IWLA’s Anderson pens no-holds-barred blog
If you like commentary that’s bold, opinionated,
and provocative, then Joel D. Anderson’s new
blog on DCVelocity.com will be your cup of tea.
Anderson, an economist who is president and
CEO of the Des Plaines, Ill.-based International
Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA), has
plenty to say about state and federal legislation
affecting the warehouse-based third-party logistics industry. And he’s not shy. Recent posts have
tackled such controversial subjects as minimum
wage hikes and the National Labor Relations
Board’s relationship with organized labor.
As head of a 120-year-old group with some 500 members in the United
States and Canada, Anderson has a front-row seat for observing the
goings-on in Washington and in state legislatures. Before joining IWLA, he
spent 28 years at the California Trucking Association, the last 13 as executive vice president and CEO.
Read Anderson’s commentary at http://blogs.dcvelocity.com/policy/. ;
Wreaths of respect
Eighty-eight big rigs carrying a veritable forest of handmade evergreen wreaths fanned
out from Harrington, Maine, last month,
bound for 740 state and national cemeteries
across the country. Volunteers met the
trucks to participate in ceremonies and help
lay over 325,000 wreaths on veterans’ graves.
Forty-three trucking companies answered
the call from the Wreaths Across America initiative, which seeks to honor and remember
fallen soldiers during the holiday season. The
carriers volunteered their vehicles and drivers.
The American Trucking Associations’
(ATA) Share the Road truck, along with
trucks from owner-operator Scott Harris,
Hartt Transportation, Oakhurst Dairy,
Pottle’s Transportation, Schneider National,
Walmart Transportation, and Witte Bros.
Exchange, traveled as part of a special convoy that delivered more than 12
truckloads of wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery.
ATA member Barry Pottle of Pottle’s Transportation organized the
transportation routes this year, as he has in the past. Pottle received the
2010 Founders Award from Wreaths Across America in recognition of the
significant improvements he has made in the logistics of the operation and
for getting the trucking industry involved in the effort.
A complete list of carrier volunteers can be found at www.wreaths-acrossamerica.org. ;
inbound
“The right thing
to do”
Brian Eddy never turns away a person who wants to work.
Eddy is general manager, business development and marketing
for The Rehabilitation Center, a
non-profit organization in Olean,
N.Y., that hires individuals with
disabilities to work in its various
divisions. Among its operations is
SubCon Industries, which provides
services like contract assembly,
order fulfillment, polybagging,
shrink wrapping, and repacking to
the third-party logistics service
sector.
Now, SubCon is hoping to
expand beyond its traditional 3PL
customer base and work directly
with shippers. Eddy says SubCon’s
value proposition, which is providing the services of loyal, hardworking employees who can perform any number of tasks at a reasonable cost, will become more relevant in a tough economy as shippers look to reduce costs and optimize their networks.
“This is the perfect time for
them to explore the many benefits
and the value that non-profit
providers can bring to the table,”
Eddy told DC VELOCITY.
But for all the value it may bring
to shippers and 3PLs, SubCon
believes that its biggest reward
comes in providing a paycheck and
a purpose to those who might otherwise have neither.
As the organization states in its
brochure, helping workers with
disabilities find meaningful
employment is “the right thing to
do.” Eddy adds, “It’s nice to see all
the smiles each payday.”
To learn more about SubCon, go
to www.subconindustries.com. ;
