NOTICE      NOTICE        NOTICE        NOTICE       NOTICE

As some of you are aware, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is in the process of changing some of their rules, not just on hours of service, but they have instituted a grading program for companies, drivers, log books, driving records including tickets, and accidents, etc.

My concern is in your log books and the safe driving habits of our members.  At the current time I have two drivers with pending discharges for log book falsification, which falls under dishonesty in most of our contracts. The drivers in question were caught by the use of a GPS and the company's personal surveillance.  Today, with new technology, someone could be running surveillance on you from a mile or more away.

I have warned many of you in the past that you must run your trips and your log books as if you had a member of the management team or a DOT officer sitting with you in the truck.  The violations that were found may be considered minor to some, but, I assure you, if the DOT officer had seen you pull over and do a safety check or clean your windows and then start down the road without at least dropping a line down to show a change of duty status and the closest city and state where the change occurred, he would be writing you up for a log book vilolation, which today could be considered a misdemeanor.  There was a time when a driver could do just about anything he wanted with his log book and, in the end, pay a fine for a time card violation.  Those days are gone and gone forever.

Your log books have to be kept up, and must be kept up accurately.  Being accurate would include listing the name of the town (or closest town) and the state where the change of duty status occurred, and the correct time at the location in question, rounded off to the nearest quarter hour.  If the time spent is less than seven (7) minutes, the driver need only drop a line down with the name of the town or closest town and state, and list the reason for the stop (example: safety check, clean windows or lights, etc.).

For those who are unsure of what to do on their logs, I urge you to ask someone.  Once this scoring by the DOT goes into full swing, both the company and the employee could suffer some very harsh penalties!

Fraternally yours,

Kenneth E. Nelligan, Principal Officer/Secretary-Treasurer/Business Agent

If you are interested in following the latest developments with respect to ABF Freight and YRC, please click the link below to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters web site in Washington, D.C.

http://www.teamster.org/content/freight

When you get there, click on the heading "INDUSTRIES" and then the one entitled "FREIGHT."  There are many interesting articles to read.

Teamsters Local Union 449 received a memorandum from LaMont Byrd, Director of the Safety and Health Department dated February 12, 2010, regarding texting while driving.  The memorandum reads as follows:

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued regulatory guidance, pursuant to 49 CFR Part 390.17, "Additional equipment and accessories," that effectively prohibits commercial drivers from using electronic devices to prepare or review text messages while operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce.  This ban became effective on January 27, 2010.

The regulatory guidance was issued after a study entitled, "Driver Distraction in Commerical Vehicle Operations," was completed and the agency determined that texting on an electronic device while driving a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce poses a significant safety risk.

Electronic devices are defined as handheld or other wireless electronic devices that are brought into a CMV.  
The FMCSA defines texting as "the review of, or preparation and transmission of, typed messages through any such device or the engagement in any form of electronic data communication through any such device."  Commercial motor vehicles covered by the regulatory guidance are those vehicles that:

1.  Have a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight, of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater; or

2.  Are designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or

3.  Are designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers (including the driver) and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or

4.  Are used to transport hazardous materials in a quantity that requires placarding under the hazardous materials regulation.

Truck and bus drivers who are convicted of texting while driving a commercial motor vehicle may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,720.

It should be noted that the FMCSA will begin comprehensive rulemaking on this issue in calendar year 2010, but the texting ban as described above is currently in effect.  The IBT Safety and Health Department will keep you apprised of this issue as it further develops.

TAKE A WITHDRAWAL CARD

From the number of phone calls we get from members, it appears there is confusion as to what a withdrawal card is and when/why/how a member should take one.  I hope to clear up some of that confusion by explaining it to you.  If a member is working for a Teamster employer, but does not work for a full calendar month because of layoff, disability, worker's compensation, or termination, that member should stop in or call the union hall at 716-874-2200 (extension 11 or 12) and ask for a withdrawal card.  After you verify your address and advise which month you last worked, a withdrawal card will be posted through our computer system and you will receive a receipt, either in person or by mail.  You must be paid through the last month that you worked in order to take a withdrawal card.  That being said, you have three months from the last month we received money on your behalf in order to take a withdrawal card. (Example: Mr. Alfred Butterworth last worked June 2009, but his dues are only paid through May 2009.  He must pay his June 2009 dues in order to take a withdrawal card, but, since he is only paid through May 2009, he has three months (the last business day in August 2009) in order to pay that money and go on withdrawal before he is suspended in our computer system.  When a member is suspended, he has to repay the initiation fee (reinitiation fee) at a cost of $150.00.)