Trucking
The United States is becoming a corridor for goods from Asia to move across North America, in both south-north and west-east directions. The I-35 beginning at Laredo, TX became known as the NAFTA highway. Products from Maquiladoras and other international shipments will be carried in trucks crossing at the Mexican-United States border at Laredo, TX. Currently there are an estimated seven thousand trucks each way everyday. The trucking industry in Mexico has grown greatly with the increase in cross-border trade and the promise of open borders. Bilateral trade is currently valued at more than US $250,000 million per year and 85% is by "Transporte Terrestre" a Mexican Company (The Economist, Ibid.). The trucking fleet has been modernized, and the highway infrastructure and the training of the drivers have improved. Cross border services such as customs and immigration facilities have been updated. The Mexican government has initiated many of these improvements unilaterally (10). Under NAFTA, provisions were set for cross-border access of all three countries to take place by 1999, but the US still maintains a 25-mile limit into the country for Mexican trucks. September 6, 2007 was the first time a Mexican truck operated by “Transportes Olympic” was allowed to cross into the U.S. at Laredo, Texas and be driven straight through to North Carolina. The teamsters union is fighting to keep Mexican trucks from crossing into the U.S., stating that the trucks are unsafe. They have convinced the public of this concern, but the real threat is competition for work and reduced wages. Mexican truck drivers will transport the goods on the NAFTA highway by truck through The United States to Kansas City, MO. The teamsters claim that the Mexican drivers will earn one-third of the wages that union drivers make in the United States. They offer a possible solution of unionizing the Mexican truck drivers and stabilizing fair wages for drivers on both sides of the border. Job security is really not a threat for American drivers because there is a shortage of drivers. Since the US trucking industry was deregulated fifteen years prior to NAFTA, the unions have been hard hit and lost leverage in the trucking industry. The goal of the Teamster union is to reinforce their presence in the trucking industry again. Labor unions such as, the AFL-CIO are concerned with global trade issues, and the loss of American jobs. They have created a trade watch and are challenging the World Trade Organization to make better policies for workers around the world.
10. Studer, Doctora Isabel . "Curso Del Tradado De Libre
Comercio De." NAFTA AND THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY. PRIMAVERA 1999. ITAM. 6 Jan 2008 <10. http://wehner.tamu.edu/mgmt.www/NAFTA/spring99/Groups99/ITAM/transpo2.htm>.
The United States is becoming a corridor for goods from Asia to move across North America, in both south-north and west-east directions. The I-35 beginning at Laredo, TX became known as the NAFTA highway. Products from Maquiladoras and other international shipments will be carried in trucks crossing at the Mexican-United States border at Laredo, TX. Currently there are an estimated seven thousand trucks each way everyday. The trucking industry in Mexico has grown greatly with the increase in cross-border trade and the promise of open borders. Bilateral trade is currently valued at more than US $250,000 million per year and 85% is by "Transporte Terrestre" a Mexican Company (The Economist, Ibid.). The trucking fleet has been modernized, and the highway infrastructure and the training of the drivers have improved. Cross border services such as customs and immigration facilities have been updated. The Mexican government has initiated many of these improvements unilaterally (10). Under NAFTA, provisions were set for cross-border access of all three countries to take place by 1999, but the US still maintains a 25-mile limit into the country for Mexican trucks. September 6, 2007 was the first time a Mexican truck operated by “Transportes Olympic” was allowed to cross into the U.S. at Laredo, Texas and be driven straight through to North Carolina. The teamsters union is fighting to keep Mexican trucks from crossing into the U.S., stating that the trucks are unsafe. They have convinced the public of this concern, but the real threat is competition for work and reduced wages. Mexican truck drivers will transport the goods on the NAFTA highway by truck through The United States to Kansas City, MO. The teamsters claim that the Mexican drivers will earn one-third of the wages that union drivers make in the United States. They offer a possible solution of unionizing the Mexican truck drivers and stabilizing fair wages for drivers on both sides of the border. Job security is really not a threat for American drivers because there is a shortage of drivers. Since the US trucking industry was deregulated fifteen years prior to NAFTA, the unions have been hard hit and lost leverage in the trucking industry. The goal of the Teamster union is to reinforce their presence in the trucking industry again. Labor unions such as, the AFL-CIO are concerned with global trade issues, and the loss of American jobs. They have created a trade watch and are challenging the World Trade Organization to make better policies for workers around the world.
10. Studer, Doctora Isabel . "Curso Del Tradado De Libre
Comercio De." NAFTA AND THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY. PRIMAVERA 1999. ITAM. 6 Jan 2008 <10. http://wehner.tamu.edu/mgmt.www/NAFTA/spring99/Groups99/ITAM/transpo2.htm>.
