Representatives from National Tank Truck Carriers recently met with White House officials to address the labor shortage plaguing the trucking industry and discuss how the Biden administration can help improve recruiting and retention of drivers.

The meeting included Rob Sandlin, president of NTTC and president and CEO of Florida Rock & Tank Lines; Ryan Streblow, President and CEO of NTTC; and peers from other trucking companies and professional organizations. They held a “collaborative discussion” on supply chain issues with Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

Overall, NTTC said, meeting attendees expressed support for the Biden administration’s trucking action plan to strengthen the trucking workforce in the United States.

“Without a doubt, recruitment and retention are the two most obvious threats facing the North American tanker industry,” said Sandlin. “NTTC strongly supports increased awareness and expansion of training opportunities, and the Trucking Action Plan is a great plan to recruit the best talent into truck cabs, while addressing the barriers that prevent retention.” conductors.

“In addition to the beneficial roundtable we had … at the White House, the association and I stand ready to help federal partners, including the White House and the Departments of Labor, Transportation and Veterans Affairs, to strengthen the US supply chain. “

The Trucking Action Plan recognizes the vital importance of trucking in the U.S. supply chain and proposes a set of goals to be achieved over the next 90 days. The multidimensional approach begins with the following actions to be implemented immediately:

• Take action to reduce barriers preventing drivers from obtaining CDLs
• Launch a 90 Day Challenge to Accelerate the Expansion of Saved Learning
• Conduct outreach and recruiting activities focused on Veterans
• Launch the joint DOT-DOL “Driving Good Jobs” initiative

The plan to engage routine and non-traditional stakeholders is broken down into sequential steps 30, 60 and 90 days from implementation, the NTTC said. Starting by hosting listening sessions involving industry leaders and veterans organizations, the administration will then work to make trucking a more attractive career by streamlining the treatment of CDLs and studying. the remuneration of drivers. Within 60 days of implementation, the administration will implement additional driver education programs while increasing veteran bridging programs to encourage trucking as a viable choice.

Finally, the administration will launch working groups on the promotion of women in trucking and the investigation of certain truck rental contracts that could affect the retention of drivers.

“NTTC has taken and will continue to take important steps to work with this administration on various solutions to improve driver recruitment and retention in the tanker industry,” Streblow said. “In addition to NTTC’s support for a national apprenticeship program for professional drivers, we have encouraged the administration to cut red tape, resulting in delays in obtaining CDLs and MCHs for drivers, to join the industry in a national campaign promoting the professional driver as a professional driver. skilled trade, and pointed out that the trucking industry is this country’s insurance policy to solve the current supply chain challenges.