Overdrive

September 2013

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/165354

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 17 of 109

Logbook Report: Driving among hardest-to-fill jobs A report from CareerBuilder ranked "truck driver" as the third "Hardestto-Fill Position" in the country, based on a survey of hiring managers earlier this year. Between 2010 and 2013, 113,517 jobs have been added, according to CareerBuilder, which interviewed more than 2,000 hiring managers to identify positions that stayed open 12 weeks or longer. Sales representatives topped the list, while machine operators and production workers ranked second. "The skills gap that exists for highgrowth specialized occupations will become even more pronounced in the years to come, prompting the Truck driving ranked third in survey of hiring managers. need to place a greater emphasis on reskilling workers through formal education and on-the-job training," said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder. – James Jaillet Fleets allege 'shell' company used in Pilot claims As the civil lawsuits continue to pile up in the wake of federal allegations concerning Pilot Flying J's fuel rebate program, questions have been raised about the proposed settlement of a class action filed in Arkansas. As first reported by The Tennessean, the man who formed a corporation seeking to settle suits against the truck stop giant is also an executive for a trucking association that counts Pilot among its dues-paying members. Records show that within days of the FBI raid on Pilot's headquarters in Knoxville, Tenn., Lane Kidd, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, formed National Trucking Financial Reclamation Services LLC. National Trucking then filed the class-action suit that led to the proposed settlement. The connection is a little too cozy for some trucking companies, who argue in court filings that Kidd's firm is a "shell" company "hastily conjured in Arkansas" for resolving the civil cases against Pilot. Drew McElroy, the attorney for Atlantic Coast Carriers and three other trucking firms, charged that National Trucking shouldn't qualify to be part of the class action, The Tennessean reported. "National Trucking is not a trucking company and has never bought a gallon of fuel from Pilot," the motion states. Kidd, who did not respond to interview requests for The Tennessean story, issued a statement to correct "inaccurate reporting" and to defend the class-action settlement and his role in it. He says that "at no time prior to filing the lawsuit did Pilot know of my intentions to file the case," and that he has never met Jimmy Haslam, Pilot Flying J's chief executive officer. Kidd said he formed National Trucking to represent his state association trucking companies as their agent in the suit, and that such a move "is nothing out of the ordinary." Brian Fitzpatrick, a Vanderbilt University professor who specializes in class-action litigation, agreed that the assignment of interests in a classaction suit is routine. "It kind of mimics some of the advantages of the class-action system," Fitzpatrick told the Associated Press. "In the insurance industry, it's ubiquitous." – Staff reports THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption from the 30-minute break requirement mandated by the hours of service rule. The exemption would apply to its Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, which includes contract motor carriers and their employees who are transporting weapons, munitions and sensitive/classified cargo. 16 | Overdrive | September 2013 Logbook_0913.indd 16 8/27/13 11:00 PM

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Overdrive - September 2013