Land Line Now
In Memoriam |
I believe I am speaking for all OOIDA members and truckers everywhere in asking you to please forward our sincerest condolences to Jim Johnston and his family on the passing of his loving wife and mother of their children, Mary, I know she will be missed by all. May she rest in peace. Michael Babella |
Musical musings |
Hi Mark, My husband was listening to your program Sunday evening, Oct. 19th, and he heard a song by a Canadian country music group. He has been trying like crazy to remember the title of it, to no avail. Could you possibly help us out? It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, and keep up the great work! Lisa Ocheltree
Editor’s note: Lisa, I can get you five tunes closer to making your husband a happy trucker! The music I used in that segment was by the band “The Road Hammers” off their new album “Blood Sweat & Steel.” The individual cuts used were, in order of appearance – “Workin’ Hard At Lovin’ You,” “I’m A Road Hammer,” “Nashville Bound,” “East Bound and Down” and finally, “Overdrive.” Dave Tanner (the author of the story) say's the whole album is great - and I'd have to agree. Early Christmas present perhaps? Big thanks to you and your husband for listening to our show. Cheers, Barry Spillman
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Mexican Trucks |
Do Canadians have a dog in the Mexican cross-border trucking issue? I think so. I am sending my Prime Minister an e-mail in regards to the Mexican cross-border truckers being allowed into Canada. The only thing holding Mexican trucks back from Canada was the U.S.’s prohibition of Mexican trucks. International shippers will drop Canadian and U.S. truckers in favor of cheaper Mexican truckers. No more Northern Border business for American or Canadian Truckers. The Mexicans can legally bounce North and South on the US-Canadian Border. If that happens, I'll have to find a Mexican buyer for my rig. Yes, Canadian Truckers do have a dog in this fight! I really do NOT want my livelihood liquidated and my family taking up residence under a bridge, only to hear Mexican trucks go over that bridge. I urge all Canadian Truckers to let their elected reps and the Prime Minister know how this will affect them. John “Little John” Leistra Editor’s note: Here is the letter John wrote to his Prime Minister: Mr. Prime Minister, I hope all is well. It has been brought to my attention that the Americans may be opening their southern border to Mexican Trucks. This concerns me as a Canadian Truck Owner-Operator. If the American-Mexican border does open up to allow Mexican trucks into the United States, what will stop the poorly paid Mexican truck drivers from taking away our trucking jobs, especially the cross border trade ones? Are you willing to be responsible for destroying thousands of Canadian jobs? Please tell the President of the United States and the President of Mexico that Canadian Truckers and their families do not want to be displaced and forced into the poverty tax bracket. I also have been informed that Mexico’s driving standards are well below Canada’s. Mexico also has no central Driver’s records. Do we want to have Canada’s roads become a dangerous place with under-skilled Mexican Truck Drivers turning our highways into lanes of death and destruction? Sincerely yours, John C. Leistra
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Mexican Trucks |
I am very disappointed with the lack of effort and the seeming unwillingness to fight the disinformation on the Mexican truck program levied by many of the national news and political talk shows. As a member of OOIDA I feel like you have let us down on this. You have the ability to get the real information out to these programs to show that it’s Mexico's fault and not the American trucker. I hope that you will be making contact with these programs because telling us how wrong these people are on your radio program is good, but you are preaching to the choir. David Schmachtenberg Editor’s note: David, Believe me, we are making contact, and we are pushing the message. One of our problems is that some programs simply don't want to hear the facts, as they support cross-border trucking themselves and are not interested in broadcasting information that contradicts their point of view. I know, for example, that many of our members are regular viewers or listeners of a particular program on Fox Network. And while I certainly don't want to cast aspersions - I know many folks enjoy and admire the host, and strongly share his point of view - this program has made a decision to support cross-border trucking, and is not interested in receiving information contrary to its position. We could shout it from the rooftops and they would not respond. Remember, while you hear what I say on the radio, or what the magazine prints on the Web site, what you don't see is the efforts of our marketing, public affairs and DC staff to get the correct information out. Their activities are not publicized; they work behind the scenes to accomplish the very thing you're talking about. And believe me, they (and the rest of this association) are reaching out to those who have open minds, as are many of the folks who are our allies on this - but one thing we have discovered is, that it's never a quick process. Remember, we've been fighting to stop cross-border trucking since the early Clinton Administration, nearly 16 years ago. And we just won. We have the wherewithal to continue fighting until the job is done - no matter how long it takes - and we will not quit until it is. Thanks for your interest, and for your passion on this issue. That kind of strength is what won this fight. And it's what will win the next battle over cross-border trucking. Take care, and safe travel, Mark Reddig |
