91��Ƶ

This afternoon's headlines: California Trucking Association pushes for tougher drug-use law; critics demand safety upgrade to Canada's wreck-prone Highway 401; and Connecticut steps up truck enforcement patrols.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters regards political contributions as a business. The union is looking for a presidential candidate that does it the most good, but for now it is resisting endorsing the two major parties’ contenders.

A Volvo truck dealership and a vehicle recycling company in Toronto are building the first of several plants designed to fully recycle worn-out and wrecked trucks.

As recently as 20 years ago, the average man or woman on the street would hear the words “truck driver,” and chances are the next word to come to mind would be “Teamsters.” The profession and the union were that closely tied. But times have changed.

Although Teamsters’ organizing activity has fallen off in the past year, it remains far and away the most active of all labor unions, according to data compiled by the Labor Relations Institute.

In the news this morning: Family-owned trucking company feels the pinch of federal estate taxes; higher fuel prices driving up consumer prices in Wisconsin; and equipment supplier Hayes Lemmerz blames flat earnings on weakened truck market.

This afternoon's headlines: Battle over Simon Transportation heats up as Moyes makes formal bid; drowsy truckers use mandatory W. Va. brake stop to sleep; and Colorado slashes sales tax on trucks, parts.

Critics far outweighed supporters at the first official sound-off over the Department of Transportation’s proposed hours-of-service rules for truck drivers last week in Washington.

When James P. Hoffa took office as general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in May 1999, following a tortuous and drawn-out election battle, the trucking community waited with bated breath.

In recounting his first year as general president of the Teamsters union, James P. Hoffa last week cited success in winning better contracts and recruiting new members. And at nearly the same moment that he was painting an upbeat picture, his first re-election opponent was throwing his hat into the ring.