gives you a bit more freedom with what you can do. If you have a good, reliable truck you can make more money. You get paid more per mile – as an owner/operator, you get $1 to $1.20 per mile versus between $.35 and $.45 per mile as a company employee – but you have to take care of all the expenses like fuel, maintenance, and anything else that pops up... There's a lot more responsibility having your own truck. Anything that goes wrong is your problem... The worst thing that's gone wrong with my truck? I've gelled up before. That happened to me in Saskatchewan, above western North Dakota. I was pretty much between the cities of Yorkton and Saskatoon. There's nothing up there... Furthermore, in northern Ontario, you can have complete whiteouts where there's absolutely zero visibility. You could be driving through the mountains with half-mile cliffs on one side of you and possible falling rocks on the other, while you're trying to navigate tight corners with other trucks coming at you. If your brakes go out, you're going over the side and there's no real stopping you... All the fuel in the United States is only good to about minus 20 Fahrenheit, whereas all the fuel that's sold in Canada will stay liquid down to about minus 40... I get between six and seven miles per gallon. I have two, 150-gallon tanks, so 300 gallons total... I do 600 to 700 miles a day. I decide when I'm going to stop based on how the day goes. I figure out when I have to be at my receiver, and as long as I can get there the next day, I'll pull over if I get tired... 
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN - Popular Mechanics, by Noah Davis - July 29, 2015

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Jul 25, 2015

TRUCKERS' LIFE * Australia: some of the places you go in the bush are just spectacular

* New South Wales - Throwing away long haul for a truck with a view 
(Photo: Tumut, Australia)

-- Burnt out from years of driving interstate up the east coast, Robbie Caldwell headed for the forests... He has spent more years than he cares to remember driving up and down the east coast... More to the point, most of the 22 years of his married life were spent out on the highway... He drove for Iannelli Transport for 16 of those years, including a stint behind the wheel of a gold Kenworth T604 hauling a fridge van... Things went slowly downhill for Robbie, and he ended up in hospital. Once out of hospital he decided it was time for a change, so he went for his B-double licence... He scored a job with Monaro Logging, which harvests and hauls timber for the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales (FCNSW) in Bombala, as well as harvesting for PF Olsen in Tumut... Robbie has been with Monaro Logging for six years now. His current steed is a new Kenworth T909, one of six in the Monaro Logging fleet... Robbie says when he first started with Monaro Logging, he wasn’t sure if the job would suit him... "But I do like a bit of a challenge," he says... 



(Photography by Peter Schlenk: The Monaro trucks are kept in tip-top condition)
 ... "Anyone can drive around with a single freezer van. It was good, but some of the places you go in the bush are just spectacular. When you are out near Tumut, you can look out and see forever" ...
Bombala, NSW, Australia - Owner Driver, by Peter Schlenk - 23 July 2015

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Jul 2, 2015

TRUCKERS' TROUBLES AT BORDER * France & UK - Prisoners of the Calais mob: Three days delays in France as more than 3,400 lorries stuck in Kent

* Calais / Kent - Travellers on both sides of the channel faced serious delays due to the striking workers and migrants attempting to enter Europe


(Photo: Chaos: Around 3,400 truckers are stuck on a 23-mile stretch of the M20 in Kent which has been closed due to the French ferry strike) 
-- British lorry drivers endured a third day trapped in their cabs as migrants and strikers ran riot in Calais... In scenes haulage bosses described as ‘absolute mayhem’, the stranded truckers were yesterday forced to beg for food and water in 100F heat. One said: ‘There are no shops, no toilets, you can’t even leave your windows open in case a migrant gets in’ ... Another said his lorry had moved just 500 yards in two days. Huge traffic jams stretched almost 50 miles from Calais and Dunkirk to near the Belgian border...

