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Episode 1: A Conversation with Alix Miller from The Florida Trucking Association of Florida
131 Plays1 year ago
Our conversation today is co-hosted today with Erin Collins, Executive Director of the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking, and Alan Wilkett, a former deputy with the Pasco County Sheriff's department.
In today's interview with Alix Miller from the Florida Trucking Association, we learn how the trucking industry is a great source to spot human trafficking in Florida. Learn how, why, and what we can do to push this strategy forward.
To learn more about the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking, or to become one of our first 100,000 citizens to become educated about the signs of Human Trafficking and how to help our law enforcement end it, please go to our website to Take Action: https://floridaallianceendht.com/take-action/
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Transcript
Introduction to Florida Alliance and Podcast
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome to the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking podcast. My name is Erin Collins, and I have the privilege of serving as the executive director. Today, my co-host is Alan Wilkitt, retired corporal with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, who also serves on the Florida Alliance Board. Alan, thank you for joining me. Absolutely. What a pleasure to be here and to have this opportunity to share with this audience the things that we're doing to change human trafficking in Florida.
00:00:32
Speaker
Thank you, Alan. For those that might not be familiar with the Florida Alliance, the Alliance was created in 2019 by the Florida Legislature to provide funding, support, and assistance to the statewide effort to end human trafficking.
Legislative Foundations and Concerns
00:00:45
Speaker
Alan, you were very proactive and engaged in this effort and the legislative process to create this nonprofit. Can you share with our audience your efforts to get this organization started?
00:00:56
Speaker
Sure, it was an effort of many, obviously, to get this done. A big thank you to those legislators that were involved, and of course the other players that were involved in this as well. But one of the things that kind of drove this was Florida was being positioned in this unique space of hosting two Super Bowls in a row. So we had the one in Miami, we had the one in Tampa, and there was this driving concern.
00:01:22
Speaker
that these large-scale events and the fact that they could bring in an enormous amount of human trafficking surrounding those large-scale events, that what can we do? What can we do to get ahead of that? And this legislation was born out of that. And then this DSO, this direct support organization that is now known as the Florida Alliance,
00:01:44
Speaker
was really created within legislation, which is kind of a unique thing to happen within legislation. But it was created in there to drive the awareness, education and training portion of this to the state of Florida. Florida being a leader, recognizing that we want to get ahead of
00:02:03
Speaker
this and not always trying to play catch up. So this legislation was created out of that drive, which I salute those who were involved in making sure this happened. And then the Florida Alliance was created within that drive to make sure that education, awareness and training is on the forefront of what we're doing in Florida to end human trafficking.
Exploitation Tactics by Traffickers
00:02:23
Speaker
So human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Alan, in your extensive law enforcement career, you've seen a lot of different scenarios, sexual exploitation and labor trafficking.
00:02:40
Speaker
You know that traffickers look for people who are possibly susceptible or vulnerable for a variety of reasons. And I just wanted to share some of those reasons that could be psychological or emotional vulnerabilities, economic hardship, lack of a social safety net, natural disasters, and even political instability.
00:03:01
Speaker
Can you share some of those real world examples that unfortunately you had the firsthand experience to identify, to work with and collaborate with service providers once those victims were identified, and kind of how you learned about human trafficking initially through your law enforcement experience?
00:03:21
Speaker
And as you mentioned, Aaron, it's probably one of the most traumatic criminal activities that are out there. The fact that vulnerabilities are being exploited for profit is just an incredible thing to see and the toll that it takes on people.
00:03:36
Speaker
And some of the things that we've seen, whether it be the commercial sex trafficking or whether it be labor trafficking and those other forms that kind of fall under both of those, is that people who are sometimes in the most vulnerable places, those vulnerabilities are being exploited. And that could be the little girl that doesn't have the family support, the family network, and sometimes actually being trafficked by their own family.
