[Cam]

So says the flyer lying in the Laundry room at Jim's Truckstop in Buffalo. It is very reminiscent of a copy of Marx's Communist Manifesto I had many years ago, the last line stated, "WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!!!

I guess this coming Monday thru Wednesday, April 23-25 are the days of truckers' protests whereby trucks will be 'slow rolling' the nations' capitol and also state capitols like Buffalo. Jim's Truckstop is the launching point for the protests here. The flyer says "WE WILL BE GETTING ON I90 DURING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC [sic] WE WILL DRIVE AS SLOW AS ALLOWED BY LAW WITHOUT GETTING TICKETS"

Among the flyer's protests:

SAY NO: to inadequate background checks for Mexican truckers I say let the soccer Moms worry about that

SAY NO: to uninsured Mexican trucks and truckers Again, I say the American public will worry about that plenty without truckers having to crusade
SAY NO: to dangerous Mexican trucks on our roads Soccer Moms've got that one
SAY NO: to loss of loads, loss of income, loss of American trucker's [sic] jobs THAT is what this whole thing is about!

SAY NO: to the loss of our sovereignty and constitutional rights Say what!?!?!

The flyer says: WHY? TO PROTEST BUSH'S NORTH AMERICAN UNION PLANS...AND ALLOWING THE FOREIGN TAKEOVER OF OUR COUNTRY . IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS MORE THAN 17,000 MEXICAN TRUCKS AND TRUCKERS WILL BE ROAMING FREE ON US ROADS.....

WHAT? "CIRCLE THE WAGONS" TO HAVE TRUCKS, & OTHERS PROTESTING TO DO A SLOW ROLLING DRIVE, BUMPER TO BUMPER, AROUND EACH STATES [sic] CAPITOL, OR TO DO A SLOW DRIVE ON THE FREEWAYS, TRUCKS AND CARS SIDE BY SIDE, ALL LANES ACROSS , TO BLOCK TRAFFIC FROM PASSING. PLEASE DRIVE WITH EXTREME CAUTION.

Looks like the organizers are at saveamericafund.org.

Well, what to say? On the one hand, the grassroots activism has a lot of appeal. On the other hand, they aren't exactly honest perhaps even with themselves about all that is happening, eg. 17,000 Mexican trucks coming in two weeks to 'dismantle' our constitution and take away our sovereignty. Should be interesting to see what kind of participation there will be. Any of you have plans to participate?

[Cam]

I had trouble with the poll question so I'll ask it down here.

QUESTION:

Do you think Rev. Vassago should get some banners and a bullhorn and go to DC on Monday representing Classadrivers.com?

YES OR NO

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by Cam

I had trouble with the poll question so I'll ask it down here.

QUESTION:

Do you think Rev. Vassago should get some banners and a bullhorn and go to DC on Monday representing Classadrivers.com?

YES OR NO

I vote no. That sounds like work. :wink:

Besides - I disagree with most of what these yahoos are whining about.

Why would it matter if these Mexican trucks are so run down? Hell - drive around Chicago and look at some of the trucks on the road.

Why would it matter if these Mexican truckers want to haul loads in the US? I thought we had a shortage of drivers? :lol:

Why would it matter if there are "inadequate background checks" for Mexican drivers? After all, look at how many people come on this message board alone with several DUI's trying to get driving jobs - many of whom eventually find one.

Why would it matter if these Mexican trucks are uninsured? A simple check at a DOT scale will solve that. Besides - I doubt there is a shipper in the country who will put a load on an uninsured truck.

These "problems" that these people claim will be caused by the introduction of Mexican trucks is an illusion. At worst, it will hurt the guys who are running for pennies on the dollar - that's about the only type of freight these Mexican drivers will be able to get.

In fact, I could counter that the introduction of Mexican trucks to our roadways could be a good thing! If the stuff they claim about these trucks and drivers is true, it will make the shippers appreciate the US carriers even more!

