Lyle Knows....

Went to a local show tonight and was reminded of our business.  The encore was a song many of our drivers and managers can appreciate.  Take this video for a spin:

Four New Members Join the Club

Today we celebrated four of our Truckload drivers joining the Million Mile Club.  The newest inductees include:

• Steven Allen –  Georgia Pacific
•  Joe Maceiras –  Midwest Network
• Alex Maldonado – Southwest Network
• Albert Pointer – Georgia Pacific

 Albert Pointer, Joe Maceiras, Steven Allen and Alex Maldonado

               Our Walk of Fame Never Gets Old!

Tom Beckett Retirement

 

Paul shared a touching note with me last week previous to his retirement.  We wish Tom the very best in his much deserved retirement. 

 

Yes, it's true, I'm retiring effective May 2. I turn 55 on May 3; my wife will be 65 in July. She's been retired from Broome County NY since just before we moved here. She stays busy with a number of things, but would like to have more time for us together. I am in a position where I can walk away and live reasonably well for the forseeable future-even the unforseeable future.

 

So we decided we want to take advantage of that opportunity while we're still young enough and have the energy and stamina to do the walking, climbing, driving, etc that our adventures will find for us. So it's not just leaving here, it's riding off into the sunset in a small RV to whatever is out there for us to find. We're looking forward to it.

J.B. Hunt Truckload Promotion

Last Friday signified Leonard Clinton's (pictured on the left) last day with our Truckload team.  Leonard has accepted a position in Springfield, Missouri leading the team at our Final Mile site for our Dedicated Contract Services division.  Please wish Leonard well as he takes on this new challenge in his career.

Leonard has been instrumental leading our IC/LP group.  Leonard, you will be missed!

Habitat for Humanity

Once again, our Truckload team worked in the construction of a new home in the Rogers, Arkansas area.  Our folks certainly worked hard and had a beautiful day outside to give back to the local community.

Our spring build for the Guadarrama family has been sponsored by the entire team at J.B. Hunt.    Our company provided the $72,000 required sponsorship along with all the labor to build the Guadarrama home.  Each member of our Truckload team has come back from the build inspired.

Our team consisted of Lisa Bacillia, Candice Anderson, Ashley Stevenson, Deb Beecher, Brian Oiler, Keith Brumbelow, Everett Gager, and Frank Remson.

PARCELite-Truckload Customer Overview

Pictured above: J.B. Hunt employee David Watkins, PARCELite Facility Manager Debbie Turner, and PARCELite Operations Manager Ryan North 

David Watkins is our driver at our Charleston Parcelite client. He has been with JB Hunt for 7 years and our driver for Parcelite for 4 years. We operate 4 facilities for Parcelite including Nashville TN, Kansas City, and Chicago IL. We pick up prescription drugs for Veterans from the government pharmacies and take them to the Parcelite facility where they sort the packages and send them out to the veterans either by the USPS or by LTL. David is a veteran himself, serving for the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg NC. He lives in Olar SC, with his wife of 30 years and their two cats.



Interesting Legislation

As part of its package of legislative recommendations called the Grow America Act, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation is asking Congress for authority to force carriers to pay drivers at least the hourly minimum wage for time spent on duty but not driving. DOT’s proposal carves out an exception if on-duty, not-driving time is covered under a collective bargaining agreement with a unit certified by the National Labor Relations Board.

The driver compensation measure is one of more than 30 provisions included in the Grow America Act’s Title V, which addresses the motor carrier program. None of those provisions rival the driver compensation language in terms of policy, however. “That’s clearly the biggest policy change in the motor carrier provisions and one we are clearly concerned about,” American Trucking Associations Executive Vice President Dave Osiecki told FleetOwner.

Although DOT’s summary of the Grow America Act refers specifically to drivers being “frequently detained for extended periods at shippers or receivers’ facilities,” the proposed statutory language would cover any time on duty but not driving. The legislation would apply to drivers of both trucks and buses.

The proposed legislation “will ensure fair pay for long-distance bus and truck drivers who are often paid by the miles they travel, not their total time on-duty, and face economic pressure to jeopardize safety by driving beyond the mandatory limits,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro in DOT’s announcement of the Grow America Act.

DOT’s proposal could be the first attempt in decades by a presidential administration to directly regulate truck driver pay, and the measure’s prospects would appear dim as long as the Republicans control at least the U.S. House of Representatives. Even so, industry groups are hardly ignoring it.