OOIDA responds to false allegations levied by ATA president

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association issued a formal statement addressing a barrage of untrue accusations made by Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations, in an article published by DC Velocity.

The article in part details what the reporter calls “an extraordinary series of comments” Spear unleashed when asked why ATA and OOIDA do not team up more on common issues.

“His voice rising in anger, Spear called OOIDA’s approaches ‘meaningless,’ referred to the group as ‘combative,’ and said he doesn’t ‘lose sleep’ over OOIDA’s mission, how it implements it, and the struggles it faces,” the article in part states.

“In an extraordinary series of comments, Spear said that he and his family have received death threats from OOIDA interests, that persons affiliated with OOIDA interests have threatened to bomb ATA’s headquarters in Arlington, Va., and that OOIDA interests have labeled an ATA executive vice president – who Spear did not identify – a child molester.”

Read the full DC Velocity article here.

OOIDA, which had not responded as of press time on the initial article, has since issued the following statement:

“Most small-business truckers – who represent the majority of motor carriers – have objected to ATA’s policies in a firm, but extremely respectful and civil manner. Mr. Spear’s suggestion that OOIDA employs questionable tactics and threatens harm on others is patently false.“One should never doubt that OOIDA’s mission and agenda has been the same for 45 years, fighting for the rights of all truckers. We have stayed true to that under Mr. Johnston’s leadership and will continue to do so under Mr. Spencer. That representation and message is resonating now more than ever, energizing truckers across the industry to activism in the legislative and regulatory processes. Mr. Spear not only went out of his way to marginalize their concerns, but referred to them as ‘amateurs’ in the process. He doesn’t even recognize his pursuit of divisive policies and use of disparaging words have fueled the acrimony not only in our industry, but among his own members.

“It appears that as we remain committed to being the lone, loud voice representing the truckers that the ATA has little to no regard for, Mr. Spear simply feels ATA’s positions and policies are vulnerable, and he is lashing out with falsehoods and misrepresentations.”