POSTED AT 6:05 PM EDT Sunday, October 15

Ontario truckers vote to park

Canadian Press

Ontario independent truckers upset with rising fuel costs called an all-out work stoppage Sunday.

The National Truckers Assocation, which represents about 1,800 owner-operators mainly in Ontario, said drivers would begin parking their rigs at midnight Sunday night and wouldn't move until the province takes action to force shippers to pay a surcharge covering the cost of rising fuel.

"We're going to park and it'll be up to the government to decide what the next move is," said Keith Swayne, a spokesman for the National Truckers Association.

Mr. Swayne said truckers are seeking a 24-per-cent surcharge.

The 450 truckers who attended Sunday's general meeting in this southern Ontario community voted unanimously to stop shipping goods, Mr. Swayne said.

Mr. Swayne said many drivers who had planned to park their trucks have deliveries scheduled to arrive Monday morning.

"Some people were supposed to go out tonight (Sunday night) and now won't," he said.

Provincial Economic Development Minister Al Palladini, who has been trying to negotiate a solution for the group, was not immediately available for comment Sunday.

On Friday, he had urged the truckers not to stage a work stoppage, insisting the grievance could be resolved if negotiations continued.

The government reached an agreement Friday with the Ontario Road Builders Association under which the government will pay a surcharge on all Transportation Ministry contracts when the price of gasoline exceeds a set level.

Independent truckers have been hit with a 75-per-cent fuel hike this year and complain that shippers and large companies they work for refuse to pass on fuel surcharges to their customers.

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/RTGAMArticleHTMLTemplate/C/20001015/wtruck?tf=RT/fullstory.html&cf=RT/config-neutral&slug=wtruck&date=20001015&archive=RTGAM

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 15, 2000

Answers

I drove trucks for 30 yrs. across the country and NEVER had this delema, I don't blame them one bit for doing what their doing. I'd like to wish them all the luck they need. God Bless.

They have enough to put up with, with the stupid drivers on the highways today, plus the damm drugs, it is getting VERY sad.

-- Carl Suhr (cnbsuhr@localaccess.com), October 16, 2000.

POSTED AT 9:14 AM EDT Monday, October 16

Rain delays trucking protests

Canadian Press

Whitby, Ont.  Citing safety concerns due to rainy weather, Ontario's independent truckers delayed plans to protest on the province's highways Monday morning, vowing their fight against high fuel costs would continue as soon as roads were dry.

"The only reason were not out there this morning is because of the rain and the safety factor," one trucker told radio station 680-News.

The National Truckers Association, which represents about 1,800 owner- operators, mainly in southern Ontario, made good on a pledge to cease provincial shipments at midnight Sunday, demanding shippers be forced to pay a fuel surcharge to help offset soaring diesel prices.

The protest began with a blockade of truck depots that serve General Motors in Oshawa, Ont.

About 50 truckers were parked at a fuel depot near Whitby on Monday morning, preventing other truckers from filling their tanks.

"There's probably about 50 or 60 trucks parked here, plus there's more on the way," said Bill Wellman, president of National Truckers Association. "There's no way they'll be on the highway in the rain. But once the rain stops, I think you'll see (the truckers) on the highway."

Mr. Wellman said he would be meeting with Ontario's Economic Development Minister Al Palladini on Monday morning.

On Friday, Mr. Palladini urged the truckers not to stage a work stoppage, insisting that the grievance could be resolved if negotiations continued.

The protesting drivers, who want a 24-per-cent fuel surcharge imposed on shippers, transport goods including groceries, lumber, automotive parts and steel.

Truckers have said they do not plan to blockade major commuter routes.

Independent truckers have been hit with a 75-per-cent fuel hike this year and complain that shippers and large companies they work for refuse to pass on fuel surcharges to their customers.

http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/RTGAMArticleHTMLTemplate/C/20001016 /wtruckers?tf=RT/fullstory.html&cf=RT/config- neutral&slug=wtruckers&date=20001016&archive=RTGAM

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 16, 2000.

Ontario truckers block busy highway over fuel costs WebPosted Mon Oct 16 13:34:35 2000 ET

OSHAWA - Truckers fed up with the high cost of fuel have blocked at least three lanes of the busy Highway 401 in southern Ontario. Lines of traffic are piled up behind the protesting truckers.

The truckers belong to the 1,800-member association of independent truckers.

Late Sunday, they voted unanimously to pull their trucks off the road. They want shippers to pay a fuel surcharge. The cost of fuel has shot up some 70 per cent since July.

The truckers blocked part of the General Motors plant in Oshawa on Sunday evening.

http://cbc.ca/cgi- bin/templates/NWview.cgi?/news/2000/10/16/truck001016

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 16, 2000.