Alec Gizzi, TIA Chairman: TIA has always and continues to honor the tradition of all associations; working collaboratively to improve and strengthen the industry for all transportation brokers including the small to mid-size brokers, instead of government intervention. Mr. Lamb, I take issue with your accusations about the BOD at TIA gathering to figure out how to lessen competition to fill their own pockets. I have been on the Board for over 10 years and never has anyone on the Board put their own self-interest ahead of that of the industry. It is the most professional group of dedicated people I have had the pleasure of serving with. At a recent gathering of about 500 brokers, I asked the following question, "Is anyone here against the FITT Act including raising the bond to $100,000?" and not one person raised their hand. With the assistance of Mr. Voltmann, the TIA staff, and the Board, TIA has initiated many policies and services that help the industry and it's members. Some include: . its "Best Practices" policy so that ALL brokers can raise their level of professionalism and better serve the carriers and shippers it represents. . TIA started and funds the only industry on-line "Watchdog" that helps point out the "bad actors" in our industry. . TIA has fought vigorously for changes in legislation and rule making at the Federal & State levels stopping numerous attempts to put brokers out of business. . TIA has not forgotten the small brokers. TIA is the only organization that offers classes and free seminars for those interested in new broker start-ups or careers in our industry. Finally in an age of a non-compromising congress were governess is not a friend but a way to keep self-interest groups funding, TIA, OOIDA, and ATA found a way to work together for the betterment of the industry. Is FFIT perfect? Is it exactly what any of the three groups wanted? Of course not. But, that is how things should get done in DC. In the end it is a piece of legislation that will raise the industry standard and help stop fraud. TIA will continue to develop educational forums to help brokers of all sizes. TIA will continue to advocate on behalf of our membership to Congress and the Federal agencies the role that we play in the supply chain and the value we bring to the economy. Alec A. Gizzi, CTB President - JBS Logistics, Inc. Chairman - TIA Board of Directors .

 

James Lamb, AIPBA President: Well, Mr. Chairman, I take issue with your Board abandoning the Industry's small brokers, many of whom I personally put into business. Your Board is protecting and promoting the interests of the big brokers who pays it $13,000 a year in dues, here, over those of the small and mid-sized brokers and your Board very well knows it. I have spent my career investigating REAL fraud as a DOT Investigator. SHAME ON YOU for using the crime of fraud as propaganda to speciously promote your own interests. For the past 15 years, I have helped the little guys in trucking get a piece of the American dream by starting their own business either as a motor carrier or a freight broker. I know and understand the plight of small business on both sides from a number of different perspectives. Your Association, sir, is KILLING that dream for America's would-be entrepreneurs and making those who already achieved the dream of owning their own business and working for themselves have to give it up to go work for your Big Broker pals. You are destroying this industry as I predicted in my 2010 article: http://www.womenintrucking.org/articles/treadlightlybrokerbond.pdf ninety eight per cent of the people polled on WashingtonWatch are against your FFIT. You get together in a room filled with your Big Broker buddies all you want... but that is NOT a microcosm of the industry. See: http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/112_HR_2357.html That's what Congressional staffers have seen the last two times you tried to get this through. You are OUT OF TOUCH! You TIA people really must live on an island unto yourselves because an overwhelming amount of people including Congressmen are AGAINST what you are trying to do including YOUR OWN MEMBERS... You already asked your membership via a TIA Advocacy online poll whether they would support a $100,000 bond and they told you no! 79% of them wanted ANYTHING other than a $100,000 bond. Now that poll-- which was published at http://www.tiaadvocacy.com/index.php?ht=d/ViewSurveyStatistics/i/2145166 is conveniently gone like some Orwellian Doublespeak. I really can't believe what I am hearing here. The fact is that a $100,000 bond will hurt good, honest, ethical, hard working small business people and they don't deserve that. We're talking about decent people who have struggled through the Great Recession to feed their families off their broker license. How you sleep at night when you know they won't be able to if this passes is beyond me. How dare you people even try to pretend that you're looking out for the small brokers. The REAL TRUTH is you are spending $250,000 per quarter lobbying for a $100,000 broker bond, something that your Big Broker constituents want so they can control the market. That's why this provision is in this Surface Transportation bill. Because you bought someone to get it in there. And you have the gaul to say to me and the small and midsized brokers that I represent: "Finally in an age of a non-compromising congress were governess is not a friend but a way to keep self-interest groups funding, TIA, OOIDA, and ATA found a way to work together for the betterment of the industry." You are the self-interest group, sir. And you say you want to fight fraud? Well I think you people are a fraud. I care about this Industry and about these small business people. I have personally trained and put hundreds of them into business. Some of these people are good friends of mine. I am not going to let you do this to them. We've stopped your power grab twice before and this little trick to sneak it in on page 527 of the House Highway Bill-- and force it through when it won't otherwise get approved as stand alone legislation-- because America desperately needs its infrastructure tended to is not going to work either. We will continue to expose TIA for what you have become.

 

 America is tired of the 1% taking advantage of the 99%. And to think...here we have a bill that will kill thousands of jobs called an "Infrastructure Jobs Act". Truly unbelievable.

 

Here is the TIA's lobbying report that shows TIA pays $220,000 per quarter on FFIT for the purpose of enacting a $100,000 broker bond to kill off the small brokers and to influence the House Surface Transportation Bill in that respect: http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=89194CFB-0FA6-4389-9687-5E08B2977417 That's almost a million dollars a year.

 

Now they have resorted to censoring free speech by removing this discussion from their Linked In Group page.

 

See the AIPBA's Linked in page at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Association-Independent-Property-Brokers-Agents-4293910?gid=4293910&trk=hb_side_g or visit the AIPBA website at www.independentpropertybrokers.org for more information.