Word of mouth may seem casual, but it often produces major impact. Toyota Motor North America recently became a TAT shipping partner, having first heard of TAT last year from Accelerated Logistics Auto Transport and Moore Transport, TAT supporters and Toyota carrier partners. As a result, Toyota has already:

Through Toyota’s discussions with their carrier partners, a top 100 company has already called TAT and is committing to train their private fleet immediately.

“Toyota’s two pillars are Respect for People and Continuous Improvement, and we’re committed to actively engaging in our communities to improve lives for all. So, partnering with Truckers Against Trafficking to work toward eliminating human trafficking felt like a natural fit,” explained Missy Pearlman, group manager, TLS Vehicle Transportation Operations.

Been waiting for the Freedom Drivers Project (FDP) to arrive in your neighborhood or workplace to experience its incredible imagery and the powerful truth it conveys about human trafficking? Wait no longer! You and your employees can take a free virtual tour via your tablet or computer.

Recently, through the generosity of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), and, in particular, Elisabeth Barna, ATA COO and TAT board member, leaders at the ATA Management Conference and Exhibition, held in October, had the opportunity to take the FDP virtual tour, available through a virtual booth. TAT staff members have attended the conference in the past.

The FDP virtual tour was also available at the Birmingham, Alabama and New Mexico Coalition Builds in October, and will be part of the North American Transportation Services Association conference early this month.

Featuring comprehensive exhibits, the FDP is a dynamic, visual tool demonstrating both the reality and devastation of trafficking through facts and survivor artifacts, as well as the critical role transportation and energy members are playing in combating this crime. It lends itself well to a virtual tour during these times.

View and share the condensed tour and/or email Helen Hofer here to design an event specific to your team. To further enhance the experience, schedule an in-depth anti-trafficking training webinar led by a TAT staff for your virtual event.

Featuring updated training modules, a virtual Coalition Build (CB) held on Oct. 28 drew 70 people from more than 28 entities from the energy industry, including operators, service companies and organizations from New Mexico, Texas and Colorado. The event was sponsored by Marathon Oil and co-hosted by Marathon and Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT), with the intent of engaging the energy companies working on the New Mexico side of the Permian Basin.

On a follow-up survey, one of the participants wrote, "We often don't think about everything and everyone that comes with trafficking. This was such an eye-opener to understanding what needs to be thought through and how we can make an effective impact in all areas."

A TAT partner, Marathon Oil joined the Oil and Gas Trafficking Awareness Group (OGTAG) in 2018 and began implementing their anti-trafficking initiative internally in January 2020. That month, they also led the members of OGTAG in Marathon’s first signature event, Energy Empowers Freedom Week, in which TAT participated with presentations and Freedom Drivers Project tours. This event resulted in more than 1,000 energy employees across Houston receiving awareness training about human trafficking.

Mary Ellen Weyland, community engagement lead for Marathon Oil, told CB participants that “no industry is immune to trafficking, and this is not an energy-specific issue. But we wanted to use the reach and scale of our companies to bring awareness to an issue that has unfortunately experienced a surge around the country. We hope you now have a better understanding of the issue and what you can do to help keep our community safe. Just like we did with safety, and like we’re doing with environmental performance, we know that when we come together as an industry, we can create real, positive change.”

“This Coalition Build serves as an excellent opportunity to work with TAT's longtime and new partners to expand the fight against human trafficking,” said Ashley Smith, TAT director of Energy Operations. “With a recently updated Empower Freedom training DVD and an easy-to-use toolkit – both available on the TAT website, our attendees have the resources they need to engage their employees in this important work.”