More specifically, they are protesting the wait times (up to 12 hours now), not the inspections themselves. These wait times are generally unpaid, I believe they get a single flat fee per border crossing.
My experience talking to truck drivers is that many are paid per mile and per stop, not per hour. So sitting for 10 extra hours and not getting paid for it could easily piss someone off enough to strike. Especially if you change is as drastic as this:
> One trucker told the news outlet that prior to Abbott’s order, he made two crossings into the U.S. a day. Now, he’d be lucky to have one or two a week given the long delays at the bridges.
Truck drivers are treated like dog shit, seemingly anywhere. I saw some documentaries about them here in Germany, and it's an ungrateful soulsucking job. Sleep in a truck, get barely any showers, and shit in toilets that would make porta potties seem luxurious. Most of those left now seem to be eastern Europeans.
People express concerns that those jobs could get automated away, but I don't necessarily share those worries. Most of those people working those jobs are near retirement age, and we'll have a real problem filling up those positions in the coming years, at least in this region. Barely any young people want to work such jobs.
Yup, trucking has become a race to the bottom. Drivers also generally pay their own vehicle maintenance, often on trucks their renting from the company that "hired" them.
I don't know when this all shifted in the past twenty years but it feels like the teamsters union (both here and in Mexico) needs to step up their game.
> Drivers also generally pay their own vehicle maintenance, often on trucks their renting from the company that "hired" them.
If the statistics are accurate, and my math isn't too horrible, in the US, something around 47% (679,127) of drivers (1,441,014) are owner operators. I'm not sure how many of that 679k are leasing from the company they drive for, but it's certainly not 100%. Drivers are not paying for their own maintenance when they don't lease/own the trucks.
The problem is not just that the truckers are waiting. There are lots of refrigerated trucks that burn diesel while they wait. If that diesel runs out, the food can spoil. Not to mention how inefficient it is to have refrigerated trucks sitting in the sun for 12 hours.
It’s a stunt by the Texas state government, just like the activation and fleecing of Texas National Guardsmen on low paying state duty doing a whole lot of nothing.
2. Labor cost is the largest portion of trucking costs. This would double or quadruple those costs if the idea is to make the trucker whole for Abbot’s temper tantrum.
The inspections are political. Tx gov started them because Biden removed title 42 expulsions. He simply ramped up full inspections for 100% of trucks entering the state (under tx dot authority) instead of the random system they had before.
Abbott is using the inspections as a political bargaining chip to regain title 42 expulsions.
The answer to the first question is in the article! There are new inspections being done by Texas state police, part of a political stunt by the governor to "protest" the elimination of covid-era federal inspections. And like any new bureaucracy, it's implemented poorly and causing backups.
1. Because the governor of Texas is an idiot, an idiot with racist tendencies and executive power. There won't be a return to normal operation until either the Feds step in or he is re-elected in November.
2. That's never going to happen because it has never happened before.
Depends on the authority they're claiming. If they claim to be regulating trade, that's probably gonna get slapped down really quick. The feds don't really like that. Doing background checks on the drivers would probably also get slapped down. Freedom of movement once you've been permitted entry to the US is pretty settled.
If they're claiming it's to make sure the trucks are safe enough to drive on Texas roads, it's a little different. The truckers, presumably, are allowed in the country, but they can't use any of the roads in Texas. That's the same effect, but a much more grey area. That would probably have to wind its way through the court. I'm also not sure how federal highway vs Texan maintained road would play into that.
> Freedom of movement once you've been permitted entry to the US is pretty settled.
If you're driving commercially you are subject to a lot of federal and state regulations, including vehicle and paperwork inspections. Abbott is clearly exploiting that to effectively deny freedom of movement, yes, and the judiciary isn't that stupid.
He knows he'll eventually lose a court case either from affected businesses or the feds - but in the meantime he gets "stuck it to the libtards" points with his constituents. It'll probably take at least a few days to get an emergency order, he'll fight that, and he'll probably waste millions taking it to the supreme court, all the while braying about "state's rights."
