The most powerful union in the United States is putting its weight behind a GOP effort to crack down on a longtime trucking industry gimmick behind many horrific highway crashes.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is officially endorsing the Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement (SAFE) Act introduced by Republican Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman, the Daily Caller News Foundation has exclusively learned. The legislation aims to eliminate the prevalence of “chameleon carriers,” trucking companies that repeatedly reopen under new identities after being shut down.
The high-profile endorsement comes as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, responding to a wave of deadly wrecks involving illegal migrant truck drivers across the country, are aiming to completely revamp the industry.
“Chameleon carriers have gone unchecked for decades, harming and weakening America’s trucking industry,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement provided to the DCNF. “These unscrupulous operators jeopardize the safety of everyone on our roadways and threaten the livelihoods of truck drivers who follow the rules.”
“The Teamsters commend Rep. Hageman for taking an aggressive stance to rein in the worst of the worst in the trucking industry, and we strongly endorse the SAFE Act,” O’Brien continued.
Chameleon carriers are typically trucking companies that rotate through Department of Transportation (DOT) registration numbers, names or ownership structure to avoid enforcement actions. After being shut down by regulators for any number of violations, these companies will simply reopen under a new name and registration number, all while using the same trucks and staff.
If passed and signed into law, the SAFE Act would establish an automation tool to detect chameleon carriers in the registration process, helping take them off American highways for good, according to Hageman’s office. The legislation would also bolster coordination between federal and state agencies to identify chameleon carriers, require a nationwide study and preserve due process by requiring human review.
“These companies game the system, ignore the law, and put American families at risk, all while punishing hardworking truckers who follow the rules,” Hageman previously stated about her legislation. “If a trucking company racks up violations or loses its license, it should not get to slap on a new name and get back on the road.”
Deadly truck crashes have plagued the industry in recent months, with many of these wrecks involving both illegal migrants working for chameleon carriers.
An illegal migrant driver allegedly killed four people after smashing his big rig into another vehicle along an Indiana highway in February, with investigators later determining his truck was part of a network of carriers operating under numerous identities. The illegal migrant trucker who rammed into Dalilah Coleman — the girl who became the inspiration for President Donald Trump’s “Dalilah Law” — in June 2024 was employed by a chameleon carrier, according to her father.
Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks demanded that the DOT in February investigate the prevalence of chameleon carrier networks. Banks, who introduced Dalilah’s Law in the Senate, also runs a tip-line for insiders to report malfeasance within the trucking industry.
Dalilah’s father, Marcus Coleman, is currently championing his daughter’s namesake bill in Congress. He confirmed to the DCNF that he is meeting with Hageman on Tuesday.
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