Hey Dan;

Just wanted to applaud your efforts yesterday at the Albany truckers protest! Good for you guys! You and yours are right on the mark with the fuel taxes, price of fuel and inattention/lack of response from elected officials. From the Administration on down to local politicos there is a blind eye turned our way.

We are a group of independent log truck owner/operators out in Washington state. (Southwest Washington to be specific)  Tomorrow (6/21) we are staging a fuel protest at Exit 72 off of Interstate 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   This is our second protest since April. The high cost of diesel is killing us all and we are slated for a fuel tax increase July 1 of nine and a half cents a gallon.

It is our goal tomorrow to get some answers from our politicians and a “holiday” from the tax increase. Washington state has one of the highest fuel tax rates in the nation; we pay 28 cents per gallon now with 37 cents peeking over the horizon. Couple that with federal fuel tax and we are out of the park.

The log truckers in the state have not had a raise in hauling compensation since 1986! I know that sounds unbelievable, but true. The surcharges paid by Weyerhaeuser Corporation (the big gun in this area) is at 17% — an insult for sure.  We are at the liberty of the logging contractors who set the hauling rates and have been working with our state legislators for a “rubber stamp” approval of negotiating our own fees. We had a Bill in the hopper this past session that made it out of committee and back to the floor for a vote, but died there because of the “short session” this year (every other year we have a regular session and we’ll be back in 09 to push the Bill through.)

This has gotten lengthy, but I wanted to give you a peek at what we are doing and who we are.  I’ll be giving an interview today on Sirius Radio’s Trucker News with Evan Lockridge at 2 p.m. your time.  Take a listen if you have a chance.

I would love to see ALL OF US TRUCKERS have protests either simultaneously or concurrently until we get some action. Small businesses are being upended for sure.  Take care and pass my congratulation to your members !

Sincerely,

Sherrie Bond
Executive Director
Northwest Log Truckers Cooperative
360-880-4818

Dear Friend,

As the state rep for the OOU Inc., I would like to share a personal story and invite you to cover our event. We are a group spread out nationwide with a common goal to help the trucking industry, consumers and our neighbors who are struggling with the high cost of fuel.

The New York OOU chapter began with one trucker and one assemblyman hosting a roundtable event in Montgomery County aiming to get our message out, organize and ultimately better inform local truckers of the challenges we face in these tough times. It has now grown into a state wide out cry for our state government to rein in overspending and eliminate unnecessary taxes, most notably the “Ton-Mile Tax”. We have worked tirelessly to build support in the State Legislature and have been encouraged by the outpouring of support in communities across the state. We have begun to engage supporters through informative events, petition drives, phone banks, voter registration drives and rally’s.

We expect attendance at our June 19th, rally to be tremendous and will include assembly members, senators, school district officials, firemen, first responders, highway superintendents who are all coming out to say no more, a change is coming in NY. Our friends and neighbors are tired of feeling like no one is listening. On behalf of the many supporters from across the state, thank you for your time and consideration.

For more information about the June 19th. rally, please do not hesitate to contact me at (518) 810-1776, to obtain an event flyer.

Sincerely,
Charles Claburn
New York State Rep. / Owner Operators United Inc.

Congressman Cliff Stearns (R) Holds Town Hall Meeting

On June 7, 2008 in the City Hall building of Belleview Florida, Congressman Clifford Stearns held the first of 4 town meeting for that day.

The meeting was scheduled to run from 9-10 AM. The congressman arrived 10 minutes early to a packed house. All 70 seats were taken, and the ones that didn’t get a seat, stood against the back wall of the room. The congressman was in a chipper mood as he greeted and shook hands with the folks that had turned out to speak with Congressman Stearns. They had a desk full of pamphlets at the front of the room and a projector set up to be used in the presentation.

Congressman Stearns started the meeting off with a short joke that had everyone laughing. He told of the story of a man that goes into a bank to rob it. As the man waits in line for his turn at the teller window, more people line up behind the robber. When the robber gets to the teller’s window, he pulls out a gun and tell the lady teller this is a robbery! She immediately starts to give him all the money in her drawer. As the robber gets the money, he turns to the man behind him in line and says “Did you see me rob this bank?” The man quickly replies, “Yes I did!” The robber shoots the man dead! He then looks at the man & woman couple who were next in line and asks them. “Did you see me rob this bank?” The woman quickly replies “oh no sir, I didn’t see anything, but my husband said he saw you rob the bank!” Read More on Congressman Cliff Stearns Town Hall Meeting

Congressman Cliff Sterns invites Americans to come and meet with him regarding several issues of importance (domestic production, refineries, immigration and other issues.)

Bellview City Hall
5343 Abshier Blvd. (441)
Bellview, Florida
June 7, 2008
9:00am - 10:00am [Saturday]

Pat Kramer will be attending the Bellview meeting asking Congressman Cliff Sterns 2 questions.
1#   Would the congressman support or introduce a bill in Washington to roll back fed tax on diesel to equal the fed tax on gas ?
2#  Would the congressman introduce a bill to stop co’s such as Gagan Globel from bypasssing the H1B visa to bring in drivers from India ?

The official Invitation….

Dear Friend:
Altough there are many challenges and opportunities facing our nation, here are two issues that are very much on the minds of American people. First is the ever increasing cost of gasoline. The rise in the global demand for oil combined with the static supplies and the devalued dollar are pushing prices higher. Clearly we need to increase domestic production, expand the use of renewable energy, and improve energy conservation.

Another pressing issue is the economy. The latest economic indicators show a clear slowdown in growth. It is imperative that congress focus on pro-growth polices that will increaease job creation, rekindle the economic expansion, and raise family incomes.

I hope that you will come to one of my town meetings to talk about these and other issues on June 7 2008. There are 3 district offices to serve you, if you have any comments or questions, or if you need help dealing with federal agency.

Orange Park:
1726 Kingsley Ave. suite 8
Orange Park, FL 32073
phone# 904-269-3203

Ocala:
115 S.E. 25th Ave
Ocala, FL 34471
phone# 352-351-8777

Gainsville:
5700 S.W. 34th St.
Gainsville, FL 32608
phone# 352-337-0003

He will also be in Summerfield - 10:30am - 11:30am
The Villages - 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Leesburgh - 3:00pm - 4:00pm

If anyone else is attending the meetings, please let us know how it went.

Sat. May 31 at 3:00 p.m. in Metter, GA. at Ashley Oliff’s shop located appr. 1 1/2 miles east of Metter on the Metter Portal hwy. Topics will be fuel prices, pay rates, ect,… there will also be opportunity for ideas and remarks. There will also be membership forms for OOU. Inc on hand.