Dear Member of Congress:

We the undersigned, in the interest of economic justice, along with North American Drivers Resource Association Corporation (NADRA), the Disrespected Trucker, Black Smoke Matters, Diesel Alley Motor Cult, United Coalition of American Drivers, and the National Owner Operators Association, hereby endorse and support the request by the Board of Directors for the 501(c)(6) non-profit trade group Small Business in Transportation Coalition, Inc. (SBTC) aka Truckers.com & Trucker Lives Matter, for Congress to enact the proposed bill entitled the Transportation Intermediaries Accountability Act of 2023 (“TIA Act of 2023).

On May 6, 2020, the SBTC filed a petition with the Secretary asking for rulemaking to stop large property brokers from coercing small motor carriers and independent truck drivers to waive their 49 CFR § 371.3 rights to brokers’ records which reveal brokers’ commissions as a condition to be offered loads, suggesting this practice violates 49 U.S. Code § 14906 Evasion of Regulation of Carriers and Brokers. The Secretary, through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), granted the SBTC’s request to commence rulemaking on March 16, 2023 and this matter is pending. 

The TIA Act of 2023 would hold third-party transportation intermediaries accountable to Federal law & regulation and would help protect shippers, motor carriers, and independent truck drivers from unlawful attempts to circumvent existing transparency regulations. It would define the term “dispatcher” in the law and require escrow accounts for new brokers to make sure carriers' monies are not comingled with broker operational accounts.

We ask you to please enact this much-needed protection for independent truckers, motor carriers, and other small players in the transportation industry.