The American Trucking Association and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association have found themselves on opposite sides of battles on numerous occasions. Since they do occasionally find themselves fighting side by side, they normally are able to keep their disagreements civil. But if this past week has been any indication, their relationship is about to get very, very messy.
ATA CEO Chris Spear was giving the keynote address at the Nasstrac Shipper Conference and Expo. After his speech was over he was asked about OOIDA and why the two groups aren’t working together more often. It was an appropriate question as DC Velocity reports that Spear’s speech included calling for trade groups to stand together as a way to present a unified front on legislative issues.
Spear’s non-scripted response was significantly less unifying however. DC Velocity reports that Spear called OOIDA’s approaches “meaningless.” He also claimed that he and his family have received death threats from OOIDA interests, that persons affiliated with OOIDA have called in bomb threats on ATA’s headquarters, and that OOIDA interests tried claiming that one of ATA’s executive vice presidents is a child molester.
OOIDA responded, calling the accusations “patently false.” They also published a statement saying that Spear was lashing out at OOIDA with “falsehoods and misrepresentations.”
The entire statement is available below:
“Most small-business truckers – who represent the majority of motor carriers – have objected to ATA’s policies in a firm, but extremely respectful and civil manner. Mr. Spear’s suggestion that OOIDA employs questionable tactics and threatens harm on others is patently false.
“One should never doubt that OOIDA’s mission and agenda has been the same for 45 years, fighting for the rights of all truckers. We have stayed true to that under Mr. Johnston’s leadership and will continue to do so under Mr. Spencer. That representation and message is resonating now more than ever, energizing truckers across the industry to activism in the legislative and regulatory processes. Mr. Spear not only went out of his way to marginalize their concerns, but referred to them as ‘amateurs’ in the process. He doesn’t even recognize his pursuit of divisive policies and use of disparaging words have fueled the acrimony not only in our industry, but among his own members.
“It appears that as we remain committed to being the lone, loud voice representing the truckers that the ATA has little to no regard for, Mr. Spear simply feels ATA’s positions and policies are vulnerable, and he is lashing out with falsehoods and misrepresentations.”
Source: gobytrucknews, gobytrucknews, freightwaves, dcvelocity, trucker, truckersnews, thetrucker
ATA is killing the trucking industry!
ATA never stood for the little guys they only care about the money that is why werner and all the rest of the large companies are always hand in hand with ATA.
ATA is in no way for truckers interest big or small. They are government and shippers and receivers. No one stands for truckers like OOIDA.
I have said it before, Spears is hack job. He came from Hyundai Motors and brought a car mentality to the big truck league. ATA represents mega carriers and don’t give a damn about independent drivers nor Safety. Greed is his game so stay with me 5 mega carriers and STFU.
Everyone knows AtA is a joke. They are against truckers in every step. It pisses me off when I see a driver own his shirt that says proud member of ata. I’m like do u even know what they stand for. Should really research the places u pay memberships to.
ATA is a joke as far as it goes for the everyday working driver, if we don’t contribute to they’re cash cow, we don’t matter, but what’s sad is they have this administrations ear, what happened to Thrump and the small business trucker, it shows everyday with FMCSA
All anyone needs to know about these two entities, boils down to this:
ATA – American Trucking Association
…is Pro Trucking (Industry)
OOIDA – Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association ..is Pro Driver (Human)
They dont support truckers because that isnt their mission. They represent the larger industry. Thus is what they were created for. Its an adversarial relationship.
If you don’t support truckers you should just stop using everything you wear, drive and eat. Because if you got guess what a trucker has brought it to you.
ATA is a misnomer anyway. They have as much to do with trucking as Planned Parenthood
It’s all a joke both sides and it’s bad for the trucking industry
ATA are Bureaucratic Prostitutes,Bought and paid for by big company’s, Swift,CR England,JB Hunt and so on, go figure.
Most owner operators i come in contact with do not give a dam about company drivers. They seem to have for gotten thats how they started. This is the most divided and selfish industry in in America. We wonder why we do not get the respect we deserve. When we do not even give a dam about the driver you are parked next too.
The ATA has always fought for the team with the most money.
That’s why it’s called anti truckers assoc.
A.t.A needs to be shut down they are only for mega carriers. Keep fighting ooida. I am a member of ooida. Ata dont have a clue they just take the mega carriers money.
Don’t forget the butt wipe over at Maverick he’s a real ATA stooge !
I have long asked how do you wash the blood off the money? Trucking has become the domain of the uninformed, and ignorant. You can be in the industry for a lifetime and still be blissfully ignorant. It is a small wonder they are trying to make trucks roll by wire.
I think its about time we take our industry back. Shut the trucks down for three days like in 1976. Let ata and washington see and feel the outcome then maybe we can have a voice that somebody will listen to.
Need yo get rid of ELDs !!!
Tryx….Neither on of those organizations are doing anything positive for the trucking industry..It’s all just a lot of Hoopla
ATA has never been for the independents or company drivers-all for the mega carriers to save money by supporting more and more regulations, and rules that require less office personel to run their show. ATA is run by ceos’ of the megas. ATA cries safety, and we have been hearing that for years. Its a money game for the megas-period.
Ata and ooida just like lawyers..at the end of the day prosecutors and defense attorneys drink at the same bar..
ATA and OOIDA have teo different missions. ATA is representative of the Truck Carriers and OOIDA is for the Drivers, thus it is not suprising that they can be adversarial.
I am pretty sure though that no OOIDA official made any of these threat accusations.
I vote for a class action lawsuit against the ATA for false representation. “American Truckers Association” gives the false impression that they actually are the voice of truckers. We know who and why they represent but the ignorant public and our even more ignorant government don’t have a clue. If OOIDA had any quevos they would putting this out there for all to see. Hell someone fill Trump in on this and he’ll blow-up Twitter since OOIDA won’t.
The ata to the trucking industry is what aarp is to the seasoned citizen…
The A T A ain the U S and the C T A in Canada look after large trucking companies. Companies like Walmart and Loblaws in Canada belong to the C T A and when a solution to the truck drivers shortage was suggested by people inside the Fed gov and some health care workers to fix the homeless sick and injured truck drivers. These companies used the C T A and the O T A to lobby to stop improved treatment of injured or sick truck drivers and said it was not the trucking company job and it was too expensive to pay for medical care and short term housing for those with covid or other illness.