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October 20, 1999 1:16 PM, EDT

TAMPA, Fla. — A representative of American Trucking Associations made another pitch to members of The Maintenance Council to formally affiliate with the agency, as required under ATA’s new strategic plan.

Participants at the council’s fall meeting, which ran from Oct. 11 to 14, continued their discussions about portions of the plan that require companies to hold membership in ATA as a prerequisite for employees to join TMC. It has been an issue TMC members have been wrestling with since their annual meeting in March, when ATA President Walter B. McCormick Jr. explained the plan, which was initiated in August 1998 (3-22, p. 12).

Robert Crites, chairman of the environmental policy committee at ATA, spoke at a fleet operators’ forum, treading over some of the same points made earlier by McCormick. He hoped to sway council members who still had doubts by offering reassurances that it was the right road to take.

About 70% of TMC’s members are employees of companies that are not ATA members — many of the maintenance professionals work for the trucking operations of non-trucking companies. They fear their companies would rather lose the benefits of TMC than bear the cost of joining ATA. In general, ATA dues are based on a company’s revenues.

For the full story, see the Oct. 18 print edition of Transport Topics. .