(Photo: Trucker Stricken drivers, Stuart Simpson, 63, from Dartford has been stuck in the queue for the Eurotunnel in Calais for two days, and Gary Chandler -right-, 48, from Eastbourne, pictured holding supplies of food and water) 
... Gary Chandler, 48, from Eastbourne, also became stuck in the gridlock on Tuesday. The father of three said he had travelled just 500 yards in two days and was nearly out of water... The authorities in Kent handed out 2,000 bottles of water provided by Tesco and 750 snack meals on Tuesday, and another 5,000 bottles and 200 meals yesterday... Help has also been provided by the Red Cross and portable toilets have been set up along the closed stretch of the M20 where the lorries are waiting in ‘Operation Stack’... The operation is designed to allow lorries trying to make the crossing to queue... 

(Photo: Migrants check the trailer of a stationary truck during an attempt to make a crossing to England) 
... With lorries and cars gridlocked for 10 miles on the approaches into Calais, hundreds of migrants again tried to break into vehicles heading for England. Migrants crowded around lorries could be seen working together distracting drivers so others could sneak on board, while others pelted journalists and photographers with stones... A Eurotunnel spokesman said there were ‘migrants everywhere’ and that they had moved from attacking trucks to trying to access the terminal directly...
(Photo: A general view of the empty harbour of Calais. Police have warned that the Port of Calais will remain closed until Thursday)
... MyFerryLink was previously owned by Eurotunnel, the company that operates the undersea cross-Channel rail link... Eurotunnel chief executive Jacques Gounon was due to meet French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron on Friday, Mr Vercoutre added... Eurotunnel announced in May it was halting its operational partnership with MyFerryLink due to legal complications, and this month decided to sell its ferries to DFDS... The Danish ferry operator has said it plans to provide work for only 202 of the current 600 MyFerryLink workers... 
 Calais, France / Kent, UK - The Daily Mail, by ROSIE TAYLOR & and LYDIA WILLGRESS / JENNY STANTON for Mail On Line - 1 July 2015

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Jun 27, 2015

TRUCKERS' STORY, border troubles: * UK / France: Migrants & Strikes

* France - Channel Tunnel strike: Larne trucker caught up in migrant chaos

(Photo Getty Images: UK lorry drivers became easy targets after they were caught in huge tailbacks in Calais)
-- A lorry driver from County Antrim has told how migrants, desperate to get to the UK, surrounded his truck in Calais... Steven Miller from Larne is parked in a lorry park after spending Tuesday stuck on the motorway, one mile outside the French port... Travellers and lorry drivers still face long delays following the no-warning strike by French ferry workers, which halted Channel Tunnel services. Hundreds of migrants tried to board UK-bound lorries amid the chaos... Speaking to Good Morning Ulster, Steven said: "I tried to get into the tunnel this morning, but there were a lot of trucks and immigrants on the motorway"... In the past few days, Steven says he has witnessed lots of migrants attempting to get onto trucks... About 3,000 migrants are estimated to be living rough around Calais, waiting for a chance to cross the channel... 

(Photo: Striking employees of the French company MyFerryLink stand in front of tyres set on fire as they block the access to the Channel Tunnel)
... Moreover, at 03.50 (local time) on Tuesday, employees of French ferry company MyFerryLink went on strike in protest against plans to sell two of their ferries to the rival firm DFDS... The strike forced the closure of the Port of Calais... On Tuesday, Eurostar tweeted that a fire caused by striking ferry workers had damaged the track, leading to all trains being cancelled... Steven added: "Everyone is really frustrated because this is happening a lot in Calais. If there's not an immigrant problem, there's the dockers striking, or the boat company striking..." 
County Antrim, N. Ireland, UK - BBC News - 24 June 2015

