MCSAC to tackle driver retention again in December

The Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee will resume discussions about the supply chain and driver retention in December.

The committee, which is made up of industry experts and tasked with providing recommendations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, will meet via videoconference on Dec. 6-7.

Agenda

Picking up from where it left off at its July meetings, the committee will discuss “workforce skills for the motor carrier sector and identify gaps, opportunities, and potential best practices in meeting the future workforce needs and driver retention for the motor carrier industry.”

The agenda for the December meetings also includes discussions about the role of transportation systems in supporting existing supply chains and the risks associated with those systems. Supply chains and driver retention have been hot topics in the trucking industry throughout 2021. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has pushed for such things as paying drivers for detention time and ending the overtime exemption in order to keep truckers in the industry.

At the July meetings, Michael Belzer, a professor at Wayne State University and former tank truck driver, talked about the difficulties of the job and how truck drivers work long hours for low wages. Half of all truck drivers work more than 60 hours a week. Twenty percent of drivers work more than 4,000 hours per year – more than two full-time jobs.

“Off-duty drivers do not get paid for time that doesn’t belong to them,” Belzer said. “We have to put a floor under labor standards (in trucking). It simply means a foundation that everyone has to live by. Trucking should have to live by, and customers and clients should have to live by the standards everyone else has to live by. We’re going to treat you with respect because we have to pay you.”

OOIDA President Todd Spencer, who also serves on MCSAC, said truck drivers often find that the benefits are not worth the sacrifices.

“It’s not a shock that drivers want to spend more time at home,” he said. “Some drivers don’t mind being away from home for three weeks, but there’s going to be a corresponding benefit. Did you make enough money during those three weeks to have an enjoyable lifestyle for you and your family? And oftentimes the answer is ‘no.’”

Notice of the December meetings were published in the Federal Register on Friday, Nov. 5. The meetings are scheduled from 9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.

Members of the public are open to attend. FMCSA provides more information about the meetings here. LL

Land Line Digital Content Editor Greg Grisolano contributed to this report.