BTW - as far as the courts are concerned you only truly have freedom of movement on foot. They've consistently maintained driving is a privilege, not a right - which is why police have to clear a very low bar to stop and detain you.
Commercial bus, rail, and air travel? Even more of a 'privilege', which is why we have to submit to the pat-downs, microwave scans, anal probings, and having our luggage rifled through/stolen.
Interesting. That's only a few miles from me in McAllen. Coincidentally, the SpaceX "Starbase" facility is also only about 100 miles away as far as I know.
What I've been told by Uber drivers is that there have previously been significant military operations in the area related to combating cartels who desire to completely control border traffic.
So although the idea of searching everything or whatever they are doing is totally impractical and could result in many drivers not being able to make rent, the extensive smuggling may make things a little more complicated and difficult than people realize.
But it seems like if they try to search everything it is going to end up basically killing off some drivers and totally unrealistic.
This will not even slow cartels in the least. Fentanyl (the main reason for these searches) is extremely potent and just as easily snuck into the country with cars as with large trucks (probably easier). This security theater by Abbott, as a Texas of about 20 years I know this type of politician. He is playing to the hard right Trumpist republicans of the state. They love all the racist policies that the Texas GOP can cook up, it has become a common theme to really glom onto fear of “the other” politics here.
Those inspections may technically be illegal. Depending on how you turn your head and squint, impeding those trucks (especially if it's via inspections domestic vehicles don't experience) could be a violation of the commerce clause of the Constitution.
Sure, but that's the point. The reinterpretation of the commerce clause circa the Great Depression seems (to my not-a-lawyer eyes) to imply that if these border stops are going to raise prices in Oklahoma, the Executive is within its purview to tell the Governor to give his state troopers something else to do.
My gut says that Abbott knows this, but he just needs to string the legal process out 'til election day so he doesn't care.
The existence of a person may have a potential affect of some degree on interstate commerce, and therefore can be regulated in entirety under the commerce Claude.
That is the reasoning behind the affordable health care act on existing without government mandated levels of health insurance e. Your existence as a human affects commerce, and therefore is penalizable.
And the stupid 16th amendment. That's caused just as many problems as the commerce clause.
You're not wrong. But I'd be very interested to hear the counter argument. I've been trying to chew through the reporting on the topic and I haven't actually found yet what the Governor's justification is for these inspections. The best I can tell is he appears to be lumping them under general public safety authority, which is a paper thin excuse when the thing that he admits we're keeping people safe from is international trafficking. There are vast swathes of public safety that are not the responsibility of a state government.
It’s weird to see reminiscing for the Bush-era GOP from people who presumably aren’t Republicans. Don’t we want the state to listen to its voters and not corporations? I mean, the GOP ignoring its voters in favor of corporations is what led to the Trump rebellion against the Bush/Cheney wing. Democrats of the time were right!
If the “state” wanted to listen to voters it would stop trying so hard to disenfranchise so many of us that live in Texas cities but might not vote Republican.
So much of state politics is currently Republicans dog whistling made up issues to their base rather than any kind of evidence based policy.
Do Texans really want all trucks from Mexico inspected for drugs and harboring illegal migrants? I guess as a non Texan, I just hadn't realize how big an issue this was to Texans personally.
I'd dare say it's malicious, at least in this case.
Perfect time to shift blame upwards following the already ongoing shipping and supply problems. Endless aggressive expansion of the starve the beast tactic is bound to reach its limits eventually, and all that's left is outright attacking it.
Inventing a problem and proposing awful solutions is a proven election strategy.
Considering Texas has been complaining for a while about the illegal immigrant issue that the federal government is causing, this actually make perfect sense in terms of looking out for their constituents?
Readit News
> One trucker told the news outlet that prior to Abbott’s order, he made two crossings into the U.S. a day. Now, he’d be lucky to have one or two a week given the long delays at the bridges.