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Jan 18, 2015

TRUCKERS' STORIES * USA - “Truck it Forward” initiative

* Washington - ‘Trucking it forward’ with your fellow driver

(Photo: Persilver and son) Seattle,WASH,USA -Overdrive, by Wendy Parker -January 16, 2015: -- Stephen Persilver wasn’t looking for attention when he posted this to his Facebook page on January 10... "While trukkin down westbound 70 thru Kansas last night I noticed the truck ahead of me started to swerve badly. I keyed up the radio and asked him if he was ok. “NO! I THINK I’M HAVING A HEART ATTACK!!!” Bout gave me one too. He hit the shoulder and I followed suit. Got 911 on the phone while I got into his truck and helped him lay down on his bed. I saw a bottle of Bayer and gave him a couple, asking him questions trying to keep him talking... Took medics and troopers roughly 15 minutes to arrive. By then he was doing better and the color had started to return to his face. I found his cellphone and called his wife and let her know what was going on. While medics loaded him up I talked with troopers about what had happened, then came time for them to deal with the guy’s truck. Should they impound it? One knew of a nearby ranch he could call to see if it could be parked there, but neither knew how to drive a semi. I offered to help, but only if one of them stayed back with my truck. So we got it moved, I got back to my truck and here I am totally exhausted but feeling more alive than I have in a long time. It’s one thing to witness the works of God first hand, quite another to be right smack in the middle of it” ... Stephen is a third-generation trucker, hauling a dedicated reefer load from Seattle to OKC weekly. His wife and son hold down the home fort while he’s away. He’s working to instill the values his father and grandfather taught him in his own son... It took a little convincing to get Persilver to talk about his experience. “I don’t want any recognition for doing what I should have done anyway,” he says. “The glory belongs to a higher power” ...

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Nov 24, 2014

TRUCKER'S STORY * Canada: ‘The truck comes first’

* Ontario - Owner/Operator of the Year George Sutherland built his business by running it like a business

(Picture: George Sutherland is the 2014 Owner/Operator of the Year)
Toronto,ONT,CAN -Truck News -November 20, 2014: -- He has a new one to his name. Sutherland has been named the 2014 Truck News Owner/Operator of the Year, for his industry advocacy, safe driving, willingness to help others and his business acumen. Sutherland had an interest in big trucks since childhood and decided in 1994 to obtain his A/Z licence. He went to a driving school and after about 40 hours behind the wheel, passed his driving test and was ready to embark on his new career. He applied for a job and the owner handed Sutherland the keys to a tractor hooked to a tridem trailer... Sutherland asked which driver would be accompanying him and the owner said, “You’re on your own,” he recalled. “They said ‘If you can make it back by the end of the day, no accidents, you’ve got the job.’ So off I go in this single-axle truck, no idea how heavy the load was because, you know, it didn’t really mean anything to me” ... 20 years later: ... Asked what would attract more drivers to the industry, Sutherland doesn’t hesitate. “More money,” he said. “I think that’s one of the key issues. Flexibility of home time and having a company that’s honest” ...

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Sep 5, 2014

TRUCKER AWARDED * USA

* Iowa - Firm honors trucking veteran for 3.5 million spotless miles


(Photo: Gary Teel, of Whiting, Iowa, is shown Wednesday with the new Freightliner Coronado that Weinrich Truck Line Inc. ordered to his specifications in honor of his spotless 25-year driving record with the Hinton, Iowa, company) 
Hinton,IOW,USA -The Sioux City Journal, by Tim Gallagher -September 03, 2014: -- Gary Teel emptied a load of honey at Sue Bee Honey on Wednesday morning and headed back to Weinrich Truck Line Inc., just east of Hinton... Just as he's done for 25 years, Teel completed the job with nary a scratch on his truck, or on any other motorist... The return to Weinrich this day was a bit different, however, as the company rolled out a new truck made to order by his specifications. It's his, and his alone, to drive for as long as he works for Weinrich, in recognition of his loyalty to the firm and his spotless record on the road... "Nice," said Teel, 62, as he approached the 2015 Freightliner Coronado that features a 505-HP Detroit engine, 13 speeds, air-disk brakes and more... There's a refrigerator coming, as well as a television and a microwave, if Teel wishes. The sleeper is carpeted. And, for the first time in a driving career that's covered four decades, Teel sits atop a heated seat...

