U.S. and Mexico Sign Trucking Agreement :(
#1
I see nothing good about this for American truck drivers. Or even folks who will be sharing the highway with these guys. How safe are their trucks really going to be? How qualified are the drivers? Are they even going to be English speakers in order to communicate at weigh stations and with troopers? Are they going to be held to the same high standards such as log books? Once again our workers are being forced to the lowest possible denominator by foreign workers.

Quote:WASHINGTON – Mexican truckers will be able to carry goods deep into the United States, and vice versa, under the terms of a deal signed Wednesday in Mexico City to end a 17-year-old trade dispute.

As part of the deal, Mexico will eliminate tariffs on a wide range of American goods and agricultural products as soon as the first Mexican truck is allowed to enter the United States, a process that will require approvals and permits. As a preliminary step, those tariffs will be reduced by 50 percent by the end of this week.

The United States had refused since 1994 to honor a condition of the North American Free Trade Agreement allowing trucks to carry cargo across the border to a final destination, instead prohibiting Mexican trucks from traveling further than 25 miles into the country. After more than a decade of waiting and negotiating, Mexico retaliated by imposing tariffs in 2009.

In March, President Obama and his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, reached a preliminary agreement on a compromise. The deal, signed by the secretaries of transportation from the two countries, grants truckers free range for a trial period of three years.

Business groups and farmers, who have pressed for the United States to resolve the issue, hailed Wednesday’s news as a spur to the economy. But groups representing truckers in the United States said that the deal puts their jobs at risk and that safety concerns had not been adequately addressed.

They also complained that the White House had sought to limit attention to the agreement, making no public announcement about the signing and agreeing to hold it in a foreign country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/busine...&seid=auto
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#2
(07-06-2011, 01:38 PM)Crone Wrote: I see nothing good about this for American truck drivers. Or even folks who will be sharing the highway with these guys. How safe are their trucks really going to be? How qualified are the drivers? Are they even going to be English speakers in order to communicate at weigh stations and with troopers? Are they going to be held to the same high standards such as log books? Once again our workers are being forced to the lowest possible denominator by foreign workers.

Quote:WASHINGTON – Mexican truckers will be able to carry goods deep into the United States, and vice versa, under the terms of a deal signed Wednesday in Mexico City to end a 17-year-old trade dispute.

As part of the deal, Mexico will eliminate tariffs on a wide range of American goods and agricultural products as soon as the first Mexican truck is allowed to enter the United States, a process that will require approvals and permits. As a preliminary step, those tariffs will be reduced by 50 percent by the end of this week.

The United States had refused since 1994 to honor a condition of the North American Free Trade Agreement allowing trucks to carry cargo across the border to a final destination, instead prohibiting Mexican trucks from traveling further than 25 miles into the country. After more than a decade of waiting and negotiating, Mexico retaliated by imposing tariffs in 2009.

In March, President Obama and his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, reached a preliminary agreement on a compromise. The deal, signed by the secretaries of transportation from the two countries, grants truckers free range for a trial period of three years.

Business groups and farmers, who have pressed for the United States to resolve the issue, hailed Wednesday’s news as a spur to the economy. But groups representing truckers in the United States said that the deal puts their jobs at risk and that safety concerns had not been adequately addressed.

They also complained that the White House had sought to limit attention to the agreement, making no public announcement about the signing and agreeing to hold it in a foreign country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/busine...&seid=auto

GWB tried to get this going several years ago and it got stopped. Our own Congressmann DeFazio helped to put a stop to it. I had quite a lot to say about this at the MTF forum. Back then I was far more knowledgeable about the details than I am this time.

I can say with almost 100% certainty that we will have no idea of what these truckers were up to while south of the border. You can also expect many of our country's largest carriers to open terminals in Mexico and hire Mexican drivers to run American freight. Those drivers may only get back to Mexico once or twice a year. They will work for peanuts compared to American drivers.

American trucking companies that do not follow suit will be unable to compete. Trucking will become the next "migrant worker" industry. The difference being that, perhaps, the Mexican truckers that are working here will not be spending their paychecks here or paying income taxes here.
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#3
While trucking is a fine occupation, it's kind of a waste of a good mind.
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#4
(07-06-2011, 07:50 PM)GoCometsGo Wrote: GWB tried to get this going several years ago and it got stopped. Our own Congressmann DeFazio helped to put a stop to it. I had quite a lot to say about this at the MTF forum. Back then I was far more knowledgeable about the details than I am this time.

