The smell of desperation
Man, what I would give to be a fly on the wall at the headquarters of the American Trucking Associations.
The long-perpetuated myth of a driver shortage promulgated by the ATA is on the ropes. It’s difficult to give the pandemic any credit for something good coming out of it, but the supply chain woes have really handed some strong ammo to truckers battling against ATA’s false narrative.
And mainstream media is finally tuning in. Representatives from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, along with countless truckers, have been interviewed about disruptions to the supply chain.
The million-dollar question: Is a driver shortage part of the problem?
The resounding answer is a very loud: NO.
ATA’s stranglehold of media’s coverage that pushed the so-called driver shortage has not only slipped, but the script has been flipped.
Grab some popcorn and enjoy the show that starts on Page 14, with our coverage of mainstream media’s awakening to the fact that there is not a driver shortage.
The smell of desperation has to be intense at ATA’s headquarters.
To really underscore just how much the conversation has shifted on the ATA, turn over to Page 40.
The OOIDA Board of Directors met for their fall meeting in person since the first time the pandemic shut everything down in March 2020. The high point of the meeting was when acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Meera Joshi, joined the board for a lengthy discussion via Zoom.
Not to steal any thunder from the article, but when Joshi – who is expected to be confirmed as the next administrator of the FMCSA – starts out in her opening remarks talking about “work-life balance” for truckers, it really felt like the message is being heard. Truckers want their time to have value. They want to be treated better.
The meeting was a very honest conversation from both the board and the leadership at FMCSA. It’s a must-read.
As it seems it has been over the past couple of years, there’s no shortage of big news, and way too much to list off on here. But, if you’re looking for updates on the big infrastructure bill; AB5 and the Supreme Court case; vaccine mandate and what it means for truckers; the sunsetting of 3G and what it means for ELDs; and, and, and. Yup. We have a ton of updates that you’ll want to spend some time getting caught up on.
In closing, this issue was a little tough to put together. On Oct. 7, we lost Paul Abelson, our longtime senior technical consultant.
I had the opportunity to talk to Paul days before he died. He started the conversation, “Did you get my column OK?”
Of course we got Paul’s column just fine. He had planned on it being his last one as he had told me the December/January issue would be his final one before he retired, so I wasn’t prepared for what came next.
He told me he was in hospice care and my heart sank. My longtime friend and mentor was reaching the end of a very full life that touched so many of us. I could go on about owing my career to Paul (I really do), and things like that, but you really need to check out his last column, starting on Page 70. He has a message for all of you.
We also have a special tribute to Paul on Page 62 and Dave Sweetman shares his memories in Dashboard Confidential on Page 82. Paul was truly one-of-a kind and a special guy. He will be dearly missed. LL