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Aug 21, 2014

* UK - TRUCKER PhD: In astrophysics

* North Ireland / UK - Trucker turned astrophysicist wins NASA funding for Queen’s


(Photo courtesy Queen’s University Belfast: Truck-driver turned astrophysicist. Belfast researcher, Dr Ryan Milligan, 38, standing outside Queen’s University, hopes to better understand large solar flares) 
Belfast,N.Ireland,UK -The Irish Times -21 Aug 2014: -- A major source of funding for a collaboration between Queen’s University Belfast and NASA has just been awarded to one of Queen’s astrophysicists... When he is not truck-driving the odd week-end, Dr Ryan Milligan (38) sticks to what he now knows best, the study of large solar flares... Former HGV driver from Co Down, Ryan Milligan went to Queen’s University as a mature student, where he completed a Masters degree and a PhD in astrophysics...

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Apr 7, 2011

TRUCKERS' STORIES * WORLDWIDE

The Netherlands -Video from YouTube, by VolvoTrucks -1 April 2011: -- Dutch driver Dagmar Klink has been driving trucks for five years, and together with her husband, she runs her own transportation business. She invited Volvo trucks TV on a tour of her Volvo FH, aka the "Pink Lady" and explained why truck driving is not just a man's thing...


* Canada - Super Mario! Robert driver-humanitarian thrives in the clutch

Montreal,QBC,CAN -Today's Trucking -7 April 2011: -- On a narrow mountain pass, Robert Transport driver Mario Fortin comes across an overturned truck blocking his way...  “There’s a truck, a six-wheeler, on its side. It can’t move and I can’t get through,” he says. “But I have the right equipment and materials, and enough logistics skills to help get the truck back on its wheels” ...   In a few hours he’s on his way again...  Believe it or not, this is not an uncommon situation for Mario. Incidents like this -- rare in Canada -- happen all the time in Haiti where Mario is currently volunteering as a humanitarian worker with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)...  And every day, Mario faces new supply chain challenges as he crisscrosses the country from trouble spot to trouble spot... It’s a far cry from his career in Quebec, which pays a lot better he admits with a laugh, but doesn’t offer the kind of personal gratification that humanitarian work does...  He was working out of the Boucherville head office in January 2010 when the Haitian earthquake caused its devastation. He was allowed to go right away, no questions asked...  ("You don’t count the hours or stop when you’re tired. And it’s a great, great feeling when you’re done" – Robert driver Mario Fortin)


* USA - Schneider National Driver Marks Four Million Accident-Free Miles

Green Bay,WIS,USA –Truck Net, by dgehman -6 April 2010: -- In 1976, Mark DeSotel first got behind the wheel of a Schneider National truck and embarked on the journey toward his own remarkable achievement. He didn’t know it then, but DeSotel’s first accident-free mile would be followed by 3,999,999 million more. In late 2010, DeSotel, a resident of Fairfax, Iowa, became just the third driver in company history to hit four million consecutive, accident-free miles... Says DeSotel, “When I first hit one million miles, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. But the closer I got to four million, I started thinking that would really be something! When I learned I hit that number, I felt so good. I told myself, ‘Mission accomplished!’” ...

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Feb 23, 2011

HONORED TRUCKERS * USA - Isaiah "Ike" Hamilton with 3-million-mile Safe Driver

(Photo: Isaiah "Ike" Hamilton of Boyd Bros. Transportation: 22 years and 3 million safe miles)
Clayton,AL,USA -TruckingInfo -18 Feb 2011: -- Boyd Bros. Transportation has extended honors to 22-year veteran, Isaiah "Ike" Hamilton, staying safe on the road for more than three million miles... Hamilton's achievement, which requires having a driving record free of chargeable accidents or incidents, takes years of hard work, commitment and a solid relationship with the company... Boyd Bros., says Hamilton, threw a large celebration for his accomplishment and presented him with a bonus check...  Voted Best Fleet to Drive For in 2010 by the TCA and recognized as a Top 20 Finalist by the TCA in 2011, Boyd remains committed to addressing drivers' needs and providing a culture for drivers to build a safe and successful driving career...


