California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

Another year is coming to an end too quickly for me. Once again, I failed to make my fortune in the world of dump trucking, but I do have much to be thankful for, and during this holiday season I will try to concentrate on the those things.

Our recent Annual Meeting held at the Hilton in Reno was well attended and informative. Unfortunately, much of the information we received was somewhat doom and gloom concerning insurance, both Medical and Workers Compensation.

One of my goals as CDTOA President is to try to get our inactive chapters active again. Last month, I had the office send meeting notices to the 62 members of the Orange County Chapter for a meeting that was held on September 12th in Huntington Beach. Many thanks to Patti Pirkle-Glamuzina who set-up the restaurant where the dinner meeting was held and also made numerous phone calls to members to confirm attendance. I had originally planned to include West Los Angeles as another inactive chapter to organize, but soon realized that September 11th might not be the best date for any of us. So if you are in this chapter, expect a call within the next several months.

For many people, when summer turns to fall, it is a welcome relief. However, for many dump truck owners, including myself, it is a feeling of dread. After a sluggish start to our work season, it is now time to put some money away for the coming winter months. How can this be?

The busy work season seems to have finally arrived here in Northern California, although I understand from others throughout the state that in some area’s work is still slow. I am grateful to be working and glad I have been in this business long enough to know how to find work and that means making phone calls, sometimes lots of phone calls, to find it. I have talked to two different Owner/Operators within the last month who say they are going out of business because their broker has not had any work for them and yet they have not made one call to anyone else. When did the word “Independent” leave the Owner/Operator?

It has been an exciting month for CDTOA, as we have truly turned a cornier in our goals for our Association.

I had the pleasure of meeting with our new lobbying firm during the second week of June, along with Lee Brown, Fred ReCupido and Rob McClernon. The Wilson Group is located close to the Capitol in downtown Sacramento in a restored Victorian.

This magazine is going to print early this month, and I love to tell Jesse Ramirez, who puts this all together and reminds me that I have a deadline for this article, that he is putting too much pressure on me. Jesse is taking a well-deserved vacation and traveling to Paso Robles for a family reunion. I will also be taking a week off and heading to Baton Rouge, LA., the birthplace of my grandparents and a place that rejuvenates me like no other. Getting together with the southern folks is one of my yearly highlights.

I wish I could say that work is booming here in the north, but that is not the case. For the most part, rates remain the same as they were three years ago and work is a hit and a miss. I am sure that our current budget crisis in California will affect the construction industry, as well as the fall-out from SB-871 and the environmentalists that seem to be running our state. Just when work was beginning to pick up after our rainy season, a major project was halted at the BART extension to the San Francisco Airport, when it was discovered that a garter snake had been squashed on the haul road. Evidently, this was not the first time a snake had been murdered on this job site. In the spring of 2000, work was halted for 18 days when the first victim was found on the roadway, with a cost to the transit district of $1.07 million dollars in construction delays. Before construction began, snake trappers caught as many as possible, and special fences were installed. After the first murder, workers received special snake training that taught them to recognize the snake, which when sitting on the road can look like a stick. Anyway, I hear from some truckers who were on the job that after a full investigation, the alleged murderer had been found to be a water truck driver, and that the victim entered the roadway from a small hole in the k-rail, which has since been repaired. You gotta love California. Did someone mention budget crisis?

The Internal Revenue Service set up shop last week at the Cordelia Scale checking dump trucks only for red dyed (off road) fuel. Because this fuel is not taxed at the same rate as on road fuel, it becomes a tax evasion matter for the IRS and the penalties are severe. At the time my husband was inspected, he learned that five trucks had been cited. One misconception that we might have is that it is okay to use the off road fuel if you are on an off-highway job. However, according to the IRS publication that was given to the truckers after inspection, “Dyed fuel must never be used in the tank of a highway vehicle that is registered or required to be registered.”

You have also heard that the American Trucking Association has proposed to train 3 million truck drivers to help safeguard the country from terrorist attacks. It is hard to believe how much our world has changed since September 11. Now we are hearing of trucks being used as weapons of mass destruction. After the attacks on New York and Washington, we all felt so helpless, now comes along something positive we may be able to do for our country. I know I would be proud to be a member of “America’s Truck Army.”

Until next time. please keep a sharp eye out for sticks in the roadway.

Sincerely,

Betty Plowman

Work is finally beginning to pick up here in the north. Although to keep busy, it means you must be flexible and willing to leave home, at least in my case. Most of us up here only have an eight month work season, so after winter the bank account isn’t looking too healthy and you have to do some things you may not like to do. I also have to convince myself that being out of town really isn’t so bad after all. Eating out means no dishes, and when you get back to your motel room the bed is made, so things could be worse.

This month, I will leave all updates on SB 871 to Lee Brown. Please read his General Mangers Report. I will instead concentrate on what I have recently learned from CHP and the Motor Carrier Permit Branch of the DMV (MCPB) concerning existing law and how it is being enforced.

During the final week of my vacation, Lee Brown called to say he was receiving many calls concerning the confusion over SB871, and he felt we should expand the size of our meeting room for the upcoming Board Meeting to be held in Sacramento. He quickly revised the agenda, and dedicated the entire afternoon to SB871, with Hegerty Law and Fred ReCupido chairing the meeting.

At this writing, husband Red and I are Camped along the Colorado River at Parker, Arizona. We decided last year that we would get away when work was slow during the winter months. So for the first time ever, our travel trailer was pulled by something other then a dump truck. Thanks to a lap top computer and a fax machine, this article will make it for publication.

As we begin the New Year of 2002, it is with great enthusiasm that I begin my fist message. I have heard past president’s say that one of the most difficult part of this job is writing this monthly message, especially when the busy season starts. But for right now, I am watching the bed of my truck fill with rainwater and work has basically stopped here in Northern California.