Truckers Manifesto: What We Want!

Truckers feel like we're caught between a rock and a hard place and we're angry. We carry the bulk of the nation's goods but are getting an ever-smaller piece of the pie. We're not making enough to feed our families.Many of us are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. There's talk about a shutdown May 1-8 to protest fuel costs but problems in the trucking industry go much deeper. It's time to call attention to the plight of independent owner/operators and small trucking companies.

I've been checking through the comments readers have posted on Trucker to Trucker. Here's what you say you want. (Thanks to [email protected] and Brian Cunningham for getting the list started.) Feel free to add your thoughts.

• Reasonable diesel fuel prices with a cap to prevent price gouging.
• Temporary relief from federal and state fuel taxes.
• Mandatory fuel surcharge.
• No lumper fees.
• Limit on broker percentages.
• End to price gouging on equipment insurance.
• Stop the cross border pilot program and get Mexican trucks off U.S. highways.
• Mandatory time limit on broker and shipper payments to truckers.
• Fair treatment by DOT.
• Shippers supply their own pallets.
• Receivers pay for unloading.
• Payment for down time while we wait for loads or loading.