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CLDA’S FINAL MILE FORUM EXPECTED TO BE INDUSTRY’S FIRST NATIONAL LIVE EVENT POST-PANDEMIC
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 6, 2021 – Registration is now open for what is expected to be the logistics industry’s first national live event following the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 CLDA Final Mile Forum & Expo will take place June 23-25 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It will feature educational sessions, networking events and a front row seat on the industry’s latest innovations.
The theme of the event is “Beating the Odds: Getting Back to Business,” and the program will include:
“We are looking forward to catching up with industry colleagues and reconnecting with old friends. After a year of virtual interaction, it’ll be great to connect in-person again,” says Final Mile Forum & Expo Chair, Tom Jowers. “The 2020 Final Mile Forum in Miami was our best attended conference in 15 years, and we’re expecting this one to generate the same kind of enthusiasm.”
Registration is now open on the CLDA website, with CLDA members receiving a discount of more than 35% on their registration. There are already 23 vendors with reserved spots in the CLDA Exchange Hall, but there are still a few booths available on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve one of those spots, contact Hana Watkins, CLDA’s Director of Operations, at hana@clda.org. To learn more about the event, visit clda.org/fmf.
About the Customized Logistics and Delivery Association
The Customized Logistics and Delivery Association (CLDA) is a non-profit professional association that connects and leads members of the time-critical logistics and delivery industries. The association serves the needs of its 2,900 essential service members who are logistics professionals, carriers, shippers, drivers, air cargo logistics providers, 3PLs and vendors servicing today’s supply chain companies. The CLDA gives its members access to a diverse network of logistics professionals looking to create new business opportunities and share decades of practical insights. They provide an avenue for amplifying members’ voices on key issues and help them participate in the regulatory discussions shaping the industry. The CLDA keeps members informed and educated on trends, current issues and best practices.
Media Contact
Andrea Obston aobston@aomc.com
(860) 243-1447 – office
(860) 803-1155 – cell
2020 was a busy year for CLDA! Check out our Year in Review Infographic to learn more about our growth and success over the past year.
CLDA is continuing to closely monitor the progress of the PRO Act as it moves through the House of Representatives. Yesterday, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) gave testimony before the House Rules Committee on her proposed amendment to the PRO Act which would have struck the most damaging provisions from the bill. Read more.
H.R. 842, known as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 (or the PRO Act for short) is coming up this week for a floor vote in the House of Representatives. This is the same “PRO Act” advanced in 2019 by the House. That bill died in the Senate in 2020, but we are in a new political landscape now and House Democrats are looking to advance the PRO Act again. The PRO Act would have many effects on the American economy (and these have been well documented by various news outlets). But there are several provisions of the PRO Act which we believe would be very harmful to CLDA member businesses. Read more.
As part of a reorientation in Department of Labor (DOL) policy, the Biden administration has removed from use a series of Trump administration opinion letters regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Issuing these opinion letters was a practice widely used by the Trump DOL for quick deregulation without the need for a lengthy rulemaking and public comment period. However, the ease with which these letters are issued makes them a short-term fix, and they can be withdrawn just as quickly as they were issued. Read more.
CLDA, in partnership with NYMCSA and TIA, is proud to announce a virtual Transportation and Logistics Advocacy Day in Albany, New York, April 26-28. This is an important opportunity for you to learn about critical industry issues, develop and improve relationships with policymakers and their staffs, and educate and advocate on our industry’s top concerns in the very important state of New York. Learn more.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) collaboratively released a bill today called the Modern Worker Empowerment Act. This bill would “update the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to codify the common-law definition of ’employee,’ aligning the FLSA with other federal laws, as well as numerous state statutes and recent Supreme Court decisions.” Read more.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Feb. 22, 2021 — Last-mile company executives may be able to get their drivers the COVID-19 vaccine right now regardless of their age. One owner of a courier company created that opportunity, and now all of his drivers who wanted to be vaccinated have received it.
Ben Kaplan, the owner of Rightaway Delivery in Romulus, Michigan reached out to one of the bigger hospitals his company serves to make his case. “I called my contact at the hospital and said ‘We’re such a vital part of your operation and we represent you. It’s common sense for you to want our drivers to be protected.’”
Rightaway delivers medications from the hospital’s pharmacy, handles specimens from their labs and makes sure their COVID-19 tests get to the labs to for processing. In all, they work for 20 departments and 120 satellite offices around southeast Michigan for that one hospital.
When Kaplan first made his case to one of his contacts, she said he could only send in the drivers to be vaccinated who worked for her department. “What she didn’t realize was all the other departments in her hospital we take care of,” says Kaplan. “Once I explained that, she realized the smartest thing to do was to protect everyone in our company.”
As a result, Rightaway was able to offer the vaccine to anyone in the company who wanted it. “The lesson for other carriers is to make your case to all of the departments at every hospital you work for, including the clinics and labs,” says Kaplan.
