TCA Head Finds Himself Locked in Integration Battle
Gary Baumhover ascended to the chairmanship of the Truckload Carriers Association last March expecting the unpaid position to be primarily social in nature. But the post has turned into almost a full-time job as the he found himself embroiled in the debate over whether TCA should integrate with American Trucking Associations.
In a March 13 interview, Baumhover, who is senior vice president for GroJean Transportation, a refrigerated food hauler in Dubuque, Iowa, said he felt obligated to publicly support the proposed merger after it was endorsed by the majority of TCA’s 11 officers in December. He sent several mailings to TCA’s members explaining the terms of the proposed merger. Baumhover even put his name to a March 6 letter signed by 13 past TCA chairmen endorsing the plan, which is scheduled for a vote on March 22.
Baumhover made his personal views clear in a March 10 letter to TCA members. “As chairman of TCA, it is my responsibility to represent the officers and the Executive Committee,” he wrote. “However, my personal opinion is as follows: We have always had just one lobbying group on Capitol Hill and that ATA has always spoken with one unified voice. I, along with many of our members, have a problem with the mandatory membership requirement, which would ultimately exclude approximately 55% of TCA’s current membership from belonging to TCA in the future."
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 |  TT file photo |
| Gary Baumhover |
The day after the letter was faxed out, Baumhover said he was overwhelmed by telephone calls from truckload carriers. “I told them I was following the direction of the officers,” he said. “Personally, I have a different view.”
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