00:04:01
Speaker
something we call familial trafficking and and we've seen that we've seen that exploitation we've seen a substance abuse we've seen the fact that someone moves and loses as you said that safety net these real world because i think sometimes we can get caught up in the numbers and and we need the numbers to kind of drive the conversation but if we just
00:04:22
Speaker
Focus on numbers. We oftentimes lose the fact that that's a real human being that is a little girl with dreams That's a little boy with ambitions That's a mom or a dad or a brother or sister and and it's that toll that's been taken on that and I have seen way too much of that happen Over the course of my career getting started in this over 25 years ago and spending those years fighting criminal activity and Educating the community. I've seen way too many people
00:04:52
Speaker
Who have been broken her traumatized because sometimes in situations they had no control over then being exploited by a trafficker and enhanced by a buyer that puts the demand in the market this is something we have to end.
Awareness and Training for Detection
00:05:07
Speaker
Yeah, and I think that you talk about maybe some of the victims and survivors. Unfortunately, these traffickers can target individuals that come from any country, from any state, unfortunately, here in the state of Florida, a variety of different socioeconomic factors, gender, ethnicity, and the thing that I was shocked to learn many years ago that the average age
00:05:36
Speaker
of a child, you know, when forced into a sex trafficking situation, is only between the ages of 12 to 14 years old, which, you know, everyone has a younger cousin, a sibling, a neighbor. And, you know, it's horrific. And, you know, I applaud everything that you and in your law enforcement career
00:05:56
Speaker
and all the service providers and organizations that are working day in, day out, throughout the year, not just before, as you mentioned, those large-scale events throughout the state, to educate the public in a fact-based, non-myth way to ensure that we, as you mentioned, in your trainings, in your education seminars, a trained observer. And that's so important.
00:06:23
Speaker
Can you talk a little bit about why trafficking awareness, human trafficking awareness and education is so important for our partners in the law enforcement community? Well, sometimes we talk about it in terms of first responder. And so we look at the first responding community, law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, those first responders that are traditionally known as first responders, they're responding to the report of a criminal activity.
00:06:50
Speaker
What I think is so important though, and sometimes this gets lost in that conversation, a first responder, is what about the first reporter? So you have that first responder community, which is kind of that traditional responding to it. But the first reporters, the reporters and those trained observers are critically important for several reasons, and I'll mention two of them right off the bat.
00:07:13
Speaker
Because they see society as society is normally functioning. When law enforcement shows up, behaviors begin to change. Sometimes there's a change in the dynamic when law enforcement appears on a scene. But our observers are in the community. They're part of the community. They're in the fabric of the community. And so therefore, the community just
00:07:36
Speaker
does what it normally does, and they have the opportunity. Now, you train those observers in the midst of that normal activity, and you have an asset that can absolutely disrupt the flow of what human trafficking is. So not only do we need first responders to be trained, and we do, but we also need those first reporters to become the trained observers that make the difference when it comes to reporting that activity as it's happening and in the manner in which it's unfolding.
00:08:06
Speaker
Yeah, such an important thing to know.
Trucking Industry's Role in Awareness
00:08:09
Speaker
In this episode, we are joined by Alex Miller, president and CEO of the Florida Trucking Association. Alan, in your extensive career in law enforcement, but also working with various organizations around the state, can you talk about the importance of the trucking industry playing a proactive role to combat human trafficking?
00:08:31
Speaker
Well, where do you begin with truckers and UPS drivers and FedEx drivers and all of that world of moving goods throughout our community? Because again, as we talked about that first reporter, having that trained observer,
00:08:46
Speaker
They move throughout our communities on a daily and nightly basis. They're moving 24-7. They're moving throughout the community. They're on the corridors, as we call them, those high-traffic corridors where victims are potentially being moved.
00:09:03
Speaker
And if you put a trained observer on those corridors, in those communities, going to the porches of houses and leaving packages, if they have a training and an awareness of what to look for, and oftentimes they see it and instinctively know it doesn't look right, so now we're giving them the training, what do you do with that information? So having that first reporter being trained, moving throughout the community and the trucking industry,
00:09:31
Speaker
is critically and vitally important as putting observers in roads, roadways, rest areas through our communities. They are amazing and the work they do is incredibly important.
00:09:44
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's interesting to note that there are so many different industries, obviously, including the trucking industry, where these individuals are going to every part of a neighborhood, of a community, a city, a town, within the state here.
