Independent Truckers Launches Ambassador Program

“Our nation’s lawmakers, the media, and our neighbors simply aren’t familiar with the independent contractor business model in the trucking industry, and this coalition was formed to develop tools like the Independent Contractor Ambassador program in order to give these businesspeople a voice,” said Bill Webb of the Coalition for Independent Truckers. “Independent Contractor Ambassadors have an important role to play. We are asking them to be the public face of the independent contractor business model and do their part in protecting this key piece of the trucking industry.”

The Coalition for Independent Truckers is a coalition of independent truckers, motor carriers, service providers, independent associations and affiliated organizations committed to the singular mission of protecting and enhancing the independent contractor capacity model that is vital to the trucking industry and the economy of the United States. The non-partisan coalition represents a unified and powerful voice that believes the hundreds of thousands of truckers operating as independent contractors, each one a vibrant small business, constitute an irreplaceable element of our national logistics network and the U.S. economy.

As part of this mission, the coalition launched the Independent Contractor Ambassador program to create outreach opportunities for independent contractors to educate policymakers, the media, and the general public on the important role the independent contractor business model plays in the trucking industry.

The professional independent trucker model accounts for a significant portion of our nation’s professional truck capacity and has a history in the trucking industry that is as long as trucking itself.

Independent Contractor Ambassadors will serve the industry by advocating in state capitals, attending conferences, penning op-eds, and speaking to the media. The ambassadors will personally and systematically deliver the message that the independent contractor business model is critical to the trucking industry, allows capacity to be optimized, and provides entrepreneurial opportunities to those in the trucking industry who desire them.

The program will provide a stipend for Independent Contractor Ambassadors for their time spent at an event and other associated costs.

Truck drivers, like most professionals, have choices when it comes to how to make their living. Many choose to be employees of a motor carrier, and drive company-owned equipment. Others elect to pursue entrepreneurship by becoming an independent owner-operator who provides his or her equipment and services under contract to a motor carrier.

The Coalition for Independent Truckers recognizes that the professional independent trucker, who chooses to drive a truck professionally and elects to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities unavailable to employee drivers needs support.

As such, the Coalition for Independent Truckers believes in three core tenets:

1. We believe that a productive U.S. trucking industry depends on a variety of driver models, including employee drivers and independent owner-operators.
2. We believe professional independent truckers deserve access to academics, policymakers, and the general public so they can share their stories, their personal and professional goals, and ultimately assure this model remains viable. These people are small businesses and small businesses have always been the backbone of our national economy.
3. Professional independent truckers also need resources and support to stay relevant and viable in an ever-changing economy and freight environment.

Interested independent contractors are encouraged to apply to be Independent Contractor Ambassadors by submitting the official application form.