A good reputation is hard to find |
What would be great is a book containing a list of repair facilities that are reputable nationwide so that when an owner-operator breaks down, he can look up the nearest repair facility knowing that he won’t be ripped off. Ed Gallett Editor’s note: Ed, I asked Kip Hough of our Business Assistance Department - he said this: “We don't have one ourselves but I like to use www.truckdown.com, which individuals can rate the service that they received. It is a search for repair facilities within a certain area.” Hope that helps. Take care, and safe travel, Mark H. Reddig |
A silent salute |
Hi Mark! I hope everything is well in Grain Valley. Just thought I would send a comment. Yesterday I was fueling my truck at the Husky truck stop near London, Ontario. Their massive Red and White Canadian flag was at half-mast for the four Canadian soldiers who were just killed in Afghanistan. In my own way, every time I successfully cross the U.S.-Canada border and deliver a load, I feel that it is a completed mission. It silently says to our enemies: "We will not give in or abandon our friends!" Little John Editor’s note: John, Heck of a statement – and I think you have a good point. Obviously, those of us here on the home front don’t face the dangers our soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan do … but that doesn’t mean all of you in the trucks don’t face dangers or difficulties. That you are able -- in such a stressful time militarily and economically – to keep up our work to benefit our fellow citizens is a credit to truckers everywhere. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Take care, and safe travel, Mark Reddig |
In Memoriam |
I believe I am speaking for all OOIDA members and truckers everywhere in asking you to please forward our sincerest condolences to Jim Johnston and his family on the passing of his loving wife and mother of their children, Mary. I know she will be missed by all. May she rest in peace. Michael Babella |
Musical musings |
My husband was listening to your program Sunday evening, Oct. 19th, and he heard a song by a Canadian country music group. He has been trying like crazy to remember the title of it, to no avail. Could you possibly help us out? It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, and keep up the great work. Lisa Ocheltree Editor’s note:Lisa, I can get you five tunes closer to making your husband a happy trucker. The music I used in that segment was by the band “The Road Hammers” off their new album “Blood Sweat & Steel.” The individual cuts used were, in order of appearance – “Workin’ Hard At Lovin’ You,” “I’m A Road Hammer,” “Nashville Bound,” “East Bound and Down” and finally, “Overdrive.” Dave Tanner (the author of the story) says the whole album is great – and I'd have to agree. Early Christmas present perhaps? Big thanks to you and your husband for listening to our show. Cheers, Barry Spillman |
A Canadian conundrum |
I was curious as to what would happen if the Liberal Party won the upcoming Canadian federal election? The leader of the Liberals wants to cram a carbon tax into the Canadians’ craws. I fear that it may have a domino effect throughout North America. All we need is another tax to lower our standard of living. A carbon tax is just more slop for the trough. Remember, Canadians are used for political lab mice. John C. Leistra Editor’s note: John, I suppose it's possible that the Liberals could win seats in the next election, but at this point in history – and with Harper calling the election in a time of popularity – it would be a stretch for the Liberal Party to overtake him. But, as we know, unexpected things can and do happen in elections. People have a choice to vote for a tax cut or higher taxes relating to carbon and fuel. I know Canadians will vote to pay higher taxes if they view the program as a benefit to Canada and the globe. If the Liberals sell their carbon/emissions plan to the voters, they could very well pick up votes. On the other hand, tax increases are unpopular everywhere in these times. Harper's platform is to cut taxes on diesel to keep the economy flowing and provide relief. Predicting what Canadian voters will do with tax increases/decreases is difficult to pinpoint at this stage because history is always changing. As far as your comment about Canadians being used as political lab mice, I will say that it's no surprise that Canada can and does take the lead or be the guinea pig on certain programs while the rest of the continent and the world watches. I am not sure about being lab mice as much as they want what's right for the country and the globe (or what they perceive as being right). This election comes at an interesting time in history with debates over global warming and also a tightening economy. To tax or not to tax? That is the question. I hope this helps. Thanks for sharing your comments. David Tanner |
More beriatric business |
Last month, you had a driver on who had lap band surgery in Lexington, KY. I was wondering if he gave any info on where he had all this done. Thank you. Gayla Kyle Editor’s note: Gayla, that driver’s name was Kevin Raines. He says he had the surgery done at Bluegrass Beriatrics, based in Lexington, KY. The toll-free number is 1-866-992-2272. Please note this is not an endorsement of any kind, and I can’t speak to the quality of service at this company. I’m merely passing along the contact information. Terry Scruton |