* Oklahoma - OTL/UPT honors drivers’ professionalism


Oklahoma City,OK,USA -Bulk Transporter -Feb 22, 2011: -- Oklahoma Tank Lines/United Petroleum Transports has named Daniel Reid as 2010 Professional Driver of the Year, according to Greg Price, president and chief executive officer. “For more than 13 years, Daniel has been an outstanding representative for OTL/UPT and has safely logged over 1,050,000 miles,” said Price... Other drivers honored for performance were: Walter Marquez, Albuquerque; Nathan Snyder, Amarillo, TX; William Evans and Ruben Perez, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Carl Andrew and Danny Byars, Oklahoma City, OK; Luis Delgado, El Paso, TX; Tommy Johnson and Ronald Shults, Odessa, TX; Ed Norman, San Antonio, TX; and Paul Starnes, Shreveport,  LA...

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Jan 18, 2011

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * Australia - Queensland or bust: transporters fight the floods

Hundreds of trucks are either idle in the yard or stuck on the roadsides as the floodwaters close roads

(Photo from media.kansas: Tow truck workers clear vehicles from a street in Toowoomba, Australia, Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, following a flash flood)
Victoria,QLD,Australia -Transport & Logistic News -13 Jan 2011: -- Transport companies are going to extraordinary lengths to supply as much of Queensland as they possibly can, but hundreds of trucks are either idle in the yard or stuck on the roadsides as the floodwaters close roads...   The Australian Trucking Association (ATA), Queensland Trucking Association, NatRoad, ATA NSW, the Victorian Transport Association (VTA) and the Australian Livestock Transporters’ Association (ALTA) coalitioned warning transporters not to leave home. Trucking companies should not despatch trucks to south east Queensland or northern New South Wales unless they have scoped the route and know their trucks can get through safely, six of Australia’s trucking industry bodies has warned...   But many transporters are attempting circuitous routes to keep freight moving...  Supermarkets and their suppliers are trying everything to get through...  Logistics companies and retailers are sending trucks on wide swings through western Queensland, directing goods into the state from the Northern Territory rail line, and launching barges up the coast to help supply the far north with life's basics...


* Canberra - Spare a thought for transport drivers. This catastrophe has highlighted the realisation that without trucks Australia stops

Canberra,Australia -Transport &  Logistic News -17 Jan 2011:  --  The restocking of shelves, the removal of the debris, the delivery of timber and furniture, the reconstruction of roads and the supply of fuel are reliant on the Australian transport drivers – mostly family men who leave their families for weeks on end transporting the goods to rebuild the nation...  Transport drivers across the country have been vastly affected by the devastating floods that have swept the nation, but their work is expected, not appreciated or acknowledged...  Whilst some trucks have been washed away, other drivers have been stranded for days, fully laden with freight waiting to get supplies into flood affected areas at the first opportunity. Some traversing flooded roads and dangerous conditions in hope to get supplies through...  With many warehouses and transport depots flooded, their destination for unloading is unknown...  Road closures and road damage is another contributing factor to this catastrophe. Fuel stations have to have tanks pumped before petrol /diesel can be delivered. One tanker has enough diesel to fill only 35 trucks. With the refineries in Queensland closed all this has to come from interstate...  One driver was stranded for 8 days; others entered raging flood waters to save lives in the height of the devastation. Those parked up on roadsides, with up to 250 in one area, ran out of money and food, with some being flood-affected themselves, leaving their families at home to face the devastation. Drivers across the country have been stood down as there is nowhere to take the freight, whilst others are doing 21-hour trips, zigzagging across the nation to get freight to a destination that would otherwise take just seven hours...  As the flood crisis spreads to other states, there are more restrictions on freight movement and the impact is going to be even worse. Drivers do not get paid unless the wheels are turning...