I can say with almost 100% certainty that we will have no idea of what these truckers were up to while south of the border. You can also expect many of our country's largest carriers to open terminals in Mexico and hire Mexican drivers to run American freight. Those drivers may only get back to Mexico once or twice a year. They will work for peanuts compared to American drivers.

American trucking companies that do not follow suit will be unable to compete. Trucking will become the next "migrant worker" industry. The difference being that, perhaps, the Mexican truckers that are working here will not be spending their paychecks here or paying income taxes here.

I was hoping you'd see this, GCG. I wanted to hear your opinion. Once again, we are facing a sad day in America. I've known a few independent truckers who finally just had to give up. I don't know if you've done cross country travel, I've driven across a few times...there is a real commaraderie on the road, even with the truckers and the cars. Everyone is going as fast as possible to get somewhere and a certain rhythm is established across vast stretches in the middle of the country. More than once, especially before cellphones, I have been helped by truck drivers. I've even approached them in truck stops about weather conditions up ahead and they never steered me wrong. One truckdriver in Cheyenne, Wyoming told me the exact mile marker where the black ice had formed.

Sorry to go on and on. And while many folks poo poo on unions, this would never happen if the Teamsters were still strong. And none of this stuff lowered shipping costs to the consumer, the greedy owners just make more and more.

Hopefully, we won't be seeing Mexican log truck drivers, right?

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#5
(07-06-2011, 10:19 PM)Crone Wrote:
(07-06-2011, 07:50 PM)GoCometsGo Wrote: GWB tried to get this going several years ago and it got stopped. Our own Congressmann DeFazio helped to put a stop to it. I had quite a lot to say about this at the MTF forum. Back then I was far more knowledgeable about the details than I am this time.

I can say with almost 100% certainty that we will have no idea of what these truckers were up to while south of the border. You can also expect many of our country's largest carriers to open terminals in Mexico and hire Mexican drivers to run American freight. Those drivers may only get back to Mexico once or twice a year. They will work for peanuts compared to American drivers.

American trucking companies that do not follow suit will be unable to compete. Trucking will become the next "migrant worker" industry. The difference being that, perhaps, the Mexican truckers that are working here will not be spending their paychecks here or paying income taxes here.

I was hoping you'd see this, GCG. I wanted to hear your opinion. Once again, we are facing a sad day in America. I've known a few independent truckers who finally just had to give up. I don't know if you've done cross country travel, I've driven across a few times...there is a real commaraderie on the road, even with the truckers and the cars. Everyone is going as fast as possible to get somewhere and a certain rhythm is established across vast stretches in the middle of the country. More than once, especially before cellphones, I have been helped by truck drivers. I've even approached them in truck stops about weather conditions up ahead and they never steered me wrong. One truckdriver in Cheyenne, Wyoming told me the exact mile marker where the black ice had formed.

Sorry to go on and on. And while many folks poo poo on unions, this would never happen if the Teamsters were still strong. And none of this stuff lowered shipping costs to the consumer, the greedy owners just make more and more.

Hopefully, we won't be seeing Mexican log truck drivers, right?

Why would we have to rely on just the teamsters ? What ever happened to honoring another's picket line. This would have to do with the solidarity union movement.
In one of wonkys rants he went on about the 50's . Our political leaders are slowly subjugating us. It seems to me that we the U S citizens are being turned in to second class workers. While illegal aliens are given a free pass.

Our unions seem to provide lip service, as do the elected.

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#6
(07-06-2011, 10:52 PM)oregon 67 Wrote: Why would we have to rely on just the teamsters ? What ever happened to honoring another's picket line. This would have to do with the solidarity union movement.
In one of wonkys rants he went on about the 50's . Our political leaders are slowly subjugating us. It seems to me that we the U S citizens are being turned in to second class workers. While illegal aliens are given a free pass.

Our unions seem to provide lip service, as do the elected.

I referred to the Teamsters because they are the truck driver's union.
This is a really shoddy arrangement...Mexico put up tariffs, so the good ol' USA capitulated, as usual.
I am amazed at the lack of interest...this is going to happen to most American workers and, yes, we need solidarity, but we're too busy fighting amongst ourselves instead of unifying against the real problems.

It looks as though the NAFTA Super Highway is becoming a reality...and folks got laughed outta town over this stuff.

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#7
(07-06-2011, 10:19 PM)Crone Wrote:
(07-06-2011, 07:50 PM)GoCometsGo Wrote: GWB tried to get this going several years ago and it got stopped. Our own Congressmann DeFazio helped to put a stop to it. I had quite a lot to say about this at the MTF forum. Back then I was far more knowledgeable about the details than I am this time.

