TEAMSTERS SUE TO BLOCK U.S. DOT FROM OPENING BORDER TO UNSAFE MEXICAN TRUCKS

U.S. DOT Plans To Start Pilot Program Within Next Few Months

The Teamsters have filed suit to block the U.S. Department of Transportation from opening the U.S. border to Mexican trucks through an illegal pilot program.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Public Citizen challenged the program in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The suit, filed last week, claims the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration breaks the following laws:

It waives a law that trucks must display certain proof that they meet federal safety standards.

It breaks the law requiring the pilot program to achieve an equivalent level of safety because Mexican drivers don’t have to meet the same physical requirements as U.S. drivers.

It breaks the law that Mexico must provide simultaneous and comparable access to U.S. trucks. Mexico cannot do so because of the limited availability of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel in Mexico.

It breaks the law that the pilot program must include enough participants to be statistically valid. The FMCSA’s proposal would let only the best Mexican trucks participate, which would allow it to justify letting any Mexican truck over the border in the future.

“The last thing America needs right now is a guest-worker program on wheels,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “We created zero jobs last month. Why would the Transportation Department threaten American warehouse and trucking jobs, while undermining highway safety? How can they even consider opening the border when drug violence is out of control in Mexico? DOT is sadly mistaken if it thinks this program is in America’s best interest.”

“Congress has repeatedly and overwhelmingly set stringent safety conditions for any cross-border trucking program, and this one clearly doesn’t meet those conditions,” Hoffa said.

YRC Worldwide Recognized on 2011 InformationWeek 500 List of Leading Technology Innovators

YRC Worldwide Inc. today announced that it has been named to the 2011 InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation's most innovative users of business technology. The 2011 list was revealed last night at the awards ceremony at the exclusive InformationWeek 500 Conference held in Dana Point, CA.

As part of the survey for the ranking, InformationWeek evaluated the YRC Remodeling the Mainframe Project. In March 2009, YRC Worldwide completed a merger of the Yellow and Roadway transportation networks, creating YRC. While the transportation network was unified, the information was not. YRC applications ran on separate, non-integrated mainframes, an approach that created user-access and system-management challenges. The project consolidated all mainframe applications into a single environment and integrated the capabilities, allowing YRC to manage the workload across multiple physical machines. The move to one environment required changes in the YRC physical hardware configuration and similar system-level configurations.

"It is an honor to be recognized again this year by InformationWeek," said Mike Naatz, president-customer care division and chief customer officer of YRC Worldwide. "This award is a direct reflection of our continued commitment to developing technologies to enhance our transportation network. Remodeling the Mainframe Project was an innovative way for our company to improve our IT approach, cut costs and create a beneficial new billing structure. By migrating applications, this project has encouraged employees throughout YRC to adopt new, unified work practices – and a more unified team effort that continues to grow as we move forward."

"For 23 years, the InformationWeek 500 has chronicled and honored the most innovative users of business technology," said InformationWeek Editor In Chief Rob Preston. "In this day and age, however, being innovative isn't enough. Companies and their IT organizations need to innovate faster than ever before to stay a step or two ahead of their customers, partners, and competitors. This year's ranking placed special emphasis on those high-octane business technology innovators."

ABF Celebrates Excellence During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week

ABF is celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, September 11-17, 2011, with a system-wide campaign commemorating excellence in transportation. Called, "Setting the Bar," the campaign underscores the fundamental role of transportation industry employees in building and sustaining economic growth.

"There is something to be said for setting the bar high," said ABF President and Chief Executive Officer Wes Kemp. "This campaign recognizes the hard work and continuing efforts of all ABF employees to uphold the highest standards of excellence. Our success is built on perpetual teamwork and personal attention to detail. We commend and thank ABF employees everywhere for their individual and joint contributions to the achievements of our company."

During the campaign, each ABF employee is sent a note of appreciation, and ABF service centers host special events. ABF also recognizes outstanding performance by its employees, particularly professional drivers, throughout the year. Ongoing ABF training and recognition programs are designed to help ABF employees maintain the highest standards of professionalism and become ambassadors for promoting safety and increasing public appreciation for the trucking industry.

According to the American Trucking Associations, the trucking industry includes 3.4 million professional truck drivers—one of every 19 working Americans. According to the most recent ATA statistics, the U.S. trucking industry annually hauls approximately nine billion tons of freight, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the nation's total freight tonnage. Rail, the second busiest mode, moves approximately 14 percent of the nation's annual freight tonnage. The trucking industry is a $545 billion industry, representing 82 percent of the nation's freight bill. The ATA also reports the trucking industry pays approximately $34 billion in federal and state highway taxes annually. Trucks account for 11 percent of vehicles on U.S. roads.