Trucking History – May 2025
May 26, 1978
“High-Ballin,’” a Canadian action comedy film about a conflict between a trucking boss and independent truckers, was released in Toronto. Directed by Peter Carter, the movie starred Jerry Reed, Peter Fonda and Helen Shaver. It’s been described as a western with trucks instead of horses. The movie was in theaters in the U.S. until Aug. 30, 1978, then premiered on television in November 1978.
May 2011
A six-year court battle ended with Karen Shank being awarded $1.17 million in a sexual harassment case against her former trainer and CRST Expedited.
The lawsuit was filed in 2006, after Shank’s complaint about her trainer’s sexual comments and unwanted touching were not addressed by the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company. According to her legal representation, Shank completed the driver training but quit after being assigned a male co-driver. “It’s been a long six years of litigating and fighting, but at the end of the day, the jury believed our client,” Elizabeth Riles, a partner with Bohbot & Riles who represented Shank, told Land Line in 2011. “They believed that CRST didn’t do what they needed to do to prevent harassment in the workplace and that they certainly didn’t do what they needed to do to protect our client from it.”
May 2015
Utilizing resources on OOIDA’s FightingForTruckers.com, members rallied and called on lawmakers in the House of Representatives to defeat an attempt to raise the amount of insurance required of motor carriers.
OOIDA issued a Call to Action on May 27, 2015, encouraging members and all truckers to take action to protect legislation halting the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s rush to raise insurance requirements. The required $750,000 minimum in 2015 covered 99.9% of all claims in truck-involved crashes, according to FMCSA’s research.
“Truckers need to tell everyone why unnecessarily increasing insurance requirements will be bad for small businesses and bad for highway safety,” OOIDA’s CTA said.
The amendment seeking to greenlight a significant increase in the insurance requirement was defeated 31-20.
May 2024
OOIDA’s Truckers For Troops military fundraising effort added an additional campaign as part of National Military Appreciation Month.
Just like the Association’s annual November campaign, during the May event, OOIDA renewals and new memberships are offered at a discount – with 10% going toward Truckers For Troops. OOIDA then matches that 10% dollar-for-dollar. Whether it’s raised in November or May, all money brought in by the campaigns goes directly to Truckers For Troops to benefit military personnel as well as veterans and organizations that support them. Learn how to get involved at OOIDA.com/Truckers-For-Troops. LL