People express concerns that those jobs could get automated away, but I don't necessarily share those worries. Most of those people working those jobs are near retirement age, and we'll have a real problem filling up those positions in the coming years, at least in this region. Barely any young people want to work such jobs.
I don't know when this all shifted in the past twenty years but it feels like the teamsters union (both here and in Mexico) needs to step up their game.
There’s different types of regulation. The in-state truckers in labor friendly states get a decent deal.
If the statistics are accurate, and my math isn't too horrible, in the US, something around 47% (679,127) of drivers (1,441,014) are owner operators. I'm not sure how many of that 679k are leasing from the company they drive for, but it's certainly not 100%. Drivers are not paying for their own maintenance when they don't lease/own the trucks.
https://www.zippia.com/owner-operator-jobs/demographics/
https://www.zippia.com/truck-driver-jobs/demographics/
2. How much would it impact the costs of goods to pay truckers an hourly wage during these downtimes?
It’s a stunt by the Texas state government, just like the activation and fleecing of Texas National Guardsmen on low paying state duty doing a whole lot of nothing.
It sounds good on talk radio though.
2. Labor cost is the largest portion of trucking costs. This would double or quadruple those costs if the idea is to make the trucker whole for Abbot’s temper tantrum.
Abbott is using the inspections as a political bargaining chip to regain title 42 expulsions.
2. That's never going to happen because it has never happened before.
If they're claiming it's to make sure the trucks are safe enough to drive on Texas roads, it's a little different. The truckers, presumably, are allowed in the country, but they can't use any of the roads in Texas. That's the same effect, but a much more grey area. That would probably have to wind its way through the court. I'm also not sure how federal highway vs Texan maintained road would play into that.
If you're driving commercially you are subject to a lot of federal and state regulations, including vehicle and paperwork inspections. Abbott is clearly exploiting that to effectively deny freedom of movement, yes, and the judiciary isn't that stupid.
He knows he'll eventually lose a court case either from affected businesses or the feds - but in the meantime he gets "stuck it to the libtards" points with his constituents. It'll probably take at least a few days to get an emergency order, he'll fight that, and he'll probably waste millions taking it to the supreme court, all the while braying about "state's rights."
BTW - as far as the courts are concerned you only truly have freedom of movement on foot. They've consistently maintained driving is a privilege, not a right - which is why police have to clear a very low bar to stop and detain you.
Commercial bus, rail, and air travel? Even more of a 'privilege', which is why we have to submit to the pat-downs, microwave scans, anal probings, and having our luggage rifled through/stolen.
What I've been told by Uber drivers is that there have previously been significant military operations in the area related to combating cartels who desire to completely control border traffic.
So although the idea of searching everything or whatever they are doing is totally impractical and could result in many drivers not being able to make rent, the extensive smuggling may make things a little more complicated and difficult than people realize.
But it seems like if they try to search everything it is going to end up basically killing off some drivers and totally unrealistic.
My gut says that Abbott knows this, but he just needs to string the legal process out 'til election day so he doesn't care.
That is the reasoning behind the affordable health care act on existing without government mandated levels of health insurance e. Your existence as a human affects commerce, and therefore is penalizable.
And the stupid 16th amendment. That's caused just as many problems as the commerce clause.
Yeah, but actual cross-border trade being an exclusive federal authority isn't one of the squinty bits.
> To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;
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It is a testament to the resilience of ordinary Texans (and the Mexicans right across the border) that the state continues to do so well economically.
So much of state politics is currently Republicans dog whistling made up issues to their base rather than any kind of evidence based policy.
Perfect time to shift blame upwards following the already ongoing shipping and supply problems. Endless aggressive expansion of the starve the beast tactic is bound to reach its limits eventually, and all that's left is outright attacking it.
Inventing a problem and proposing awful solutions is a proven election strategy.
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