Many Rightaway drivers and employees seized on the opportunity to get vaccinated. “They had a one-week window to fill out the paperwork, and everybody who wanted to got it,” says Kaplan. “It was a personal choice. We could not force people to get it. All I did was offer them the opportunity.” Kaplan, himself, jumped at the chance to get the vaccine.
Reactions from his drivers and employees has been overwhelmingly positive. “They told me they felt very lucky,” he says. “So many have thanked me. The people who wanted shots were pleased. They had been worried.”
He urges all last-mile company executives to do the same. “You should have a good enough relationship with your hospital customers to be comfortable making that request,” he says. “Tell them ‘We represent you. We come into your hospital. We are a part of your operation. Don’t you think we should be considered a priority alongside healthcare workers?’”
Medical work is a critical part of Rightway’s business. Since the pandemic hit, they have been transporting 1,000 COVID-19 tests per day for multiple customers, getting them to local labs or on planes to labs in Kansas City, Salt Lake City and Atlanta. They also pick up and deliver tests to 40 Walgreens on the weekends. It’s all an extension of their extensive work for hospitals, labs and clinics, which is a large part of their business.
Kaplan is on the board of the Customized Logistics and Delivery Association (CLDA), the trade association for last-mile carriers and drivers in North America. Since last December, the association has been reaching out to legislators and government officials to request that their workforces be designed as essential workers and therefore eligible to receive the vaccine on a priority basis. In the initial stages of the pandemic, CLDA’s efforts meant that this industry was declared essential so workers could go to their jobs when stay-at-home orders were in place. However, that hasn’t helped get their workforces access to the vaccine yet.
CLDA reached out to state health departments to put their drivers into the Phase 1b vaccination category. “We asked them to put us in the Phase 1b category as frontline essential workers or to move them up because of the medical importance of their services,” says Michael Taylor, CLDA government affairs director. “The Director of the CDC adopted the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that our workforce fit in Phase 1, but ultimately the decision of whether we fit into Phase 1b for frontline essential workers or in Phase 1c for other essential workers is in the hands of each state’s health department. The dialogue has been different depending upon the state. Several states have accepted our position. We urge all members to reach out to their customers on a local level to make things even more likely to happen.”
Kaplan advises other carriers that work in the healthcare environment to do what he did to get his people vaccinated. “My advice is to go ahead and do this on your own. If you’re working with a hospital, why wouldn’t you call? What do you have to lose? And what have you got to gain for your people?”
About the Customized Logistics and Delivery Association
The Customized Logistics and Delivery Association (CLDA) is a non-profit professional association that is the voice of the time-critical logistics and delivery industries. The association serves the needs of its 2,900 essential service members who are logistics professionals, carriers, shippers, drivers, air cargo logistics providers, 3PLs and vendors servicing today’s supply chain companies. Since 1987, CLDA has provided business opportunities, advocacy and education. For more information see www.clda.org.
Media Contact
Andrea Obston aobston@aomc.com
(860) 243-1447 – office
(860) 803-1155 – cell
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 19, 2021— Shippers and carriers will meet up for a virtual networking event on Wednesday, March 3. The first Virtual CLDA Shippers Exchange will match shippers looking for carriers and carriers looking for business during roundtable sessions. The event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Eastern) on Zoom.
Attendees will participate in three shipper-carrier roundtable sessions and one vendor session in separate Zoom rooms. Shipper sessions will last 50 minutes with participants grouped by the vertical they are interested in. The vendor roundtables will last for 30 minutes.
“Shippers are still looking for ways to expand their capacities, and they are looking to our members to help them meet escalating demands,” says Randy Edmonds, conference chair. “It’s why we felt it was important to offer this platform for those in the industry to connect.”
Before the event, carriers will fill out questionnaires about their companies’ capabilities, coverage areas and the verticals they serve. Based on shipper’s questionnaires about their needs and requirements conference organizers will match them up with carriers.
“We’re expecting shippers from verticals such as ecommerce, medical, pharma, auto, freight brokers, and others to participate,” says Edmonds. “Fifteen shippers have already signed up and based on the initial enthusiastic response, we’re expecting more to join the event.”
The event is open to CLDA members and non-members. Registration is now open for both shippers and carriers, with shippers invited to attend at no cost.
For more information or to register, visit www.clda.org/shippers-exchange.
About the Customized Logistics and Delivery Association
The Customized Logistics and Delivery Association (CLDA) is a non-profit professional association that is the voice of the time-critical logistics and delivery industries. The association serves the needs of its 3,500 essential service members who are logistics professionals, carriers, shippers, drivers, air cargo logistics providers, 3PLs and vendors servicing today’s supply chain companies. Since 1987, CLDA has provided business opportunities, advocacy and education. For more information see www.clda.org.
Media Contact
Andrea Obston aobston@aomc.com
(860) 243-1447 – office
(860) 803-1155 – cell
Yesterday the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced the withdrawal of an opinion letter which can impact CLDA members.
Given that FLSA2021-9 offered protections for motor carriers in their utilization of Independent Contractors, its withdrawal means that you no longer have those protections for any DOL actions or audits. As such, please seek legal counsel if you intend to still pursue the now removed protective opinion practices. Learn more.