* Victoria - Kings buys Forum Transport

Notting Hill,VIC,USA -Transport & Logistic News -10 Jan 2011: --  Kings Transport Logistics (Kings) has acquired Forum Transport (Forum) effective 10 January 2011...  Forum has operated out of Seven Hills, NSW, for 16 years, providing services to customers predominately in the Sydney Metropolitan area. More recently it has expanded its services across the eastern seaboard...  Forum’s identical vehicle design and fit-out, providing consistent freight movements, has been one of company’s the attractive features for Kings...  The Forum business will continue to trade as Forum Transport and work out of its Seven Hills location over the short to medium-term timeframe...


* Canberra - Fair Work works for truck drivers

Canberra,Australian Capital Territory,Australia -Transport & Logistic News -13 Jan 2011: -- Fair Work Australia has successfully pursued several transport companies, leading to truck drivers receiving significant payments.

* Victoria: Two truck drivers at Bendigo are being reimbursed more than $67,000 after an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman found they were underpaid... After Fair Work inspectors contacted the employer and explained its obligations, the company agreed to back-pay them...

* Tasmania: Two Tasmanian transport workers have been back-paid a total of $36,100 after investigations by the Fair Work Ombudsman found they were underpaid.


The Fair Work Ombudsman has a number of tools on its website - www.fairwork.gov.au - to assist employees and employers to check minimum rates of pay, including PayCheck, Payroll Check and a Pay Rate Calculator... Small to medium-sized businesses without human resources staff can also ensure they are better equipped when hiring, managing and dismissing employees by using free template employment documentation with step-by-step instructions...

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posted by Unknown @ 9:36 AM  0 comments

Sep 13, 2010

TRUCKER'S STORY * USA - Harvest truckers keep America’s crops moving to market

The season’s first work began in March ... Only in mid-December will the work finally be done

South Heart,N.D.,USA -RoadKing, by Richard Middleton -27 Aug 2010: -- Nancy Eberts is not your everyday trucker. Each year, this mother of four joins husband Myron on a six-month journey across America to ensure the country won’t run out of corn... The season’s first work began in March, when Myron left the family farm in North Dakota to make a series of journeys on his own in his Kenworth. Hauling each of the three combine harvesters as far south as Kansas, he put them at the ready for the coming season. Then, in late April, the Ebertses said goodbye to family and friends, loaded up the trucks and embarked on the 1,300-mile trip to Frederick, Okla., the traditional start of the harvest cutting season and a hive of activity as the crops ripen... The Eberts convoy has a pre-set route moving north, with a number of farms that have become regular stopping points...
The giant convoy of vehicles that snakes its way down through South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma includes everything Nancy Myron and their six-person crew will need for the coming harvest tour. Five Kenworths haul grain carts, hoppers, customized flatbed trailers and two units that serve as living quarters, while a service truck and several pick-ups are used to pull the 40- foot harvester heads... From Kiowa, Kan., the crew will head north to Turon, then Goodland. By July, the trucks and combines will have moved to Nebraska, cutting in North Platte then Martin in South Dakota. In early September, the crew will be back at the Ebertses’ farm in South Heart, N.D... But the season is far from over. More crops, including soybeans and maize will be cut near the Ebertses’ own place throughout the fall. Then the crew loads up the trucks and goes back on the road. Winter wheat will be ready for harvest in Kenmare and Valley City in North Dakota... Only in mid-December will the work finally be done. The trucks will be parked, the combines rested and the crew sent home. Just a few months later, the trucks will be back on the road and the harvest cycle will begin all over again...


* Canada - Gliding on the Ice. Fame gives an ice road trucker a chance to stretch his talents


(Video from YouTube, by jastesydlon -19 June 2009: Ice Road Truckers season 1 promo made by myself, music: Two Steps From Hell- Barrage of Noise)

Yellowknife,NWT,Canada -RoadKing -2 Sept 2010: -- Ice Road Trucker Alex Debogorski doesn’t mind hard work to earn money for his family. “You crank the organ and I’ll be the monkey,” he says. “Now I’m working on this movie star thing” ... Debogorski, a true ice road trucker for more than 26 years, has a bit of celebrity thanks the History Channel’s hit reality show Ice Road Truckers. He has proven to be a real character over the past four years of the show. His talents include writing song lyrics, including a song called “Ice Road Truckers,” and penning columns for his local paper in Yellowknife, part of the Northwest Territories of Canada... This fall an offshoot of the series that made him a star debuts. Ice Road Truckers: Himalayas brings him to India, where he trades driving on ice for sharing the road with travelers on elephants and buffalo. He says it’s another form of extreme trucking...