00:10:02
Speaker
And with that appropriate training in the trucking industry, whether it's through the Florida Attorney General's Highway Heroes Program or the National Truckers Against Trafficking Awareness Program, they have the opportunity to report something potentially suspicious that they know in their gut, doesn't feel a little right.
00:10:25
Speaker
and to potentially stop something from happening. Yeah, and as you said, and I think it's incredibly important, is to note that not only do they see it, and when they see something that looks suspicious and they know it's not right, now where do I put that information? Where does that information go? So having that full continuum of being able to report, see, observe, report, having that full continuum is incredibly important, and that's exactly what we're doing.
00:10:53
Speaker
So today, Alan, we're going to listen to a recent interview with Alex Miller, who is the president and chief executive officer of the Florida Trucking Association.
00:11:05
Speaker
Today we're joined by Alex Miller, the president and CEO of the Florida Trucking Association. Hi Alex, thank you for joining us. Thanks for having me, Erin. Alex, you have had a very interesting and non-traditional career to the Florida Trucking Association. Tell me how you became president and CEO. I took the logical path of being a professional ballet dancer and just left right into the trucking industry.
00:11:33
Speaker
I was a ballet professor, ballet dancer, and then kind of wanted to use the same skills that I enjoyed in those professions, but continue to grow professionally, and so I really enjoy engaging, educating the public,
00:11:53
Speaker
And so I moved into communications and legislative affairs with the state of Florida. And then at that point, I kind of moved into the advocacy communications role at Florida Trucking Association. And about a year ago, I became president and CEO.
Partnerships to Combat Trafficking
00:12:10
Speaker
Wonderful. What a very interesting trajectory. And I'm glad that you're there today. Tell me or tell us a little bit about the Florida Trucking Association. How many members are in the state of Florida? How many drivers for people that aren't familiar with the association and the industry?
00:12:29
Speaker
Sure. The association represents about 400 companies. So we represent companies, not drivers. Of course, there are hundreds of thousands of drivers under the umbrella of those companies. And that also ranges from insurance companies, service providers, the manufacturers of trucks. So say Volvo and Peterbilt and Mac trucks.
00:12:53
Speaker
It also represents the carriers. So all of the typical big names you would associate trucking with, UPS, FedEx, Amazon, Walmart, Publix. And then, of course, all of those trucking companies that are a bit smaller that you might not recognize but actually haul some of the most important goods that you have. So companies that are employed by other companies.
00:13:19
Speaker
Any company that sells or buys something or distributes anything or gets shipments in is probably getting that shipment through a trucking company that's represented by FTA.
00:13:34
Speaker
The trucking industry has been very proactive for the last handful of years about raising awareness about human trafficking. Can you share a little bit more about what the industry has done, some of the campaigns that you've worked with Florida's Attorney General Ashley Moody on since you joined the association?
00:13:54
Speaker
Sure. Actually, the Trucking Association and FTA specifically has been actively involved in efforts against human trafficking for more than a decade. We were very much an early adopter, particularly nationally, and we work hand-in-hand primarily with Truckers Against Trafficking for obvious reasons. They provide resources for us.
00:14:17
Speaker
where constant communication where corporate sponsors with them we participate in numerous statewide events for training our companies i train their drivers we have an ambassador group of drivers that are known as the florida road team.
00:14:33
Speaker
and they apply to represent Florida Trucking Association as well as the industry in general, and they go out to schools and educate students on the profession and on ways to be safe on the road. We have obviously partnered with Attorney General Ashley Moody on the Hire a Heroes program. We worked with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Florida Department of Transportation
00:14:59
Speaker
and keep an open line of communication to make sure that as many drivers are aware of the signs and continue to be trained and are active when they're out on the road. How has the awareness partnerships that you've done nationally and here in the state of Florida been received by your members? That's a tough question because honestly, it's a no-brainer.
