Voice Of GO(r)D is proud to present a brief chat with Lewie Pugh, the Executive VP of one of America’s oldest and definitely largest driver advocacy organization in the country. I met up with Lewie at MATS 2025 and invited him on the show, and between all of the work and travel he has been up to, he very graciously squeezed me in. We discuss how he got into trucking, how and why he joined OOIDA, and what OOIDA is, is not, and various issues they are working on.
This was recorded a couple of months ago (I know, I’m so behind on getting these out) and since recording, President Trump signed the Executive Order re-enforcing English Proficiency requirements for CDL drivers in America, which you can read about at this piece I wrote for The American Conservative and you can likewise see Lewie, along with Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s Big Cheese, at an announcement about new enforcement directions with Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, down in Austin, Texas recently.
Also, OOIDA recently released a white paper further debunking the driver shortage narrative, and what do you know, they even quoted my line in it - a system of “stealth corporate welfare disguised as a jobs training program”
You can find Lewie on Twitter - https://x.com/Lewie_Pugh
His Bio page at OOIDA - https://www.ooida.com/board/todd-spencer/lewie-pugh-2/
Sign up for a membership at OOIDA - https://www.ooida.com/membership/
As you know, I’m writing a book on the fate of the North American trucker in 2025, which you can read more about here -
https://autonomoustruckers.substack.com/p/book-project-announcement-and-a-major
Thanks for listening, and as always, questions, comments, suggestions, corrections and Hate Mail are welcomed and strongly encouraged - gordilocks@protonmail.com
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com