* California - America Out of Work: Lost his job as a driver a year ago, now is desperate for a paycheck and to live with his wife and children again

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Times, by Ronald D. White -September 12, 2010: -- Byron Gamble is no longer in the driver's seat. A 10-year employee of FedEx Corp., he lost his delivery route last year after a long absence to mend an injured back. Since then, the married father of four has watched his career and finances skid... Gamble's wife, Angela, still has her FedEx job as a shuttle driver picking up freight from local airports. But her $25,000 annual salary isn't nearly enough to keep up with the bills... The couple have spent most of the $30,000 they had saved for a down payment on a home... No longer able to afford rent, the Gambles moved out of their roomy townhome in Westchester... Relatives were willing to take them in, but none had room for a family of five. Gamble, 31, now lives with an aunt in Los Angeles. Angela and the children, the youngest of whom is 6 years old, are staying with her parents... Desperate to draw a paycheck again, Gamble sought FedEx work in other states, including Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. But the overnight delivery industry was in the throes of a downturn from which it is still recovering. FedEx didn't need him...
One thing he won't do is allow himself to be discouraged. He has too many people depending on him... Gamble recently learned that Robertson's Transport, a Rialto-based trucking company, was accepting applications... (Photo by Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times - Byron Gamble, a father of four, has been unemployed for over a year. An employee of Fed-Ex for over 10 years, Gamble was injured while working and found himself jobless after his year long recovery)

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Jul 5, 2010

TRUCKER STORIES * USA - New VIDEO / Web Series



Video from YouTube, by Trucker Steve by Whitelinefilms, originally edited 24 Jan 2009 - 26 June 2010: -- The video was captured about two months ago... This episode captures a trip that Sean Sutherland and I had across I 90 and I 94... During the trip I had multiple tire failures and breakdowns, coupled with the many near accidents we where able to avoid lets just say we where happy to see the trip completed at the end..In episode 2 there will be two new segments one of which is called "Big Rig Trucker quick tip"... The second segment will be called "Big Rig Trucker Spot light" Where I would like to show case a driver and his truck or maybe just his truck what ever he/she is comfortable with... I would like to take this time to thank a few people for making this show happen.

* Sean Sutherland is a great friend, excellent driver, a all around great guy. Thank you for making this happen brother.

* The music in this production was courtesy of Rob Anthony. I would like to thank him so very much for the use of his brilliant work. He is a huge support to all truckers, please show him some love...

* And last but not least Curtis Cross who some of you may not know but he is a pioneer in trucking content creators and one of the first "truckers" in the world to document his travels for all to enjoy.

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posted by Unknown @ 10:07 PM  0 comments

Feb 8, 2010

TRUCKER'S STORY * USA - Driver of 36 years, Vietnam Vet, plans to spend a year trucking in Iraq

"I’ll make between $170,000 to $200,000 a year — tax free ... "

Texarkana,AR,USA -The Trucker, by BARB KAMPBELL -8 Feb 2010: -- For Clarence Bush a job driving in Iraq doesn’t seem scary since he spent 1969-1974 in the military during the Vietnam War... Bush is planning to go to Iraq in August to drive for KBR and is currently undergoing a six-month background check... He explained. “It’s good money. It relieves servicemen from other duties. I’ll make between $170,000 to $200,000 a year — tax free. That’s what I was told. I survived Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos,” so this shouldn’t be too bad... According to Bush, he was in combat behind the lines and did things a “normal soldier” would not do. “They called us the Black Berets,” he added... Bush’s wife, Terri, rides with him... (Photo: Bush’s and his wife, Terri)

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posted by Unknown @ 11:10 AM  0 comments