I can say with almost 100% certainty that we will have no idea of what these truckers were up to while south of the border. You can also expect many of our country's largest carriers to open terminals in Mexico and hire Mexican drivers to run American freight. Those drivers may only get back to Mexico once or twice a year. They will work for peanuts compared to American drivers.

American trucking companies that do not follow suit will be unable to compete. Trucking will become the next "migrant worker" industry. The difference being that, perhaps, the Mexican truckers that are working here will not be spending their paychecks here or paying income taxes here.

I was hoping you'd see this, GCG. I wanted to hear your opinion. Once again, we are facing a sad day in America. I've known a few independent truckers who finally just had to give up. I don't know if you've done cross country travel, I've driven across a few times...there is a real commaraderie on the road, even with the truckers and the cars. Everyone is going as fast as possible to get somewhere and a certain rhythm is established across vast stretches in the middle of the country. More than once, especially before cellphones, I have been helped by truck drivers. I've even approached them in truck stops about weather conditions up ahead and they never steered me wrong. One truckdriver in Cheyenne, Wyoming told me the exact mile marker where the black ice had formed.

Sorry to go on and on. And while many folks poo poo on unions, this would never happen if the Teamsters were still strong. And none of this stuff lowered shipping costs to the consumer, the greedy owners just make more and more.

Hopefully, we won't be seeing Mexican log truck drivers, right?

A large portion of the log truck drivers in the Eureka area are Mexican... although I do not know whether or not they are documented... I suspect that they are legal.

I have done almost every type of trucking imaginable... including cross country. You would be surprised to see how much has changed in the industry. A great many drivers are immigrants... from all over the world. The brotherhood between truckers has all but vanished.

But this cross border thing from Mexico is a game changer of an entirely different magnitude. We, as a country, stand to gain little or nothing while the large trucking companies and Mexico stand to gain the most. We already have a similar situation with Canada... but the flow of traffic goes both ways on that border. However, not many American truckers are going to want to risk their lives by going to Mexico. I know I wouldn't want to be in ANY of the major Mexican border crossing towns.
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#8
When they made me traffic manager, I fired every driver we had. And carefully hired sober looking replacements. I got just what I had fired. They switch states. They switch names. They can always find a friend. I wouldn't let them into Mexico, or out of their cells. They wrecked my trucks. They stole my stock. They stole my fuel. I decided to fire myself and leave the truckers to more capable hands.
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#9
I think they've regulated an unruly bunch since then, and I even hear bootleg fuel at truckstops is practically a thing of the past now too. But you can see just looking at them driving down the road it's not an occupation for old white guys anymore.
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#10
(07-07-2011, 03:27 AM)GoCometsGo Wrote: But this cross border thing from Mexico is a game changer of an entirely different magnitude. We, as a country, stand to gain little or nothing while the large trucking companies and Mexico stand to gain the most. We already have a similar situation with Canada... but the flow of traffic goes both ways on that border. However, not many American truckers are going to want to risk their lives by going to Mexico. I know I wouldn't want to be in ANY of the major Mexican border crossing towns.

I'm sure the Mexican truck drivers don't want to be there either! Sad
It's just so disheartening that the president of Mexico gets miffed at this or that and coerces the USA to conform to his wishes.
I realize things have changed in trucking...there's nothing like the fear one feels when looking in the rearview mirror and seeing that large grill riding your ass; this is just going to make it so much worse.
Be safe out there, GCG!
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#11
(07-07-2011, 03:27 AM)GoCometsGo Wrote: But this cross border thing from Mexico is a game changer of an entirely different magnitude. We, as a country, stand to gain little or nothing while the large trucking companies and Mexico stand to gain the most. We already have a similar situation with Canada... but the flow of traffic goes both ways on that border. However, not many American truckers are going to want to risk their lives by going to Mexico. I know I wouldn't want to be in ANY of the major Mexican border crossing towns.

I'm sure American truckers will be flocking to get those routes into Mexico. LaughingLaughingLaughing

It would be a one way trip. The Mexican truckers will be driving the American truckers back to the US...... in a casket.

Obama sold the teamsters out. Hope and Change baby!

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#12
No, sorry to disappoint you, but it was GWB having all those talks with Canada and Mexico where the press wasn't invited. They were supposedly talking about the importation of olives. Right.
In all honesty, though, I think Clinton started it.

Quote:The accord, signed in Mexico City by US and Mexican transportation officials, would end a 15-year-old controversy that on the US side featured fears of unsafe Mexican trucks barreling along US highways, driven by unprofessional Mexican truckers.

