The e-Gov/Mil newsletter is IAM’s twice-per-month summary of Department of Defense and Federal Agency news and notes related to, or impacting, government personal property shipping programs.

DHS and DOL Announce Availability of Additional H-2B Visas for Fiscal Year 2023

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) are issuing a temporary final rule that makes available 64,716 additional H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023. These supplemental H-2B visas are for U.S. employers seeking to petition for additional workers at certain periods of the fiscal year before Sept. 15, 2023.

“The Department is making supplemental H-2B visas available earlier than ever, ensuring that American businesses can plan for their peak season labor needs,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “At a time of record job growth, these visas will also provide a safe and lawful pathway to the United States for noncitizens prepared to take jobs that are not filled by American workers.”

Read More

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Issues Charge Complaint Procedures for Noncompliant Detention and Demurrage Assessments

Commission provides additional information on required information from shippers challenging D&D fees

Last week, the FMC announced new interim procedures to review, investigate, and adjudicate Charge Complaints related to detention and demurrage assessments. These procedures are the result of reforms outlined in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), and are intended to facilitate challenges to D&D carrier charges.

As previously highlighted by IAM, these procedures are one of several items the Commission is currently addressing. A continuously updated list of FMC activity pertaining to OSRA can be viewed on this microsite, which is updated by Commission staff as new initiatives, rulemakings and regulations are announced.

Read More

IAMTrusted Moving Company

Professionalism Assured, Built on Collaboration and Trust.

Did you miss the IAMTrusted webinar this week? Watch it now!

Our business relies on our ability to collaborate with service partners operating to professionally expected standards. This system, built on experience and trust, works remarkably well. Most transactions flow seamlessly without formal written contracts but the few exceptions create tremendous friction, inefficiency and financial risk for the industry.

Learn More About This Important Credential and See the Early Adopters who Already Set Themselves Apart.

US railways signal possible shift in direction as headwinds gather

Two activist investment groups have proposed investor resolutions at Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, calling on them to offer paid sick leave as a standard benefit.

This was the issue that separated the carriers and unions in recent contract negotiations and threatened to precipitate a strike.

Trillium Asset Management has filed a proposal with UP, while Impact Shares, an exchange-traded fund, is pushing for this at NS.

Read More

Portal Magazine

In every issue of the Portal, we invite our authors to share their experiences, success stories, learning experiences, and vision with others in the moving and forwarding industry. In addition to our regular columns, feature articles for each issue are united by a central theme. 

Two TRANSCOM/Industry Calls: 8 Dec

There were two TRANSCOM calls for 8 December: a morning call (the non-peak season call) and an afternoon call (the TRANSCOM/Service/Industry call).  We continue to have trouble getting slides for these calls. TRANSCOM has some broader issues sending these slides out without their email being rejected by DoD servers. 

I did eventually get slides from this afternoon’s call.  They go along with the TRANSCOM_Industry Call document.  What is missing from the afternoon call is a separate set of slides that attempted to break down data elements of the BVS 2.0 effort. We’ve been promised those slides by TRANSCOM, but they have yet to make it to me.