Mileage Matters
December 7, 2021
Michigan Trucking
Association
U.S. District Court blocks federal contractor vaccine mandate in three states
American Trucking Associations- The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky blocked another component of the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccine mandate, specifically for federal contractors.
This is the first ruling on challenges for mandating federal contractor vaccination, and it’s important to note that the ruling only applies to three states, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. Nonetheless, as cases continue through the federal courts, the rulings continue to expose legal shortcomings in the Administration's policies.  
Additionally, the Sixth Circuit denied motions to transfer the case either back to the Fifth Circuit, or to the D.C. Circuit.
As a party to the lawsuit, MTA is working closely with ATA and continues to inform members as actions warrant.
Commercial Carriers Journal- A recent study by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) into truck drivers’ motivations for choosing a particular employment status – either company driver or independent contractor/owner-operator – found that fleets should consider bolstering healthcare and retirement savings options when looking to recruit and retain company drivers. 


FleetOwner- The U.S. and Canada can look very similar at times. The two countries have nearly identical rules for truck drivers’ hours of service. But Canada has taken a far more rigorous approach to certify the electronic logging devices that monitor truckers' operations.

This has left fleets that operate on both sides of the border with just a handful of ELD vendors to choose from months before hard enforcement of the law begins north of the border.
Commercial Carriers Journal- Truck parking expansion was left out of President Joe Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan – a big deal for drivers on the East Coast.

FleetOwner- While fuel prices may be rising, fleets can adopt some easy strategies—many at little or no additional cost—to try to get as many miles out of that now-expensive gallon of diesel.

Freight Waves- Operation Open Road, announced by a group of 15 Republican governors, has been backed up by several actions taken on the state level that loosen regulations in a few specific jurisdictions. 

While Operation Open Road is mostly a call to action to the federal government, governors do have powers to implement regulatory changes that impact trucking in their states. And several have done so in conjunction with the release of the Operation Open Road document.
CDL Life- The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is asking the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for a major investment to combat a lack of safe truck parking spaces.

In a letter sent to U.S Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer called for $1 billion in federal funding tied to the newly passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to be set aside to address a critical and long-standing lack of truck parking opportunities.
Harvey Gainey, founder of the former Gainey Corporation and longtime MTA member, passed November 28, 2021.

Gainey served as an MTA board member as CEO of Gainey Transportation.
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