On the Mexican side, outrage over the American disregard for a NAFTA provision led to retaliatory tariffs on US goods ranging from pork to consumer care products – which cost the US as much as $2 billion in exports.

The accord was greeted warmly by US trade, farm, and business organizations – but condemned by US trucking organizations, a sign the agreement could face trouble in Congress.

Under the agreement, the US will reinstate a pilot program for Mexican truck certification that was introduced under the Bush administration – and defunded by an angry Congress in 2009. Mexico, in turn, will immediately drop half of the tariffs on about 100 US products, with the rest to be removed when Mexican trucks actually start rolling across the border.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Pol...r-conflict
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#13
(07-07-2011, 11:53 AM)Crone Wrote: No, sorry to disappoint you, but it was GWB having all those talks with Canada and Mexico where the press wasn't invited. They were supposedly talking about the importation of olives. Right.
In all honesty, though, I think Clinton started it.

Quote:The accord, signed in Mexico City by US and Mexican transportation officials, would end a 15-year-old controversy that on the US side featured fears of unsafe Mexican trucks barreling along US highways, driven by unprofessional Mexican truckers.

On the Mexican side, outrage over the American disregard for a NAFTA provision led to retaliatory tariffs on US goods ranging from pork to consumer care products – which cost the US as much as $2 billion in exports.

The accord was greeted warmly by US trade, farm, and business organizations – but condemned by US trucking organizations, a sign the agreement could face trouble in Congress.

Under the agreement, the US will reinstate a pilot program for Mexican truck certification that was introduced under the Bush administration – and defunded by an angry Congress in 2009. Mexico, in turn, will immediately drop half of the tariffs on about 100 US products, with the rest to be removed when Mexican trucks actually start rolling across the border.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Pol...r-conflict

Nafta was started under Bush #1 . Clinton signed off on the deal.

NAFTA passed the Senate 61-38. Senate supporters were 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats. Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; it went into effect on January 1, 1994.[1][2] Clinton while signing the NAFTA bill stated: "...NAFTA means jobs. American jobs, and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement."[3]

Things like this are why I feel the politicians are at war with the middle class.


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#14
(07-07-2011, 08:09 PM)oregon 67 Wrote: Nafta was started under Bush #1 . Clinton signed off on the deal.

NAFTA passed the Senate 61-38. Senate supporters were 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats. Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; it went into effect on January 1, 1994.[1][2] Clinton while signing the NAFTA bill stated: "...NAFTA means jobs. American jobs, and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement."[3]

Things like this are why I feel the politicians are at war with the middle class.

Boy howdy! True dat! [Image: buddy%20beer3.gif]

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#15
(07-07-2011, 08:20 PM)Crone Wrote:
(07-07-2011, 08:09 PM)oregon 67 Wrote: Nafta was started under Bush #1 . Clinton signed off on the deal.

NAFTA passed the Senate 61-38. Senate supporters were 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats. Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; it went into effect on January 1, 1994.[1][2] Clinton while signing the NAFTA bill stated: "...NAFTA means jobs. American jobs, and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement."[3]

Things like this are why I feel the politicians are at war with the middle class.

Boy howdy! True dat! [Image: buddy%20beer3.gif]

Maybe you missed Obama's speech today where he was urging Congress to approve more free trade agreements to "create more jobs".
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#16
The RCC trained trucker, who learned on the empty two lane, out back of Merlin? Or, the Mexican who learned on the streets of Juarez? You pick.
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#17
(07-08-2011, 12:31 PM)illcommandante Wrote: The RCC trained trucker, who learned on the empty two lane, out back of Merlin? Or, the Mexican who learned on the streets of Juarez? You pick.

I pick American...an American (whether naturalized or native born) who gets a living wage. No one really thinks things like this brings prices down, right? It just gives more profits to the trucking companies. I wonder if the Mexican truck drivers are even covered under any kind of workman's comp insurance? I highly doubt it.
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#18
(07-06-2011, 07:56 PM)PonderThis Wrote: While trucking is a fine occupation, it's kind of a waste of a good mind.
Not more so than most any other job.. Substitute "trucking" with "county road worker" or "mill worker" or "programer" or "landscaper", "politician" etc...
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#19
The closest I ever been to a think tank, wasn't at the university. It was on a loading dock in Tennessee.
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#20
(07-09-2011, 06:08 PM)illcommandante Wrote: The closest I ever been to a think tank, wasn't at the university. It was on a loading dock in Tennessee.

illcommandante, I swear, sometimes it seems as though you are a famous author, but you've never let us know who you are. Smiling
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