NIT League May Invite Truckers
At the annual TransComp meeting here Nov. 10-14, the NIT League’s executive committee and board of directors approved the plan, which could go to a vote of the general membership as early as January 2002, according to Edward Emmett, league president.
One of the first trucker members could less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight Systems, which is a subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corp, ranked No. 15 on the 2000-2001 Transport Topics 100.
TransComp is a convention for NIT League and two other trade groups, the Intermodal Association of North America and the Transportation Intermediaries Association.
Under current rules, carrier companies and brokers can join as non-voting associates, but Hayes and his board members now want those same companies as full members.
“We don’t know who will walk through the door, but we’re opening it now,” said Hayes at a press conference Monday.
Meanwhile, In his annual TransComp press conference, ABF Chief Executive Officer David Stubblefield said unequivocally that he would convert his firm’s membership if given the chance to do so.
“If you’re an associate, you pay dues, but then you’re excluded from certain things and you have to wonder what kind of member you are.”
Stubblefield praised the change by saying that in many instances, his areas of legislative focus are also those of his shipper customers, and cited hours-of-service and ergonomics rules as examples. “Costs from these issues would be passed on in rates, because we won’t take it out of our [profit] margins,” he said.
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