The Teamsters union, the Sierra Club and other public-advocacy groups asked a U.S. court to block a pilot program that may allow Mexican trucks from as many as 100 companies to drive into the U.S. starting this weekend.
The organizations sought an emergency stay until they get more assurances that the vehicles comply with U.S. environmental, security and safety regulations, said Sierra Club spokesman Josh Dorner. The trucks would be allowed to drive into the U.S. under a U.S. Transportation Department one-year trial plan.
Current rules require loads from Mexico to be transferred to U.S. trucks and drivers when the freight enters the U.S. The new plan would save time and money for Mexican trucking companies by letting some of them move shipments around the U.S. themselves.
“What a slap in the face to American workers – opening the highway to dangerous trucks on Labor Day weekend,” Teamsters president Jim Hoffa said in a statement.
The union is also seeking proof that U.S. trucks would have the same rights to travel in Mexico that the Mexican trucks would have in the U.S. The DOT said Aug. 17 that reciprocal access for U.S. truckers was a requirement for the trial to begin.
The DOT inspector general’s office, the agency’s internal watchdog, said Aug. 21 that the U.S. needs tighter controls on Mexican truck and bus drivers with driving violations and greater ability to inspect buses on the border before the rules take effect. The U.S. House of Representatives voted in July to block the program. The Senate hasn’t voted.
“We believe this lawsuit is without merit and that our program will benefit consumers” by reducing transportation costs, Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, spokeswoman for the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said in an e-mail. The agency, part of the Transportation Department, will respond to the court after reviewing details of the lawsuit, she said.
