Teamsters rallied in San Diego this morning in opposition to a pilot program allowing Mexican truck drivers to travel on United States highways. Led by Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa, the group urged Congress to end
what it terms a "dangerous cross-border trucking program." The early morning rally was held at the Otay Mesa border crossing.
"If Congress won't act to protect drivers on U.S. highways, the Teamsters will convince the court to do so," Hoffa said. "American motorists shouldn't have to pay the price for George Bush's recklessness in pushing this program forward."
Both the House and the Senate voted to ban funding for the pilot project earlier this year. The bill - a spending bill known as Transportation-HUD - must still pass the Senate before it reaches President Bush's desk.
Under the pilot program, only a handful of Mexican motor carriers are currently allowed to travel beyond the narrow border zone.
The Teamsters have continued the court battle to stop the program since unsuccessfully seeking an emergency injunction in September.
Joined by the safety group Public Citizen, Teamsters filed arguments on Monday with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The brief responded to the Bush administration's arguments. The Teamsters filed their first brief on Oct. 19.
"We filed hundreds of pages of legal arguments in the past few months that show the Bush administration broke the law in dozens of ways with this so-called pilot project," Hoffa said.
"Mexican trucks driving on our roads have to be as safe as U.S. trucks," Hoffa said. "That's the law. But the Bush administration just ignores the law.
"Drivers who would be disqualified from holding a U.S. commercial drivers license could still drive around the U.S. if they're based in Mexico."