Voice Of GO(r)D is very happy to kick off Truck Driver Appreciation Week in conversation with Dr. Michael Belzer, the author of Sweatshops on Wheels, an academic inquest into what happened to the wages and working lives of truckers in the aftermath of economic deregulation, brought to the industry by the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. Published back in 2000, this book remains one of the seminal studies on the effects of deregulation over this very large and important sector of the working class.
Professor Belzer's own website does a great job on his bio -
https://www.michaelbelzer-saferates.com/
"Dr. Belzer is a former Teamster tank truck driver with ten years and more than three quarters of a million miles of over-the-road experience. He was a driver both before and after deregulation. For thirty years, he has been studying the economics of the trucking industry, supply chain infrastructure, truck driver health and safety, unionization and collective bargaining, and the effects of deregulation.
His experience and research show that recruitment, retention, and safety problems are economic, not technical. Based on his research and analysis, he proposes clear policy solutions to the issues facing the trucking industry: fair labor standards, "safe rate" regulations, and the use of market forces to create incentives for behavior changes. As he knows from his perspective as an economics professor and as a former truck driver, being a truck driver was once a good job and it can be one again."
Unfortunately, Sweatshops on Wheels is out of print, but you can find used copies on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Sweatshops-Wheels-Winners-Trucking-Deregulation/dp/0195128869
Hopefully he gets back the rights to the book soon, as he indicates in the show that he would like it to be made available free.
Questions, comments, and Hate Mail can be directed to the show via
gordilocks@protonmail.com
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