Obama Signs Deal to Allow Mexican Truckers Onto U.S. Highways
By Robert Oak
The Economic Populist
July 7, 2011
In yet another blow to U.S. workers, the Obama administration has signed a deal for Mexican truckers to operate inside the United States.
The news headlines all sing hallelujah over some soon to be disappearing punitive tariffs Mexico put on 99 U.S. products simply because we wouldn’t let Mexican truckers, instead of American ones, on U.S. highways.
There is no mention in the major press of the cost to American workers, the increased illegal drugs entering the country, the illegal immigrants being smuggled into the U.S., and the wages and jobs lost.
Nor is there anything mentioned about border security in the press, or even challenging Mexico for being in violation of NAFTA by their attempts to subvert U.S. labor law in the first place.
The teamsters have been fighting this tooth and nail and just came out swinging. Mexican truckers have lax safety standards and much lower wages, yet will be allowed to work in the United States, by driving on American roads, displacing U.S. truckers.
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today castigated the U.S. Department of Transportation for agreeing to open the border to long-haul Mexican trucks. Opening the border endangers America’s highway safety, border security and warehouse and trucking jobs.
Hoffa said the program is probably illegal because it grants permanent operating authority to Mexican trucks after 18 months in the so-called “pilot program” outlined in the proposed rule published in the Federal Register. Congress has not granted DOT the legal authority to do so, Hoffa said. Further, DOT would use money from the Highway Trust Fund to pay for electronic on-board recorders for Mexican trucks. Hoffa questioned whether DOT can do that legally.
“Opening the border to dangerous trucks at a time of high unemployment and rampant drug violence is a shameful abandonment of the DOT’s duty to protect American citizens from harm and to spend American tax dollars responsibly,” Hoffa said.
“This so-called pilot program is a concession to multinational corporations that send jobs to Mexico. It erodes our national security. It endangers motorists. It ignores the rampant corruption among Mexican law enforcement. It lowers wages and robs jobs from hard-working American truck drivers and warehouse workers.
“It adds insult to injury to force U.S. taxpayers to pay for monitoring equipment on Mexican trucks so Mexican carriers can take away their jobs,” Hoffa said. “The DOT shows more loyalty to the Mexican people than it does to Americans.”
Here we go, more illegal aliens, more drug wars, violence and more lost jobs. The teamsters really came out slamming. One can also imagine what Teamsters are thinking now considering they worked very hard to get Obama elected.
Since 2007, violence has worsened as drug cartels compete for trade routes to the U.S. More than 40,000 people have been killed, and kidnapping and torture are rampant.
Further, a Homeland Security incident report from Oct. 15, 2010 indicates that drug traffickers have hijacked and cloned legitimate trucks to transport illicit cargo across the border. According to the document, criminals hijacked over 10,000 commercial trucks in 2010 in Mexico.
Hoffa said DOT cannot guarantee the safety of Mexican trucks.
“Mexican trucks simply don’t meet the same standards as U.S. trucks,” he said. “Medical and physical standards for Mexican trucking firms are lower than for U.S. companies. And how can Mexico enforce highway safety laws when it can’t even control drug cartels?
“The Bush-era pilot program was a failure that shouldn’t be repeated,” Hoffa said.
The U.S. government spent $500 million on the pilot program, which began in September 2007. Only about three Mexican trucks per day traveled beyond the border zone until the program was shut down, according to the Transportation Department’s office of inspector general. The inspector general also reported that “FMCSA does not have assurance that it has checked every Mexican truck and driver … when they cross into the border in the United States.”
Of course challenging Mexico’s illegal tariffs never seemed to cross the mind of the Obama administration. Remember all of that 2008 election brew ha-ha about reforming NAFTA? A very sad day for the U.S. worker as well as national security.
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So you Americans demand the right to sell your products to anyone, anywhere without taxation, but you wont even let Mexicans drive on your roads to deliver the goods?
Apart from guns and missiles, when was the last time you saw American products in shops anywhere?
It’s been quite awhile since America has had the balls to “demand” anything friend, however if we were to sell products to Mexico (oh yeah, we do!) do you think our trucks actually deliver past the point of entry, or would want too? The chances of a big truck/trailer returning from the interior of Mexico intact is 1 in 1,000 at best.
So, why should Mexican trucks need to be allowed into the interior of America, unless there’s a hidden agenda?
