Teamsters Sue the Feds

WorldNetDaily reported today that the Teamsters have filed suit against the Transportation Department's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in an attempt to stop a new pilot program from taking effect. The program would open up the US highway system to Mexican trucking companies.

As WND has reported, the government will have no access to whether those truckers have any criminal records, and the system is being set up to allow those trucks loaded with goods to cross the border in as little as 15 seconds.

The action was filed Monday in federal court in California, alleging the Bush administration's program failed to publish proper, advance notice of the pilot plan and failed to allow an opportunity for public comment before the program takes effect.

The Bush administration is ignoring the American people in its zeal to open our borders to unsafe Mexican trucks," said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters general president. "This reckless pilot program must be stopped and the driving public protected."

Congress already has begun a move to close down the program, but legislation may not be quick enough, the plaintiffs said. Under a 2001 NAFTA order, the proposal, scheduled to take effect within days, authorizes up to 100 Mexico-based trucking companies to operate beyond a narrow border zone.

WND reported the Department of Transportation plans to certify the first participating Mexican trucking company as early as the end of April or the beginning of May.

Have you ever driven in Mexico? In the cities, like Tijuana and Mexicali, the "rules of the road" seem to be more like recommendations. Lanes become fluid. Alto (Stop) signs are frequently ignored (oh, wait, that's California too), and it can get downright hair-raising to drive there.

Our president wants to let really big trucks, driven by people who are accustomed to Mexican driving, onto our interstate system. Do these drivers even know that, in California anyway, they're only allowed to drive in the two right-most lanes? Are their trucks equipped with the right smog reduction and safety equipment?

Probably for the first time in my life, I actually agree with a union. I drive on the most likely highway the Mexican trucks will be using, and I'm concerned for my life.

"The Bush administration is trying to circumvent safety requirements by repackaging this plan as an illegal pilot program," Hoffa said. "Inspectors can't enforce truck safety in the United States, let alone south of the border."

I dated a guy for a while who drove box trucks (slightly smaller than semis) locally, taking wholesale plants to grocery chain warehouses. Every year the drivers had to take training on how to safely transport and handle Hazardous Materials, or they could lose their licenses. Will the Mexican drivers be taking this training before the end of April?

I'm so frustrated with President Bush's headlong rush to surgically join America and Mexico at the hip in some sort of freakish Siamese Twin Reattachment operation. This is only the latest procedure in his grand scheme.

I hope the Teamsters win. Soon!