00:15:24
Speaker
When you think of these truck drivers on the road and these companies, there is a level of pride. There is such patriotism that just burns through this industry. My experience with companies and their drivers is
00:15:48
Speaker
I've never met more gentlemanly men and respectful men. To say to them, it's simply a no-brainer of they are on the lookout, they are protective. They notice things. These are the men and women who are on the road and have to take federally regulated
00:16:11
Speaker
rests for 10 hours a day. Those are on the road for the most part. If they have a repeatable route, it might be at the same stop every night. That's their hotel. They sleep in their trucks. They are aware of things and see things that are off. They really are first responders when it comes to spotting and reporting human trafficking.
00:16:40
Speaker
Yeah, we think of drivers who work for all these different sorts of members of yours and different companies just traversing different parts of the state or the country. But to your point, they are
00:16:57
Speaker
maybe some of them are on similar routes or on a consistent schedule. So seeing something that might be suspicious every Tuesday, why is that happening? And then for them to kind of key in on the training, the things that they've learned from the industry, the different campaigns and the awareness efforts that you all have been a part of is so important. Do you think that the education and these partnerships
00:17:25
Speaker
have increased maybe calls and outreach that these drivers of your member companies have actually placed to law enforcement and to other authorities.
Truckers as First Responders
00:17:34
Speaker
Have you heard of those types of stories?
00:17:36
Speaker
I haven't heard of too many specific stories, but I do know through Truckers Against Trafficking, as soon as it was launched, the number of reports started to skyrocket, and that's across the country. When you think about truck drivers, it's a lonely, it's a lonely, or I should say, you're on the road alone, and they talk. So they'll talk on CVs.
00:18:04
Speaker
When they're you know talk to families or their friends when they're resting And so there there's a lot of camaraderie and so I think I think where it first starts where there's an early intervention when it comes to truck drivers is when they're talking to one other one another a Lot of times they will say hey, there's something down the road, you know, there's there's a you know a car on the shoulder that's broken down. Okay. Thanks. I'll I
00:18:32
Speaker
I'll be more defensive driving, or this truck stop is closed down, or it's full. But also, it's, hey, did you see that? Or, hey, heads up, there's something going on here. And I think that's really valuable because that, I don't want to say brotherhood, because it would be a sisterhood as well.
00:18:56
Speaker
kind of family of truck drivers and trucking companies is invaluable in this fight against human trafficking. Well, that's so important. You know, as we all, again, regardless of the industry, everyone has the opportunity to potentially see something suspicious. And with the appropriate fact-based training,
00:19:20
Speaker
has the opportunity to call law enforcement, to call those appropriate figures, and it really takes everyone regardless of your profession.
Cross-Industry Communication
00:19:30
Speaker
You kind of touched on it, but how important are those coalitions and those partnerships within the industry? Florida is a leader in many ways, but how have you seen the various coalitions grow since you all have been a part of this effort for over a decade, as you mentioned?
00:19:47
Speaker
I just think increasing that awareness and cross industries. One of the special things about trucking is that it directly impacts every other industry in the state of Florida. Hospitals, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, convenience stores, they touch, they are at all of those places. You can't operate a business or serve some sort of service
00:20:17
Speaker
for any Floridian without a truck being involved. Having that manpower on the ground, on the road in Florida, is an incredibly powerful thing. All of these companies all work with one another professionally.
00:20:34
Speaker
So having that communication across industries is something is very valuable. That's wonderful. You mentioned there's outreach that they do in various communities, educating. I don't know if you mentioned, I think you mentioned with different partners or schools or different types of groups.
00:20:56
Speaker
Yes so we we obviously have outreach in all communities in the state of florida and we have the truckers against trafficking wallet cards and pamphlets that we make sure that we we give to the public because it is it's important for.
00:21:14
Speaker
For the public to have interaction with trucks understand how they work obviously how to stay safe around them and also know the how how important Those men and women who are driving on the road are and you know when it comes down to it if you need help That you know that truck driver could be a valuable resource you know in a in a rural environment in a in a dark
00:21:42
Speaker
at space where there's nowhere to turn. Alex, as a parent, obviously we want to keep our children safe, our communities safe.
