RE: Large truck firms sign with PortsThis development leaves the ATA looking like the pedestrian in a popular story:
As we all know pedestrians have the “right of way” when crossing any street. (Except in Quebec, and a few other municipalities, where the culture dictates that pedestrians are fair game any time they are on the roadway)
One day a man, who always crossed the street without checking for vehicles (and had many close calls), was warned by a friend that he had better pay more heed to his actions. “You better watch more closely”, he told his friend, “Or one day, you might get run over.”
The man told his friend, “Everyone knows that pedestrians have the right of way, so there are no worries.”
“Besides”, the man said, “if a driver hit me he would be in the wrong, and I’d be in the right”.
The friend told the man, “Well, you might be right… but you might be dead right”.
I am not going to judge whether the ATA has a case for their suit; they must think they have some prospect of winning, or they would not begin their action. But, with these two major companies signing onto the Clean Air Program, the ATA members might be dead right like the man in the story.
I think the time has come that the trucking companies who traditionally operated in the Port, make a final decision. They can either sign onto the program, or decide where they want to relocate their business.
From a personal point of view, it appears that the trucking companies have been taking advantage of the drivers because they are immigrants… but that’s just a personal opinion based on what I’ve read, and may not be the case… either way; the time for change has come, I hope some independent truckers can wiggle in the mix as well…