Republicans Endanger Public Safety With Proposed Amendment

UPDATE, March 10, 2005 3:30 pm: The attempt to beat back the Boozman amendment was successful. The amendment was withdrawn. A statement released by the Teamsters International from Mike Mathis, Director of Government Affairs, stated, "I believe this amendment was pulled in large part due to the pressure applied by your phone calls to your congressional delegations. Representative Boozman would not have pulled this amendment if he believed it had a chance of passing.

John Boozman (R-AR), is sponsoring a last minute amendment to the highway reauthorization bill in the Republican controlled Congress. The bill will make roads less safe to travel by allowing trucking firms to increase the work day of a driver from 14 to 16 hours. The Teamsters International is currently engaged in an effort to stop the amendment which could come up for a vote as early as 2:00 pm today.

Under current regulations, drivers are not permitted to work more than 14 consecutive hours in a day. The amendment would allow trucking firms to increase the length of the day if they gave truckers a two hour unpaid break. Frank Rossi, head of the Teamsters Local 404 in Springfield, said "The reality is, these guys aren't going to sleep in those two hours. This bill's going to make our highways unsafe by putting tens of thousands of exhausted drivers on our nation's highways every day. The bill is being pushed through by transportation companies looking for ways to squeeze profits from workers. Potentially, innocent people could suffer if this bill is passed." A bulletin released by the Teamsters International states the bill will also move drivers away from a 24-hour work cycle that sleep experts say is vital to reducing fatigue.

Rossi encouraged citizens to call their congressional representative and tell them to "Vote no on the Boozman amendment to H.R. 3, the highway reauthorization bill."

John Olver: 413-532-7010 (Holyoke), 1-202-225-5335 (Washington)
Richard Neal: 413-785-0325 (Springfield), 1-202-225-5601 (Washington)