A big thank you from Chance's mom |
I just want to give a big thank you to everyone who is out there encouraging us and praying for us. We couldn’t get through these hard times without all of the truckers and others pulling for us. Thank you! We love you! Jennifer Honeycutt |
Body Mass Index |
I am wondering if you have heard anything about the driver’s body mass index. (I’ve heard that) if it is over 35, then you have to have a sleep study done. Keep up the great job on XM, thanks! Mike Noble Editor’s note: Mike, yes, we’ve had stories about that. But the news is actually worse – the cutoff is 30, not 35. The good news – it’s only a proposal, in the very early stages. OOIDA has made it very, very clear they intend to fight this one. Keep an ear on the show; we’ll have updates as soon as there are new developments. Mark Reddig |
Economic ups and downs |
Dear Mark, Land Line Magazine (June ’07 issue) quotes you as saying that our economy is in shambles. While things are seldom as we like them, I will say that when I look around, we are far from shambles. We have some huge problems, but people are still buying big screen TVs and custom wheels, and driving SUVs. Danny R. Schnautz. Editor’s note: Danny, I certainly see those same people – many of them are people I know personally. But I also see a growing number of people – a more significant portion of our population than we’ve seen in many, many years – out of work, losing their homes, not buying SUVs or big screens, unsure whether they can even buy food. I know a woman who was gainfully employed at the same job for 21 years. She is now out of a job, her neighbor is out of a job, the lady three doors up is out of a job. All of them are wondering what’s next. There’s a lot of cheap hot dogs and ramen noodles at those houses right now, and none of them, to my knowledge, have either an SUV or a big screen TV. On my block alone, three houses are empty, all the result of sub-prime foreclosures. My mother lives in a fairly nice neighborhood in a moderate- to high-income suburb. Her block has four houses for sale, some of which have been on the market for more than 6 months. In the past, none would have been on the market more than a month. Let’s not even talk about the number of people in this business I’ve spoken with who are barely scraping by. I hope it’s not as bad as I think. But I’m concerned it is. Let’s hope I’m wrong – and, God willing, that you’re right. Mark H. Reddig
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Building a better mouse trap |
I tripped across this article while looking for better fuel economy. Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep have a dozen diesel models available and over half of them get 35 MPG! They are all manufactured here in the USA and all but two are shipped overseas because of the EPA regulations. How much would this help us? Who doesn’t want 35 MPG? O.J. Ammer Jr. Editor’s note: O.J., I read that article, and it was fascinating. You have to wonder, with the new ULSD, how much would it really take to get these up to standards? With that kind of increase in fuel mileage on SUVs, imagine what it would be on smaller cars. This could very well be a big part of lowering our dependence on foreign oil and lower the cost of fuel by cutting demand. Thanks for letting us know about this. Mark Reddig |
More Fuel surcharge questions |
I have been listening to the comments regarding the legislation for FSC. After hearing the actual draft read out on Friday, May 2, I noticed that there will be a missing point. I wonder, if the FSC legislation passes, what will prevent the shippers (likely at the load broker’s request) from not identifying a fuel surcharge, or fuel subsidy? By just paying a gross amount with none of the funds identified as FSC would the brokers be able to get around the new law? Russ Gawluk Editor’s note: Russ, the bill does require disclosure of any other fees – but I’d add this – why would the shipper agree to avoid paying a fuel surcharge that actually goes toward paying for fuel? That’s against their own monetary interest. Most of these shippers believe the surcharge is being used only for extra fuel costs, and only agree to pay it because of extra fuel costs. Also, if they pay a base shipping rate that’s higher, then they will still pay that rate if the fuel costs drop. If they pay a base rate and a surcharge, then if fuel costs drop, shipping costs drop. So it’s also in their interest to identify that as a surcharge. Let me go a step further – your thought seems to be that the broker has been charging the shipper an extra cost for “higher cost of fuel.” Now, the theory is that the broker will go back to the same shipper and say, “I know I said that was a fuel surcharge, but in reality, I was putting it in my pocket. How would you feel about just paying it to me straight so I can avoid paying the trucker you thought it was going to in the first place?” I don’t think that would fly. The key here is what the brokers themselves do. That is still a problem, but this bill would be a great step in the right direction. Hope that helps answer your question. Mark H. Reddig |
Government: in or out? |
