The Division of Occupational Safety and Health is proposing major revisions to California’s heat illness prevention standard.
The action is not yet a formal rulemaking, but the agency is sending its proposal to the Standards Board, is a big first step in revising the almost 10-year-old regulation. Employers with heat exposures may be well advised to pay attention to this issue as it advances through the regulatory process. Read more
By Betty Plowman – Northern California Service Director CCTA
A newly formed coalition that is taking a stand against a fuel tax increase set for January 1, 2015, held its kick-off event at 3B’s Truck and Auto Plaza in Lodi on May 23, 2014.
The group is calling the state mandated increase a hidden, regressive tax created by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) without voter approval or approval of state legislators. The CARB created price increase under is a result of its “Fuels Under The Cap” regulations, part of AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, which was passed in 2006. Read more
The dust has settled on the California state budget process so we now know how bad the cuts for Caltrans’s fiscal 2014-15 budget (which started July 1) will be—$1.78 billion or 13.8 percent chopped off—for a total of $11.065 billion as compared with $12.89 billion for last year.
Virtually all of the cuts will come from the project side of the ledger as Governor Brown’s new five-year infrastructure plan kicks in this year with its emphasis on repair and maintenance, rather than new capacity for our highways, bridges and rural roads. (see the details for the infrastructure plan at www.ebudget.ca.gov/2014-Infrastructure-Plan.pdf ). Read more
Most people who signed up under President Obama’s health care law rate their new insurance highly, but a substantial number are struggling with the cost, according to a poll released late June.
At the summer Board meeting in Sacramento, June 21, our endorsed agent at CoreMark Insurance (formally Armstrong Ins.) provided the Board and staff with an update on the very confusing and costly Affordable Care Act (ACA). Read more
So we’re supposedly now trapped on a warming planet, yet a very cold winter last year (3 out of the last 5) hits and we’re now being told cold weather is responsible for inflation busting natural gas prices. Since California’s environmentalist cult controls us all here (from Sacramento and D.C.) this means that struggling Californian’s will pay more, a lot more for electricity to stay cool this summer and in the “caliente” hot future. Read more
Phrases like “gearhead” and “old school” to describe truckers just isn’t heard as much today as it used to be. It does accurately describe CCTA member Dwayne Whitney and how he decided to comply with CARB regulations. Read more
Dan Bertrand – CoreMark Insurance
By Daniel Bertrand – CEO – CoreMark Insurance Services, Inc
As the endorsed insurance agent of the CCTA for close to 9 years, Armstrong & Associates Insurance Services takes pride in bringing to CCTA members access to competitive and comprehensive insurance programs. The same CCTA endorsed team who brought you discounted Workers’ Compensation programs, exclusive Health Insurance programs and access to the most competitive trucking rates in California is changing our name to CoreMark Insurance Services, Inc.
Founding partners Dan Bertrand, Sean Tsui and Mathew Nabity are joining resources to create CoreMark Insurance Services, Inc. Our agency is only new in name, for we will continue to rely on the same experienced, knowledgeable and service focused staff that made us the premier transportation agency in California. Read more
Robinson Oil Corporation owns and operates 34 retail convenience stores under our flagship brand Rotten Robbie. Read more
The CCTA scholarship committee and CCTA staff is proud of Teddi and sharing in the joy of her success. Teddi is the recipient of several CCTA scholarships over the past four years. This young lady is not only daughter of Doug and Mickie Nichols, who are very active within the association, but Teddi attends scholarship fundraisers when she is not hard at work with her school responsibilities and duties. She also volunteered to help guide new scholarship applicants with the application process. Congratulations and keep up the good work. We expect to hear great things about all your future accomplishments. Read more
Regardless of how you parcel-out these issues and find one word to explain it all – “disingenuous” keeps coming to mind. Let’s review the recent events I’m talking about:
1.) A call for FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro’s resignation and a letter from a group of owner-operators opposing the effort;
2.) a push in the U.S. Senate to relax the 34-hour restart provision,
3.) an almost total lack of honesty by the trucking media in communicating what a related Senate Bill contained; and
4.) a horrific truck crash on the New Jersey Turnpike seriously injuring comedian Tracy Morgan and killing another. All unconnected events but how they were communicated and commented on by truckers in particular, showed an ugly side of an industry desperate to be taken seriously by the public and politicians, yet once again becoming its own worst enemy. Read more
