The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The over 150,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.
Our Mission
The mission of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.
What We Do
The Association has actively advocated the views of truckers through its interaction with state, provincial and federal government agencies, legislatures, the courts, other associations, and private businesses to advance an equitable environment for commercial drivers. OOIDA is active in all aspects of highway safety and transportation policy, and represents the positions of professional truckers on numerous committees and in various forums on the local, state, provincial, national and international levels.
HISTORY
OOIDA was formed as a result of global trade and economic issues in the early 1970s. The Arab oil embargoes literally shut down the trucking industry and nearly crippled the nation. The association’s founding members (which included OOIDA’s president, Jim Johnston) traveled to Washington, DC to present the problems of the trucking industry before lawmakers. Fuel availability and pricing topped the list.
After a few weeks and many long meetings, the group left Washington very frustrated but none the less enlightened on what would need to be done. They understood that to accomplish anything in our nation’s capital, they would need to be better informed, funded and unified. In 1975, Jim Johnston was elected as president of the association, a position he jokes about by saying there wasn’t much competition because it involved “a lot of hard work, frustration and not much pay!” The first headquarters was located in the parking lot of a truck stop in Grain Valley, Mo. along Interstate 70, in a trailer chained to a light pole.
TODAY
Our national headquarters is still located on the outskirts of Kansas City, but now in Grain Valley, Mo.
All OOIDA officers and directors are now or have been professional truckers, and are elected from the membership, by the membership. The 21-member board defines OOIDA’s position on all major trucking issues.
OOIDA has a fully staffed Government Affairs office in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to helping small business truckers and professional drivers participate in the legislative and regulatory process and to tell their story to lawmakers. OOIDA’s Government Affairs office maintains an active grassroots advocacy effort that alerts members whenever legislative or regulatory developments necessitate a call for action. Visit www.fightingfortruckers.com to find out more.
OTHER DIVISIONS
OOIDA publishes Land Line Magazine, the trade publication dedicated to keeping professional truckers informed of current legislation, trucking regulations, new products and services, and common interests.
OOIDA also produces Land Line Now for Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s The Road Dog on Sirius XM Channel 106. Land Line Now is the first daily news and information program specifically designed for the trucking industry.
Through its subsidiary, Owner-Operator Services, the Association offers a wide variety of benefit programs to help members reduce costs, and operate more safely and efficiently.
Types of Membership
The number of members in the Association allows OOIDA to continue representing the nation’s small business truckers. Our large membership gives us the financial depth to hang on for the long haul in court cases. Our large membership gives us ‘weight’ when it comes time to let Washington, D.C., know how truckers feel about their industry. If you’re a member, thank you for your continued support. If you’re not a member, do the right thing. Fill out the membership form below and join OOIDA today!