I was a member of OOIDA. I joined right after purchasing my truck. I joined because I believed in the premise of your organization, but after a year, I saw that my beliefs in trucking were not the same as yours. Now, on to the point of my e-mail: this Senate bill you are trying to push through (SB2910). I do not think that this was thought out. For example: let’s say you are hauling a load for a broker, shipper, whoever. The rate of the haul is $1.50 per mile plus fuel surcharge. Now, let’s say the broker-shipper is holding 10 cents of said fuel surcharge. The bill you are pushing will make sure that they are paying the full surcharge, but that doesn’t mean the truck driver will be making more money. The broker-shipper will just say “well, the fuel surcharge is now 10 cents higher, but the rate of the load drops 10 cents.” Do you see the error in your plan? Kevin Rutherford has it right, let’s keep the government out of this industry as long as possible, rather than invite them in, and have them dictate to us what we get paid – driving the majority of owner-operators out of business, and making it that much more profitable for the big companies. If an owner-operator thinks he needs a raise, he should know what his bottom line (cents per mile) is. That way he will know if the load that is on his truck will even pay for the fuel. Kevin teaches this through his program, and also has been preaching about slowing down, and doing things to save money on his show. Now I also don’t agree with him 100 percent, but his show is a lot more realistic in the fact that he is trying to teach truck drivers to not worry about the cost that they can’t change, and to concentrate on the things they have control of. Now I still listen to your show, when you aren’t airing “truck shows” or “new music” or anything else that really has noting to do with the average truck driver. I have been driving for 18 years, and I really don’t care about who won the truck show, or how a truck driver saved a cat from jumping out of a tree. I know this little rant won’t make your airways, and if it does, I hope that it will open some of the other truck drivers’ eyes. I am not saying the idea for this bill will hurt, but I really don’t see how it is going to help either. Tony Pate Editor’s note: Tony, I guess you may not have been listening to our program after all. OOIDA was pushing truckers – in phone calls, through Calls to Action, in pamphlets and in Land Line Magazine – to know their cost of operations and to not take a load that doesn’t cover that cost. And we’ve been pushing that message constantly for years before either our show or Mr. Rutherford’s were ever on the air. We continued that message on our show – including more than 20 different programs – four of them in the past month. Many of those segments, again, ran on this show before Mr. Rutherford was ever on the air. And I give credit to Mr. Rutherford for picking up our message and running with it. If he's telling truckers to do that, he's giving them good advice. We have also stressed – on the air, in the magazine, in phone calls, etc. – not to get hung up on the fuel surcharge. If you have two loads – one is $2 per mile without a surcharge, one is $1.25 per mile plus a 50-cent surcharge – obviously you should take the $2 load. We’ve stressed over and over that the total amount you receive is what you should pay attention to. I acknowledge that we do have a greater diversity of programming than Mr. Rutherford. He is strictly a business show, we cover all the news – business, legislation, regulation, and yes, other items of a lighter nature. We try to respond to all of our listeners, and some have said they like that content. As for The TRUCC Act, it was something we had received literally thousands of phone calls about before it was introduced. The pass-through seems like simple honesty to me – the disclosure even more so. How can we object to every party to a contract actually seeing the contract? Current law calls for that, but brokers have often required truckers to travel to their home offices to see that paperwork. If the trucker’s picking up the load in Florida and the broker’s home office is in Arizona, that doesn't seem possible. I am sorry if you are no longer part of our effort to fight for the rights of truckers. With 160,000 members, we can’t have every member agree perfectly on every position the association takes. But we are the only organization out there that is actively fighting for truckers’ rights. And we will continue to do the best we can to represent all truckers – yourself included – whether they are members or not. We think that’s a fight worthy of supporting. I hope you do too – and I hope you’ll reconsider and join us. Thanks for your comments, Mark H. Reddig |
Cost of Operations |
I’m trying to find the cost of operations that was talked about on the show. On OOIS it says that I need to have the Excel program. Not everybody has that on their computer. Is there someplace else I can see the program? Larry Editor’s note: According to Kip Hough of OOIDA’s member services, you can also open the document using ZOHO, a free, online suite of programs similar to Microsoft Office. Just go to ZOHO.com and sign up for a free account. Then use the Zoho Sheet spreadsheet program to open the document. Hope this helps, Larry. Terry Scruton |
Fuel Surcharge |
Can you explain the fuel surcharge to drivers, and who is making all the money? Russell Editor’s note: Russell, I wish there was an easy answer to that question. You can be the one who is making all the money if you know how to properly implement a fuel surcharge. Without it, brokers, shippers and pretty much everyone except you will be getting more than their fair share. The fuel surcharge is a per mile fee and is based on the average price of diesel as determined by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. You can find more information on setting up a fuel surcharge here. Terry Scruton |
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