TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Teamsters Leader Riled Up Over Open Borders For Mexican Trucks

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOHN PORRETTO, The Associated Press

Published: September 9, 2007

HOUSTON - President Bush has 'sucker-punched' American workers and threatened national security by opening the nation's southern border to Mexican truckers, Teamsters President James Hoffa said Saturday.

Speaking to the union's annual women's conference, Hoffa said the Bush administration's pilot program, which took effect Thursday, shows a lack of concern for homeland security.

'Oh, George Bush is so worried about national security,' said Hoffa, adding that his biggest problem with the program is not knowing enough about the truckers and what they are hauling.

'And they're going to be coming across that border driving all over Canada and the United States. That's his vision of America; that's not our vision,' Hoffa told about 1,000 women and guests in a downtown hotel ballroom.

The U.S. Transportation Department granted permission Thursday to Transportes Olympic, based in a suburb of Monterrey, Mexico, to haul cargo anywhere in the United States as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. In turn, Mexico granted authority to Stagecoach Cartage & Distribution of El Paso to travel anywhere in Mexico.
Government lawyers said the program is a necessary part of NAFTA and trucks enrolled in the program would meet U.S. regulations.

Hoffa said he would go to Congress this week to try to get the program halted.

'Does anybody know how all the drugs are coming into America?' he asked the gathering. 'They're going to be coming in trucks pretty soon. It's only a matter of time.'

The government says it has imposed rigorous safety protocols in the program, including drug and alcohol testing for drivers done by U.S. companies. Additionally, law enforcement officials have stepped up nationwide enforcement of a law that's been on the books since the 1970s requiring interstate truck and bus drivers to have a basic understanding of written and spoken English.

A report by the transportation department's inspector general said the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates truck safety, had made progress addressing Congress' requirements.

It also said, however, that the administration had no coordinated plans for checking trucks and drivers participating in the test program.

Canadian trucking companies already have full access to U.S. roads, but Mexican trucks can travel only about 20 miles inside the country at certain border crossings.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT