Michael H. Belzer is an American academic and former

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

, known as an internationally recognized expert on the trucking industry, especially the institutional and economic impact of

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

. He is a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in the economics department at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. He is the author of ''Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2000). Along with Gregory M. Saltzman, he coauthored ''Truck Driver Occupational Safety and Health: 2003 Conference Report and Selective Literature Review'',

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the List of United States federal agencies, United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related occ ...

, 2007. He has written many peer-reviewed articles on trucking industry economics, labor,

occupational safety and health Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work (i.e., while performing duties required by one's occupation). OSH is re ...

, infrastructure, and operational issues.

Background

For ten years, he was a long-haul

tank truck A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (American English) or tanker (British English) is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquids or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars, which are also desi ...

driver, one of the leaders of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, and a member of the

International Brotherhood of Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse members ...

. These experiences had a direct impact on his research, writing and career. Belzer received his Ph.D. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1993. His thesis, "Collective Bargaining in the Trucking Industry: The Effects of Institutional and Economic Restructuring," focused on the transformational dynamic of changed regulation and institutional structure on industrial relations in the trucking industry.

Research

Belzer studies the industrial and labor relations of the trucking industry, including motor carrier safety, driver safety and health, and intermodal freight and logistics. He is a proponent of “safe rates” and believes that driver working conditions and compensation is a major determinant of motor vehicle driver safety and health. His book ''Sweatshops on Wheels'' was critically well received. Low pay, bad working conditions and unsafe conditions have been a direct result of deregulation. " his bookargues that trucking embodies the dark side of the new economy.""Sweatshops on Wheels," '' U.S. News & World Report''. "Conditions are so poor and the pay system so unfair that long-haul companies compete with the fast-food industry for workers. Most long-haul carriers experience 100% annual driver turnover.""Sweatshops on Wheels." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' As the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' wrote: "The cabs of 18-wheelers have become the

sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a cramped workplace with very poor and/or illegal working conditions, including little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting and ventilation, or uncomfortably or dangerously high or low temperat ...

s of the new millennium, with some truckers toiling up to 95 hours per week for what amounts to barely more than the minimum wage. his bookis eye-opening in its appraisal of what the trucking industry has become."

Published works

* .

Research reports

*"Pay and Safety Report, September 2002"
The Jobs Tunnel: The Economic Impact of Adequate Border-Crossing Infrastructure
(Nov. 2003).

Selected scholarly publications

Pay Incentives and Truck Driver Safety: Case Study
" With co-authors Daniel A. Rodriguez and Felipe Targa. Abstract published in Compendium of Papers CD-ROM of the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, January 12–16, 2003, Washington, DC.
Effects of Truck Driver Wages and Working Conditions on Highway Safety: Case Study.
With Daniel Rodríguez, Marta Rocha, and Asad J. Khattak. Abstract published in Compendium of Papers CD-ROM of the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, January 12–16, 2003, Washington, DC. *"Effects of Truck Driver Wages and Working Conditions on Highway Safety: Case Study." With Daniel Rodríguez, Marta Rocha, and Asad J. Khattak. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, no. 1833 (Freight Policy, Economics, and Logistics; Truck Transportation), pp. 95–102. 2003.
The Case for Strengthened Motor Carrier Hours of Service Regulations
(with Gregory M. Saltzman). Transportation Journal, Volume 41, No. 4 Summer 2002, pp. 51–71. *"Trucking: Collective Bargaining Takes a Rocky Road." in Collective Bargaining: Current Developments and Future Challenges, edited by Paul F. Clark, John T. Delaney, and Ann C. Frost. Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association 2002, pp. 311–342
Technological Innovation and the Trucking Industry: Information Revolution and the Effect on the Work Process.
Journal of Labor Research, Volume 23, No. 3; Summer 2002, pp. 375–396.
Truck Driver Security Issues: The New World of Secure Surface Transportation
" Perspectives on Work: The Magazine of the IRRA, Vol. 6, No. 1; June 2002, pp. 13–15.
Worker Representation in the Truckload Sector: What Do Truckers Want?
in the Proceedings of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association, January 5–7, 2001, New Orleans, Louisiana. *"Deregulation and Decentralization: The Impact on Employment Relations." Twenty First Century Labor Studies International Academic Conference," Chinese Culture University. Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. October 12–13, 2000, pp. 1-45.
Government Oversight and Union Democracy: Lessons from the Teamsters Experience
(with Richard Hurd). Journal of Labor Research, Volume XX, Number 3, Summer 1999.
Labor Market Regulation: Balancing the Benefits and Costs of Competition
(with Dale Belman). In Government Regulation of the Employment Relationship, Bruce Kaufman, ed. Madison, Wisconsin: Industrial Relations Research Association. 1997.

Industrial and Labor Relations Review 48:4 (July 1995). *"Labor Law Reform: Taking a Lesson from the Trucking Industry." Proceedings of the Forty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association. Washington, DC. January 6–8, 1995. Madison, Wisconsin: Industrial Relations Research Association. 1995.
The Motor Carrier Industry: Truckers and Teamsters Under Siege.
In Contemporary Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector, edited by Paula B. Voos. Madison, Wisconsin: Industrial Relations Research Association. 1994.
Paying the Toll: Economic Deregulation of the Trucking Industry.
Washington, D.C.:

Economic Policy Institute The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C., that carries out economic research and analyzes the economic impact of policies and proposals. Affiliated with the Labor un ...

. 1994.

References

External links

Wayne State University Faculty Homepage

Michael H. Belzer Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belzer, Michael H. Living people Wayne State University faculty American economics writers American male non-fiction writers Transport economists Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations alumni Year of birth missing (living people)