The phrase Recalcitrant politicos was taken for the week, so we’ll go with Sally nay-sayers and instead of the politicos, dedicate today’s post to those who are judge-y about this sudden display of the “brotherhood” everyone remembers so lovingly, yet can’t get behind when it happens.
Today, a number of drivers will meet at various places around the country, in a show of solidarity with the owner-operators/small business trucking companies, and to protest the upcoming ELD law, set to go into effect December 18, 2017. (If you haven’t heard about the ELD mandate, please send me an email, because I’m pretty sure you just stepped off a spaceship yesterday, and I really need to know if there actually are lizard people in the center of the earth. Thanks in advance.)
All kidding aside, I was one of the first to ask where the heck everyone had been for the past four years, while this mandate was being talked about, asked for comment about, and easily whipped into law, because no one would comment, or get involved beyond griping at OOIDA for failing everyone and causing their grandma to get herptafluffalupugus in her eye because they were forced to use an ELD.
The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter where they were then, they’re coming together now and people have learned a lot about the process and absolute dedication it takes to have a say-so in the crafting of laws that regard your profession. And no matter how judge-y you feel about it, it’s a good thing for the industry as a whole for the people working within it to know these things.
Is it too little too late?
If we were dealing with anything that even had a vague resemblance to a normal gubmint operation right now, I’d probably say yes. We’re two weeks out from something that should have had the hearings and debates happening now, happening two years ago. However, every single day I wake up, I’m surprised by the antics of current policy- and lawmakers, and find I wouldn’t be entirely shocked if someone decided we all had to lick a toad three times and dance a jig for healthcare benefits while we were sleeping, so I’m not making any kind of bets on anything policy- or law-oriented these days.
I’m happy to see people in the industry come together – for whatever reason. You don’t have to agree with what they’re saying to appreciate their efforts. It’s part of a process we’re provided by the people who laid the framework of this country. It’s guaranteed with the blood of our veterans and it’s not something to be taken lightly or discounted as trivial, ever.
Good luck today, drivers, and good on ya’ for getting involved.
