The Environmental Protection Agency partnership with the American Trucking Association for a “Greener” Tomorrow may look, … well “Green” to outsiders and paper pushers but how does it affects human beings?

Most people could care less about truckers whose job requires them to live without luxuries like daily showers and toilet facilities in order to provide comfort to everyone else. Think about that for a second. Read more…

TurboTrucker

For the 23 years I have been involved with the trucking industry, the one thing that constantly amazes me, is the complete lack of communication and understanding between those in management and the drivers whom they employ, particularly in the OTR segment of the industry.

One can pick up any number of publications in a truckstop and find advertisement after advertisement within these publications, that are placed for the sole purpose of luring people to fill empty seats. There are many carriers that place ads in all of the publications that are available to the drivers on a free basis. This is a fine thing, but I have a question to pose to each and every one of you people that you should consider. When are you going to pull your heads out of your anal orifice, and get a clue?

I have a die hard rule of thumb when it comes to those advertisement publications. If these carriers offered jobs that drivers find attractive, they wouldn’t need to advertise. You wouldn’t need a staff of people to field calls day in and day out to find qualified drivers. The drivers would come to you through word of mouth, the BEST advertisement in the world.

There are some slick advertisements out there, and it constantly amazes me at just how deceptive things have become in this industry, and it’s getting worse, instead of better. Carriers are advertising some rather fine pay-per-mile rates at first glance, but the reality is that a high per-mile pay rate means nothing if the driver is not afforded the miles per week to make it come to a decent paycheck at the end of that week, or if the calculation for those miles are diluted by out-dated methods of calculating those miles, and/or are route generated with roads that a class eight vehicle is prohibited from running. This deception can take a 40 cent per mile rate and reduce it to an actual rate in the mid to high twenties. The average difference in what a driver drives and what he is paid, today is running anywhere from 10% -15%, if he takes practical routes from point A to Point B. It’s very easy to hide behind the argument that “this is the way it has always been done”, but that’s a bit pathetic don’t you think? Far too many of you bill the customer by one standard, and pay the driver by another, and without any shame, the shorter calculated distance. Read more…

There have been a few industries which have always reigned on the side of secrecy.  The inside look into these few sectors have always remained to those within the industry itself, leaving “outsiders” to wonder  as to what these certain kind of lifestyles are really like.  Long haul trucking is one of those industries.   Recent TV shows like Ice Road Truckers have fed many viewers curiosity into another aspect of the trucking industry.

Nearly everyday on my work schedule, I will have someone walk up to me and ask a question about the “big truck” I’m driving.  Many of the general public still remain enthralled by the life of a trucker and wonder “what is it really like?” In an industry that is dominated by male drivers, add a women driver to the equation and they become even more inquisitive. Read more…

Contractors and Consumers: New Protections from Lead-based Paint Take Effect April 22; Public Info Session held in Portland, Maine on Friday, March 26

Release date: 03/23/2010

Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – March 23, 2010) – The federal deadline to make lead safety the standard of care for renovations and painting projects in pre-1978 housing is April 22, 2010.

The new EPA rule, announced in 2008 and in development for years before that, sets in place more protective work practices to limit children’s potential exposure to lead dust due to painting, repair or renovation work in older houses and buildings. Anyone receiving compensation for renovating, repairing and painting work in residences built before 1978 that disturbs painted surfaces is subject to the new Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP). Also affected by the RRP are those performing similar work on facilities occupied by children less than six years of age, such as schools and day-care centers built prior to 1978.

EPA, along with federal and state partners, is holding a public information session on the new RRP rule on Friday, March 26, 2010 in Portland, Maine, between 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
The session is free and open to the public. However, space is limited so registration is required to ensure your spot. Registration can be done on-line or in person the day of the session. The meeting will be held at Holiday Inn by the Bay, (http://innbythebay.com/) 88 Spring Street, Portland, Maine 04101 (207) 775 -2311, in the Cumberland and the Kennebec Rooms. Register online at http://www.epa.gov/region1/topics/pollutants/lead.html .

Beginning April 22, 2010, no paid job can disturb painted surfaces in pre-1978 homes or child care facilities unless (1) the firm is certified by the EPA or a state and (2) the renovator has completed training and is a certified renovator. The requirements under the rule apply to maintenance, renovation or repair activities where six square feet (about the size of a poster) or more of a painted surface is disturbed inside, or where 20 square feet or more of painted surface (about the size of a door) is disturbed on the exterior. Window replacement is also covered by the rule. The only exceptions are where paint is proven lead free or the job is smaller than six square feet. Read More…

By The Oregonian Editorial Board

January 08, 2010, 10:34AM

A study by the independent city auditor shows that Portland’s Sheltered Market Program yields little progress

The take-home message of the Portland city auditor’s latest report on the city’s use of minority contractors is simply that the city dropped the ball through a combination of bureaucratic inertia, poor execution and unclear goals.

You don’t even have to wade very deeply into the report on the city’s $13.7 million Sheltered Market Program by auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade’s staff to get the drift. Even within the program, intended to invite minority- and women-owned contractors into the process, the majority of contracting companies hired have been owned by white men. Not that there’s anything wrong with white contractors, it’s just that the program deals with just a sliver of the city’s private contracting and was specifically intended to jump-start efforts by minority and women contractors.