Home » OOIDA sends Biden letters asking that professional truck drivers be exempted from vaccination requirements

OOIDA sends Biden letters asking that professional truck drivers be exempted from vaccination requirements

fleetnewsdaily | February 8, 2022

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is the largest trade association representing the views of small-business truckers and professional truck drivers

The Honorable Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden:

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is the largest trade association
representing the views of small-business truckers and professional truck drivers. OOIDA has
over 150,000 members in North America, including nearly 1,000 Canadian drivers. OOIDA’s
mission is to promote and protect the interests of its members on any issues that might impact
their economic well-being, working conditions, and the safe operation of commercial motor
vehicles (CMVs) on our roads.
We are requesting that professional truck drivers be exempted from the vaccination requirements
that the administration implemented on January 22, 2022, for non-U.S. essential workers seeking
to enter the U.S. via land ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders.
Throughout the COVID-19 emergency, professional truckers have been risking their lives to
deliver critical goods to communities throughout North America. Prior to January 2022, truckers
were operating safely back and forth across the U.S-Canadian border to ensure North Americans
had the food and supplies they needed without having to show proof of vaccination or disclosing
any other aspects of their personal medical history. In fact, the Department of Homeland
Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has classified truck drivers as
essential to the viability of our nation’s infrastructure because trucking is such a vital component
for domestic and global trade.
Since commercial drivers spend the majority of their time alone in their vehicle and outside,
there is no evidence that truckers present a higher risk of spreading the virus. The Department of
Labor acknowledged this fact in guidance for the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration’s proposed vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard (ETS) issued
in November 2021. The guidance stated, “Therefore, the requirements of the ETS do not apply to
truck drivers who do not occupy vehicles with other individuals as part of their work duties.
Additionally, the requirements of the ETS do not apply to truck drivers who encounter other
individuals exclusively in outdoor environments.” Because the current cross-border policy
disregards the economic contributions of the trucking industry and overlooks the basic operating
procedures of the profession, we urge you to immediately exempt professional truck drivers from
the vaccination mandate.
An arbitrary vaccine mandate should not prevent hard-working men and women from earning a
living. The trucking profession is by no means an easy one and the pandemic has highlighted
many of the difficult working conditions drivers are forced to endure. For instance, finding a safe
place to park is something most people take for granted, but it’s a daily struggle for hundreds of
thousands of long-haul truckers especially when public rest stops started closing up. Throughout
the pandemic, shippers and receivers have been restricting access to their facilities, including
restrooms. Even now, finding a place to use the bathroom can still be problematic. Initially,
drivers weren’t able to find masks, hand sanitizer, or even bottled water. Truckers were
delivering everything most folks needed to survive, but couldn’t actually buy much of it
themselves. In the face of all these challenges, the perseverance of truckers never faltered. Truck
drivers choose to find ways to overcome every obstacle they encounter to bring us our essential
needs. Unfortunately, cross-border drivers cannot meet those needs if they are not allowed on the
road.
Since January 22nd, the new requirements for essential workers have impeded trade and
commerce between the U.S. and Canada. Many drivers have elected not to operate cross-border
under the new rules, while others continue to experience excessive wait times at border entry
points because of the new protocols. This has intensified existing challenges facing North
American freight networks and the supply chain and has resulted in higher prices for consumers.
We support efforts from your administration to combat the spread of COVID-19, however we
cannot endorse short-sighted policies that disrupt commerce, put truckers out of work, and create
shortages for essential supplies. Rather than imposing a heavy-handed mandate on the trucking
workforce who has delivered time and time again for both U.S. and Canadian citizens, your
administration must find less intrusive alternatives that can enhance public safety and foster trade
between the U.S. and Canada. In light of these concerns, we once again request that you exempt
professional truck drivers from the cross-border vaccination requirements that the administration
implemented on January 22nd, 2022, for non-U.S. essential workers.