[b]Teamsters Get Their Day in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
February 12, 2008

(San Francisco) – The Teamsters Union argued today in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the Bush administration broke the law when it opened the borders to trucks from Mexico in September.

Congress set safety requirements before the southern border could be opened to long-haul trucks. Those included upgrading inspection facilities, computer databases and state enforcement capacity. The requirements have not been met, according to the Transportation Department’s own inspector general.

The Transportation Department nonetheless opened the border as part of a pilot program on September 6. A handful of trucking companies are now participating in the program.

“The ink hadn’t even dried on the action taken by Congress when Mary Peters, the Secretary of Transportation, authorized this pilot cross-border trucking program,â€