White House event details Trucking Action Plan, thanks drivers

April 4, 2022

Mark Schremmer

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President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg outlined the White House's Trucking Action Plan on April 4. (Photo by OOIDA staff)
President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg outlined the White House’s Trucking Action Plan on April 4. (Photo by OOIDA staff)

 

Without truck drivers, America’s economy would stop still.

President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg delivered that all-important message on Monday, April 4, during a White House event aimed at improving the nation’s supply chain and making the profession of the truck driver more attractive.

“You all literally make the economy run,” Biden said. “If you all quit, everything comes to a halt. Think about it. I’m not joking. Think about it, things would come to a literal halt.”

Buttigieg put it in perspective by reminding the public that everything around them likely needed a truck to get there.

“If you enjoyed the food you ate for breakfast, the clothes you’re wearing right now, or the device you might be using to watch this event, you can thank a truck driver for getting that to you,” he said.

In December, the administration launched a Trucking Action Plan to end supply chain woes and improve driver retention. Monday’s event provided a glimpse into what the administration has been doing in recent months as well as a roadmap to what’s coming.

“Over the last 90 days, the administration held a number of listening sessions and engagements with drivers, unions and worker centers, industry and advocates to ensure their voices and experiences are shaping future actions across key areas,” the White House said in a news release.

The plan includes efforts to make the profession more attractive to women, to protect drivers from predatory lease-purchase arrangements, to study driver compensation and detention time, and to expand truck parking.

“The best way (to improve the supply chain) is to invest in the people who make the supply chain run,” Biden said. “Trucking moves about 70% of all the goods in this country.”

Truck Leasing Task Force

The administration is also launching a task force to combat predatory lease-purchase arrangements in the industry.

The task force will review and report on common leasing arrangements that result in unanticipated debt for incoming drivers.

Detention time and compensation studies

Over the next 18 months to two years, the Department of Transportation plans to conduct studies on detention and general driver compensation.

Biden said during the event that the average driver spends more than four hours per day at shipper or receiver facilities and noted that most are not paid for that time. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has pushed for the repeal of the overtime exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act so that truck drivers can be compensated for all of their time.

Truck parking

After meeting with truck drivers and others in the industry for the past few months, the administration added the expansion of truck parking to the Trucking Action Plan.

“Lack of truck parking across the country is about more than just inconvenience. It impacts safety and retention as exhausted drivers have nowhere to rest,” the White House news release said.

Although the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law didn’t provide any direct federal funding for truck parking, the administration points out that there are programs that states can use to address the issue.

Women of Trucking Advisory Board

The administration is launching a Women of Trucking Advisory Board aimed at recruiting and retaining more women in the industry.

The board will review and report on challenges facing women drivers.

Those interested in applying, should visit FMCSA.dot.gov/wotab. E-mail questions about the advisory board to wotab@dot.gov. Applications will be accepted through Friday, April 8.

What it means for truckers

OOIDA said it is pleased the administration is taking steps toward tackling these issues but noted that more immediate and concrete actions are needed to keep truck drivers in the industry.

“The Biden Trucking Action Plan remains a mixed bag of policies intended to improve jobs and employment opportunities within the industry,” said Jay Grimes,” OOIDA’s director of federal affairs. “We applaud the administration for adding truck parking to the plan and agree that the lack of parking across the country is about more than just inconvenience.

“OOIDA is also pleased that DOT, along with other federal agencies, has started gathering information on critical issues like detention time and driver compensation. However, drivers are still waiting on meaningful measures that will help address these problems. Today’s update notes significant progress on establishing apprenticeship programs and plenty of funding to help states expedite CDLs, but we have yet to really see any substantive actions that can help keep new or current drivers in the industry long term.” LL