The owner of an Illinois trucking company appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to discuss the steps they will take to ensure the safety of the company truck drivers.
Mike Kucharski, co-owner of JKC Trucking, a Chicago-based trucking company, appeared on the “Fox and Friends First” show to talk about recent changes in their company’s policies. The policy in question is a response to the latest push to defund and disband whole police departments in major cities across the state.
Ever since the death of George Floyd, who was killed by the Minneapolis police during an arrest, many cities across the state are considering defunding and even disbanding police departments.
Truckers warned that they would not deliver loads to cities with disbanded or defunded police departments. A CDLLife poll states that 79% of drivers refuse to deliver to these places.
Since trucking being on the top of the list of most dangerous jobs in the US, this adds an additional layer of danger to an already perilous career.
Recent events justify truckers’ fears, as the protests following the death of George Floyd resulted in multiple incidents where truckers were attacked and looted. Trucks appear to be high on the list of looters because they carry valuable cargo on the road for weeks.
Kucharski acknowledges that truckers are a target, and now without the police, they will be an even bigger target. “Everybody wants to steal this,” Kucharski said.
“Another issue that I am seeing in the future is I have cargo insurance, liability insurance, fiscal damage insurance, and I am very curious how when I renew my contracts at the end of the year if there is going to be language — if I am going to even have coverage going into these places.”
“Right now, I have coverage going all over domestically. You have to get special coverage for Canada or Mexico, or you might have to buy special riders for this on top of hoping that everything will be okay in transit, and there will be no issues,” Kucharski said.
The above statement shows that problems appear to be bigger than the immediate looting problem. Many trucking companies, including Kucharski’s, are in a dilemma whether insurance companies will cover trucks that were damaged going into places with defunded or disbanded police departments.
Kucharski addressed truck drivers with the following, “During this time of crisis, the government has been behind the steering wheel. It’s time for small businesses to take back the steering wheel and make the right decisions. To sit down with the politicians. I welcome the politicians to sit down with us so we can educate them on what is the best for the economy and small businesses.”
“Last time I checked, small businesses were the backbone of America.”
