(The International Brotherhood of Teamsters issued the following news release on March 13.)
WASHINGTON — Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today called on President Bush to demand answers from the Mexican government about the growing safety and security concerns of Mexican truck operators preparing to enter the United States.
The Bush administration is moving forward with a reckless plan to open the border to unsafe Mexican trucks despite alarms sounded by his own Transportation Department’s Inspector General. The Mexican government has continually failed to meet the truck safety and driver training requirements of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Bush is meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon today and Wednesday. However, Bush’s overzealous pilot program to open the border to these unsafe Mexican trucks is not even on his public agenda.
“President Bush must show he is not asleep at the wheel when it comes to safety on our highways,” Hoffa said. “It would be irresponsible for our president to visit Mexico without demanding important answers to the numerous security concerns raised by our government and others about unsafe Mexican trucks operating on our roads.”
Hoffa testified today before the House Transportation Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
“The Bush administration is playing Russian roulette with highway safety and national security,” Hoffa said. “The Mexican government has had 15 years to address truck safety, to implement a national computer system like in the United States and to create meaningful driver training and safety programs—and they have failed. They don’t even have one lab in the entire country for drug testing.”
Go to www.teamster.org to view two independent reports on Mexican trucks, one from 1999 and one from 2006.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking women and men throughout North America.