Obama and Mexican Trucks

[Religious Dick]

I'm generally in favor of free trade too. But I remain suspicious of supra-national trade treaties which compromise national sovereignty. It's not like this sort of thing is without precedence.

In your opinion does NAFTA do that?

Yes.

[Amianthus]

Why, because none came up when you Googled it or are you just running off at the mouth again?

Why don't *you* provide the statistics if you feel that you are correct?

[Xavier_Onassis]

A basic principle of law in this country is that one accused is innocent until proven guilty. If Mexican trucks and drivers are less safe than those who would otherwise be making those deliveries, then the person making the accusation needs to prove it.

[Christians4LessGvt]

Ya know CU if you want to put this all on Obama that is fine.
But that wouldn't be true.

BT there are almost always "roots" to every problem that lead back to others.
No politician ever really starts with a 100% clean slate do they?
That game can always be played....But Obama is President now is he not?
Do you blame Obama for anything or does he get a free pass because almost
every problem that exists today didnt begin in '08? And if he gets a pass for that
reason how come others didn't?

[Christians4LessGvt]

A basic principle of law in this country is that one accused is innocent until proven guilty. If Mexican trucks and drivers are less safe than those who would otherwise be making those deliveries, then the person making the accusation needs to prove it.

So XO you think the  AFL-CIO and the Teamsters are violating the "basic priciple of law" by their statements?

Citing the lethal danger posed by unsafe Mexican trucks, the president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, Sonny Hall, endorsed the resolution saying, "Mexico lacks a credible drug and alcohol testing program, put no limits on the length of a driver's day, and does a poor job of policing its unsafe operators -- these are not trucks and buses we want on our roads."

Mexican truckers are overworked, underpaid, unregulated and have no union. Many work seven days a week for $150-$200 and are lucky to get four hours of sleep a day, according to investigative reporter Charles Bowden, who rode with Mexican truckers while researching an article published in Teamster.

"They do runs of up to 72 hours without rest. This calls for planning. One driver rattles off the kilometer numbers for places he gets cocaine between Juarez and Mexico city," Bowden wrote.

Nearly every driver that Bowden met had been in a fatal accident -- and fled. One was carrying a 36-ton load when he fled a bus collision that killed 12. Leaving the scene of an accident is common in Mexico because everyone dreads the arrival of the police, Bowden said.

The international Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents more than 300,000 American truckers, opposed NAFTA and has spearheaded the campaign to stop unsafe Mexican trucks at the border.

"If even one unsafe truck comes across the border, it's one too many," Teamsters spokesman, Don Owens, told The SPOTLIGHT, "International trade agreements should never subvert American law."

[Amianthus]

Truck drivers operating in the US are required to obey US laws and regulations, including those requiring adequate rest time. They will also be required to obtain US issued CDLs, which require appropriate logs.

I don't see the problem.

[Christians4LessGvt]

Hoffa: "Plan to Open Border to Unsafe
Mexican Trucks Is Reckless"

General President Says Teamsters Will Vigorously Oppose Dangerous Plan

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2011

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said union members will vigorously oppose
a dangerous plan to open the border to Mexico, a country ravaged by a drug war.



The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) outlined its proposal to open the border
to Mexican trucks.

Hoffa said the Transportation Department's move shows reckless disregard for American
jobs and for public safety as well as for the stewardship of U.S. tax dollars.

"Do Transportation Department officials read the news?" Hoffa said. "In the past week,
eight people were killed in Ciudad Juarez within a half hour. A mass grave was discovered
80 miles from Brownsville, Texas, with 59 bodies in it. A federal prosecutor was kidnapped
and murdered in Durango after she'd been on the job for a week. Five men were killed in
Taxco during another kidnapping attempt.

"What is it about Mexico's drug violence that DOT doesn't understand?" Hoffa said.

"I also question whether DOT officials know that the official U.S. unemployment rate is
8.8 percent. This proposal threatens the jobs of thousands of American truck drivers
and warehouse workers along the border.

"Finally, why should Americans pay for Mexican trucking companies to take their jobs?
DOT is failing to protect taxpayers by proposing to spend scarce Highway Trust funds to put electronic on-board recorders on Mexican trucks. As if that isn't bad enough, we learn today
that United States' tax dollars are being spent to put catalytic converters on Mexican trucks.

"A government's first duty is to protect its citizens. Unfortunately, DOT is failing miserably
in that responsibility."

There is vast public support to keep the border closed and our nation's highways safe from
dangerous trucks from Mexico. Congress has voted overwhelmingly to yank funding for previous cross-border trucking programs.

The DOT proposal will be published in the Federal Register this week, triggering a 30-day
public comment period.

Founded in 1903, the Teamsters Union represents 1.4 million hardworking men and
women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Visit www.teamster.org for more information.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hoffa-plan-to-open-border-to-unsafe-mexican-trucks-is-reckless-119630469.html

[Xavier_Onassis]

I think the Teamsters are doing their job, which is defending their membership from losing work to non-members. Whether their statements are true or untrue is irrelevant, as they are basically Teamsters propaganda and should be examined by people who do not have an axe to grind.

I have driven rather a lot in Mexico. Truckers there are generally courteous to other drivers (far more so than individuals or bus drivers) and their equipment, even back in the 1970's, was in good condition and appeared to be well-maintained.

I remember that back in 1964, I was driving with my family when I noticed that there was some sort of shadow behind me, blotting out starlight and the horizon. Eventually I pulled over and stopped. It turned out that there was a family of Mexicans in an 54 Dodge following me closely because he had no lights, so he was using mine. This was in the desert north of San Luis Potosi, where the area is flat and covered with joshua trees (candelarias) and nopales. I got back in the car and drove on with this guy behind me for another hour on to Matehuala.

A lot of the northern desert is unfenced open range and farmers have a habit of hobbling their burros, tying their front feet together. But on occasion, burros would hobble onto the highway. The trucks have huge grilles welded onto the front bumpers, like cowcatchers on trains. On several occasions I have seen a semi take out a burro in the rear-view mirror, sending it flying, with the horn blaring, tires laying rubber  and smoke blasting out the stacks. The burro would go flying off the road.

[BT]

Ya know CU if you want to put this all on Obama that is fine.
But that wouldn't be true.

BT there are almost always "roots" to every problem that lead back to others.
No politician ever really starts with a 100% clean slate do they?
That game can always be played....But Obama is President now is he not?
Do you blame Obama for anything or does he get a free pass because almost
every problem that exists today didnt begin in '08? And if he gets a pass for that
reason how come others didn't?

I don't believe i have given Obama a free pass on everything. He certainly blew healthcare.

But like i said if you want to put this all on Obama, have at it. I just don't agree.