It's a whole lot of "the sky is falling!" hype, not unlike the new emissions regulations that these same yahoos claimed would destroy the industry, or the changes in the HOS rules that these same yahoos claimed would make it impossible to get anything delivered on time.

[Cam]

Sounds like a firm 'maybe'. I suggest a posterboard sign on the driver's side saying 'se habla espaniol' , 'viva la mexico' on the passenger's side and 'truckers are sissies' on the back of your trailer. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I wonder, is this group going it alone or is anyone else supporting them? You know, one of those XM radio truckers' shows or OOIDA or the unions or whoever? I've tried listening to truckers' programs but instead of hearing interesting things about the industry or the O/O biz all I hear is a bunch of boring talk or some country music. This is closest thing to 70's rebel trucker lore that there has been

[Dejanh]

I wonder, is this group going it alone or is anyone else supporting them? You know, one of those XM radio truckers' shows or OOIDA or the unions or whoever? I've tried listening to truckers' programs but instead of hearing interesting things about the industry or the O/O biz all I hear is a bunch of boring talk or some country music. This is closest thing to 70's rebel trucker lore that there has been

Thats why i tune them out. I was expecting more from my Sirius as far as trucking is concerned but after hearing some of the bull**** spilled there i felt sick to my stomach. Nothing but commercials for JB HUNT and everything else non-trucking related. Never did i hear anyone talk about the rates, brokers or whatever else that affects a single independent, its a shame...

[LOAD IT]

Originally Posted by Dejanh

Thats why i tune them out. I was expecting more from my Sirius as far as trucking is concerned but after hearing some of the bull**** spilled there i felt sick to my stomach. Nothing but commercials for JB HUNT and everything else non-trucking related. Never did i hear anyone talk about the rates, brokers or whatever else that affects a single independent, its a shame...

Dejanh, I'm with ya on that post. Noone wants to talk about rates and what affects the single independent. Our organization is out in MO and they give alot of good advice. I guess thats why we can come to this kind of forum and band together. There was a guy named Joe Overlease that was an advocate for the independent. He must have gone to work for JB or Swift or USX.

[GMAN]

I don't see how running on the freeway at the minimum posted speed will help anything. Are they going to have signs, media or just drive around the capital? I don't see that this is going to accomplish anything. Nobody seems to want the Mexican trucks in this country, even the Mexican equivalent of the ATA. Clinton started this mess, but everyone seems to want to blame Bush. The ones most to blame are those in Congress. NAFTA is a very one sided trade agreement where the U.S. is the loser. I wonder how much money Clinton got to push this through? It is my understanding that unless Mexican trucks are allowed in the U.S. that we will have to pay the Mexican government 2 billion dollars. If true, whoever signed that agreement for the U.S. should be held accountable. Yea, like that is going to happen. When was the last time a politician was held accountable? Whether we like it or not, the Mexicans are coming. Some of the ATA's biggest members will benefit most from this mass invasion from the South with their ownership of some of these carriers. The time to protest is pretty much passed. The time to have raised issues should have been when these crooks were attempting to implement this so called free trade agreement. I suggest starting by going to the polls on the next election and voting against everyone who is in office. These people are not held accountable for their behavior and do as they please. If the majority of Americans don't even want to be bothered to learn about the candidates and vote, then politicians will continue to do what is in their personal interests. I find it interesting that no one seems to want this to happen, but it is going to happen anyway. :?

[rebajosh]

Originally Posted by Cam

[color=red]

I guess this coming Monday thru Wednesday, April 23-25 are the days of truckers' protests whereby trucks will be 'slow rolling' the nations' capitol and also state capitols like Buffalo.

Buffalo is not the capital of NY :wink:

[Cam]

Originally Posted by rebajosh

Buffalo is not the capital of NY :wink:

Yikes! Ok, so Albany it is. It may be sad and lonely for whoever is trying to organize a protest over here at Jim's in Buffalo.

[ssoutlaw]

Give me a break!!!!!!!!