Levi
America doesnt make products anymore. China does. Go to China and see if they will let your junk trucks drive on their roads.
for an idiot that doesnt drive a truck you got alot of balls or a huge amount of stupidity to even make a comment like you did about mexican trucks on U.S highways. Im a professional driver so is my wife and the rest of my family and my friends. It is almost unreal how stupid you are when you dont know about D.O.T regulation highway saftey and the saftey of other motorist on the highway into account before you speak. I have spent alot of time in elpaso tx laredo tx nogales az phoenix az tuscon az sandiego ca and other border cities and towns and the border mexicans are nothing but stupid illiterate trash with junk trucks no common sense no idea of U.S highways and signs and there is alot of drug trafficking, killing, robbing, and illegal immigrants being smuggled in taking away from intelligent legal mexican immigrants and other U.S citizens. So for your sake shut your stupid
p.o.s mouth karmakaze
Obama is a tool.
Unions stabbed US workers in the back for years but I agree with Hoffa on this one. Maybe there is hope for them yet.
YES… I was waiting for this, you know that a deal this big didnt get created out of thin air. This is an inside deal for more gun and drug running… oh yaa its just a truckers deals… HA HA.! Forget it america your the Titanic and you have hit the iceberg, go ahead with your ceiling debt, lack of positive direction and run for the life boats, oh oops theres only room for the wealthy.
Hoffa, Jr. endorsed Barack Hussein Sotero for Prez. Hoffa is scum. Under Hoffa, the Pension Funds have crashed, the remaining LTL corps order him around like a puppet. He let UPS pull its pension out of the Pension Fund and go private. He hasn’t organized anything except low-paid crap jobs. No FedEx, nothing of significance.
Send Hoffa to Mexico!
Yeah, after the free ride (paid for by our dues) for the civil rights of illegal aliens I was DONE DONE DONE. For me that was the last straw, yet my union co-workers thought I was a fanatic. For the record, the shenanigans of my union cured me of thinking my participation in the US version of the democratic process has any value whatsoever. THAT is the union legacy.
Revolution is the Solution!
I don’t hate Mexicans and I hold a moderate (not extremist) view on illegal immigration. However I think this is either an extremely stupid idea. Not only does it kill American jobs at a time when American jobs are very hard to find, but it gives terrorists a much easier “in” to the United States. Think about what could be hidden aboard a large truck! Everyone should be outraged about this, and let the White House know!!
Sorry, typo.. I meant to say “this is an extremely stupid idea”.
What is this all about, lets get back to the real news that really concerns us, Casey Anthony and how much time she is going to get or not get. ((REALLY)) The next thing you know they will be distracting us with the ilegal wars we are in, wallstreet fraud, the selling out of the middle class or something stupic like that.
Look at caseyanthonypics.com there you can see what a real whore and great mother she was.
I remember when then President Bush was pushing the pilot program; the same arguments against it then are even more valid now. The American Dream has been re-scripted for wider audience appeal. Welcome to the American Nightmare, now playing in all theaters…
I wouldn’t want to be one of those pendejos driving those first Mexican trucks past the border with pissed-off teamsters on the lookout for you.
Ha thats right, see the US drivers get hassled at the border, and have to put up with a ton of shit, fuel fees and give me somemore pay off, but HAY, its offical the US nig prez. said, gollie jeepers, you’za can come inna to the US anytime yous’a want’a.
The final blow to the American Worker. To blame Unions is like pissing against the wind, boy. And this is just the begining, wait and see.
The next step will be sones where USA regulatorys are removed and other countrys work condisions and regultions rules. It means they gett payd, the same amount they will recive in their respective homecountrys.
Any ordinary USA corp, medium or small, cant fight slave labor.
You cant.
And the gov. the big int. corps fight against you and the only way to acoplish that is to hollow out your working regulations and to hollow out laws.
(by alowing this things to happen)
This is happening in Europa to.
Underming ordinary peoples economy.
This is the begining of slavelabor, like china. And in some years from now, salarys are so low that jobs probably are coming back to the USA, but then the conitions would be totaly different.
You will become a cheeplabor haven, produsing ceep shitt. just like China today.
I never stop wondering why the hate against unions, when it is the goverments that is in charge and creats the laws.
So what happens when i’m driving down I-35 and a Mexican truck driver swerves into my lane, makes me wreck and happens to kill me. Is the government going to slap him on the wrist and send him back to Mexico. Just like convicted Mexican murderers who have killed in the U.S, slapped on the wrist and sent back south of the border. Obama YOU SUCK HUGE BALLS
So NOW we know how the CHINESE Military and UN Military will spread through the USA! Hidden in Mexican Nationalist trucks for all major cities. How convenient!
This is nothing but an American job killer! Obama is not pro-American. He is PRO-appeasement of everyone but Americans.