American Trucking Associations CEO Chris Spear reportedly ripped union bosses, California regulators, and ambulance-chasing lawyers for many of the woes the freight transportation industry suffers.
The ATA has been a leading voice for CDL professionals and trucking operations for nine decades. All 50 states participate, and the organization’s advocacy in Washington, D.C., has delivered its share of wins. Spear touted the ATA’s record of using hard data to prove critical points and secure policies favorable to an industry that delivers 72 percent of America’s goods and materials.
“This steady cadence of truth and common sense is what you expect of your association. It cuts directly through the rhetoric and emotion peddled by our foes: trial lawyers chasing jackpot justice, self-promoting union bosses, and delusional environmental extremists,” Spear reportedly said. “Together, they constitute a clear threat to our industry’s ability to grow and support our nation’s economic security.”
The jab at union bosses comes after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was embroiled in contentious contract negotiations with Yellow Corp. The trucking company employed 30,000 people, including 22,000 truckers. Labor strike threats and $50 million benefit demands pushed the 99-year-old trucking operation to the brink. Yellow folded, sending thousands of truckers to the unemployment line.
Personal injury lawyers have been persuading juries to hand out multi-million-dollar “nuclear verdicts” in cases involving heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Over the years, television news has effectively vilified truckers by employing the old: “If it bleeds, it leads approach.” With potential jury pools seeing truck accident wreckage on news stations, persuading jurors to punish truckers has been relatively easy.
Recent studies indicate truck accident awards hovered around a mean of $3,162,000 from 2006 to 2020. Since then, verdicts have resulted in mean awards of over 31,862,000, and trucking companies are settling cases at more than $10,608,000 to avoid courtroom litigation. The high cost of personal injury lawsuits and insurance continues to plague owner-operators and freight carriers.
Pennsylvania recently followed suit, onboarding truck emission regulations created by a non-elected California regulatory board that lacks environmental and trucking expertise. Banning the sale of diesel-fueled trucks and jacking up emissions standards are pushing the cost of new semis through the roof. Trucking outfits in Pennsylvania anticipate the price tag on a new rig will spike by 30 percent.
“Today, we stand alongside the California Trucking Association as they file suit against the California Air Resources Board… an unelected, ill-informed band of extremists who have no clue the impact their timelines and targets will have on our economy,” Spear reportedly said.
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