A.M. Executive Briefing - Apr. 3
This Morning's Headlines:
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UPS, Teamsters Settle Job Creation Dispute
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a dispute between United Parcel Service and the Teamsters union has been resolved as the company said an additional 2,000 full-time positions would be created for the second year of the union's 1997 contract.The company had argued that slow business recovery negated a contract provision that said 2,000 full-time positions must be established in each of the contract's five years; an arbitrator sided against the company in February. Heavy Duty Trucking Online (04/03/00)
Tractor-Trailers Carrying Computers Vanish from Truckstops
A combined federal, state, and local task force is being formed in response to thefts of trucks containing valuable computer equipment in Virginia and California, believed by investigators to be related.On Friday along Interstate 81 in Raphine, Va., a truck carrying computer equipment from Menlo Logistics' Richmond facility was stolen while its driver was eating in a truckstop, echoing the Monday theft of another truck containing Menlo Logistics cargo at a different Rockbridge County truckstop.
Another truck coming from the Menlo Logistics facility was stolen Friday close to Richmond, while in California that same night, yet another report came in of a stolen truck full of computer equipment. The perpetrators possess information on the trucks' cargo, authorities believe. Associated Press (04/02/00)
U.S. to Aid Illinois in Locating Truckers
An official at the federal Department of Transportation said the federal government will likely form a panel to assist in finding truck drivers who may have been licensed in the Illinois bribes-for-licenses scandal; the panel will also assess the CDL system in Illinois. The federal assistance was requested in a March 17 letter from Gov. George Ryan to Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.Suspect truckers have been stripped of their CDLs in Massachusetts, Montana, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio, and Illinois has retested hundreds of drivers. Last week, 40 drivers were summoned for retests in Illinois; of them, half either failed, were not located, or did not come in to be tested. Chicago Tribune (03/02/00) P. 1, Metro Chicago Section; Marx Gary; Lightly, Todd
AWG Truck Overturns in Springfield on First Day of Lockout
Pickets went up, delivery trucks were followed, and shoppers were urged to boycott Associated Wholesale Grocers member stores Sunday as the cooperative locked out Teamsters employees in the Kansas City and Springfield, Mo., areas after the expiration of their contracts.One AWG truck rolled over in Springfield after hitting a pickup, whose driver fled; police Maj. Steve Ijames said a vehicle apparently attempted to block the truck, but he did not say the Teamsters or their supporters were involved.
All AWG trucks leaving the Springfield warehouse are being followed by other vehicles, some 10 of which were pulled over by police, who ticketed about half, according to Ijames.
AWG has begun outsourcing the union members' jobs, citing cost savings and the need to compete with the Wal-Mart Super Centers.
According to Jim Kabell of union Local 245, the union has been passing out fliers at stores advocating a boycott, with varying rates of success, and the boycott also won vows of support from those attending a yearly Democratic fundraiser in Springfield. Associated Press (04/02/00)
VW Board Approves Scania Acquisition
A planned acquisition by Volkswagen of an 18.7% capital stake and 34% of votes in Scania, the Swedish commercial-vehicles manufacturer, was approved Sunday by the VW board. Agence France Presse (04/02/00)Southbound I-35 Shuts Down Overnight Starting Sunday
Bridge work will shut down most of southbound Interstate 35 in Austin, Texas, from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. through Wednesday. The entire southbound highway will be closed down between 12th Street and Sixth Street, while a single lane will be open on the upper deck between 26th Street and 12th Street. The work may also be pushed back depending on weather conditions. Austin American-Statesman (04/01/00) P. A1; Daniel, KellyCHP Officials Hope to Put Brakes on Rash of Big Rig Accidents
California Highway Patrol officers are on the lookout for trucks violating speed limits, lane restrictions, or weight limits due to a higher-than-normal rate of truck accidents in Ventura County.The patrol has had a hard time deciding how to fight the rise in crashes, since they have all resulted from different factors, said CHP Officer Dave Webb. In Ventura County, four trucks and two cars are used for truck enforcement, while the state has for two years granted $50,000 for an officer along State Route 118, a common route for truck drivers between the Golden State Freeway and Ventura Freeway.
At the round-the-clock inspection site along the Ventura Freeway on the Conejo Grade, there are problems with about a fifth of the trucks going through, according to site supervisor Sgt. Sherie Latime – most of them brake problems. Driver error, particularly speeding, is
lamed for most accidents in the county, which has recently averaged seven fatalities and 200 injuries annually in truck crashes.
As a deterrent to lawbreaking, officers use such tactics as pulling over trucks on main arteries where fellow truck drivers can see the traffic stop. Los Angeles Times (04/01/00) P. 13B; Blake, Catherine
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