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July 2014 Volume 25, Issue 7
Provincial pride: STA’s Al Rosseker talks about Saskatchewan’s boom and its implications for trucking.
Page 26
Becoming a Best Fleet: What do the Best Fleets to Drive For do that makes them stand out from the rest?
Page 23
O/O problems: Mark Lee considers his anti-idling options as he embarks on a new career as an O/O.
Page 18
Page 16
Western Canada’s Trucking Newspaper Since 1989
Further integration: Daimler has launched its first fully-integrated Detroit powertrain.
trucknews.com
Port plan put into place By Carolyn Gruske
Saskatoon’s Rodger Nelson finished fourth at the Shell Rotella SuperRigs with this truck. See story, pg. 5.
AMTA gathers for annual bash
Reach us at our Western Canada news bureau Contact Jim Bray at: jim@transportationmedia.ca or call 403-453-5558
Mortgage burning for Edmonton facility among the highlights of conference
PM40069240
By Jim Bray
pg 01, 10-15 tw july v3.indd 1
BANFF, Alta. – It may not have the cachet of the famed Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, but for the Alberta Motor Transport Association, the Rimrock Resort up the mountainside turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. That’s the upshot from interim president and CEO Richard Warnock who noted that 2014’s version of the organization’s annual Management Conference saw some new carriers turn out for the event, even though its overall attendance was down slightly from last year. The event, held over the last weekend in April, saw a variety of business sessions, a spousal program that featured “wine and cheese, twinkle toes, games,” a sand and surf-themed casino night, the AMTA’s AGM and, sprinkled throughout the weekend, a number of awards to drivers and other industry folk
Careers: 8, 10, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23
(see pg. 12). As for the return to the Rimrock after a couple of years at the more legendary venue farther down the valley, Warnock said it seemed to have been a popular move. “Everyone I visited with really liked the format this year and being back at the Rimrock,” he said. He reported that the business sessions went over well, and “there was a lot of interest in our commercial driver training standard (report) and of course you can’t say enough about Pinball (motivational speaker Mike Clemons); the guy’s absolutely outstanding as a speaker and he really brought the crowd into it. You hear a pin drop in the room.” Clemons spoke of his life and his experiences as someone judged initially as too small to play a contact sport such as football, touching on the Continued on page 12
To view list of advertisers see pg. 29
VANCOUVER, B.C. – Mediator Vincent Ready has released his recommendations in light of the strike by container truck drivers working out of Port Metro Vancouver. Ready was appointed to mediate the situation by the federal and B.C. provincial governments as part of their Joint Action Plan (JAP) to end the labour stoppage by the unionized members of UniforVancouver Container Truckers’ Association (VCTA) and by the non-unionized owner/operators who belong to the United Truckers Alliance (UTA). In releasing his recommendations, Ready acknowledged just how complicated the situation is at the port, and how difficult it will be to implement fixes. “We make the recommendations acknowledging that some of the commitments made will have to be implemented in the shadow of Marine Act requirements and lawsuits. That said, it is our view that immediate action must be taken with respect to wait times. To date, drivers have not been compensated for wait times and in our opinion, it is necessary to provide recommendations to assist in facilitating such compensation,” he wrote. Ready provided a formula for paying drivers for wait times, and established that the fee must be forwarded to drivers, and not retained by the trucking companies. “Port Metro Vancouver will establish a mechanism for directing the Terminal Gate Efficiency Fee (ie. waiting time fee) to be paid to the trucking companies who will be required to pass the fee on to independent owner/operators. Starting seven days after a return to work, the Terminal Gate Efficiency Fee shall be paid at $50 per trip for time spent waiting at port terminals (Deltaport, Fraser Surrey Docks, Vanterm, Centerm) after 90 minutes of waiting time. At two hours of waiting time, an additional $25 fee will be paid per trip. At two-and-a-half hours of waiting time, an additional $25 fee will be paid per trip. Each additional half hour will be paid at a rate of $20.” He also compiled a list of where the drivers need to be located at each terminal before the wait time calculations kick in. Ready looked at the issue of trucks lacking GPS technology that can be used to track locations and wait times. “We acknowledge that PMV has worked hard to expedite the GPS proContinued on page 10
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