Gord Magill, author of End of the Road, reflects on the recent legal reform and its impact on truckers
It’s National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, when the American Trucking Associations holds its annual hot dog and hamburger lunches for the same drivers it spends the rest of the year screwing through its lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C.
This year, however, drivers might enjoy the free food, cheap swag, and various other perks — if they happen to be in the yard for them — with just a little less cynicism. That’s because the industry’s annual PR stunt happens to coincide with something considerably more valuable: the kind of tangible political “appreciation” that actually produces real change.
On Monday, August 31, Vice President JD Vance gave a speech in Sterling Heights, Michigan, in support of Republican congressional candidate Mike Rogers ahead of the midterm elections.
Though Vance started with praise for Rogers and other members of the party, he quickly pivoted to problems in the trucking industry and the administration’s efforts to address them, while also highlighting the hard work and sacrifice of American truckers and the displacement they have faced in recent years.
“For too long … the Biden administration allowed American workers and American drivers to be endangered and have their jobs stolen by foreign fraudsters,” Vance said.