Drivers' Critical Role in Reporting
00:21:51
Speaker
Truck drivers play a unique role because they visit a lot of different communities along their schedules and their routes. Why do you think they play such a big role in increasing awareness and potentially stopping exploitation from happening? Truck drivers are the eyes and the ears on the road.
00:22:12
Speaker
really everywhere. Much to some people's complaints when they're driving on the interstate, but they really are. They're professional and they notice things. Their job is literally to keep their eyes on the road. Using that as a resource to spot and report human trafficking,
00:22:38
Speaker
is a very powerful force. As a woman, as a mother,
00:22:47
Speaker
As a person who is very much a minority in the industry in which I work now, it's incredibly important for everyone to get involved and advocate and protect the most vulnerable people in our society and to say something when you see something. Silence. This group of people who are human trafficked for sex or for work
00:23:16
Speaker
are faceless, they are voiceless and nameless until we do something differently about that. Thank you, Alex, for joining me today. It was wonderful to learn more about what the Florida Trucking Association, you and your industry, your members are doing to prevent exploitation and human trafficking. At the Florida Alliance, we
00:23:39
Speaker
you know, want to convey that each person, each life, regardless of background, is invaluable. And everything that you all are doing to increase that awareness, building partnerships and coalitions throughout the state and nationally is so important. You know, we can't put a price tag on anyone's life.
00:24:00
Speaker
for their body cannot be commoditized or sold and everything that we do, the goal is to increase awareness. And so thanks to your good work, we're gonna continue to do that. So thank you again for joining me today. Thanks so much for having me.
00:24:21
Speaker
Wow, Alan, I learned so much about what the trucking industry is doing proactively from Alex. I also found it so interesting how her trajectory from her professional career, starting as a ballerina to doing legislative affairs and communications, and to ultimately a few years ago taking the helm at the Florida Trucking Association,
00:24:44
Speaker
I know that, Alan, you're very familiar with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's Highway Heroes Program, and Alex mentioned that community of professional drivers. They work long hours. They're on the road a lot. They're seeing things at all parts of the day in different communities. Can you talk about how important it is that they are
00:25:07
Speaker
calling tips to first responders and law enforcement if they see something in a suspicious situation. Well, they certainly are on that first line of defense. They, along with other industries, are incredibly important because they're seeing things as they unfold, as we talked about before, but they're also seeing things in kind of that native setting, and that becomes critically important.
00:25:32
Speaker
I was thinking as she was talking on the podcast, I was thinking about her journey and you mentioned it quickly from a ballerina for the ballet and to this fight and her role with the Florida Truckers Association. It just led me to once again understand that everyone is critically important in this fight.
00:25:52
Speaker
that no matter what our individual backgrounds are, we all have a role to play. And that role is incredibly important. And when you mentioned the tips coming in, kind of that raw information coming into law enforcement, it is absolutely vital that that gets to us.
00:26:09
Speaker
And then when you put the trained observer on top of that, now they're able to give information that not only is just information or raw data, but now it becomes intelligence, it becomes actionable. And that becomes critically important as we all work together to really move the needle to end human trafficking.
00:26:26
Speaker
Well, and you said it, you know, very appropriately, you know, these different industries, especially again, truckers, because they are are out 24 seven, 365 throughout our state and in the country, that it is so important to increase awareness across various industries.
Collective Statewide Efforts
00:26:44
Speaker
Again, to your point, so well said, it's not just incumbent upon law enforcement or service providers or folks in the legal community to stop and combat human trafficking. It is everyone in our state to help us raise awareness. And I think one of the great initiatives led by Florida Attorney Ashley Moody in partnership with the Florida Alliance is the 100% Club.
00:27:10
Speaker
And that is a training challenge to companies, to organizations, local municipal governments to proactively commit to training 100% of their employees. And it's so important that as corporate stewards across our state,
00:27:29
Speaker
they are doing everything that they can to ensure the safety of their community, which includes their employees and potential employees. No one wants to read an article or a broadcast that mentions some criminal activity or recent arrests for human trafficking. And as business owners, they play such a vital role. So to your point, Alan, about increasing awareness statewide, which the Florida Alliance is so focused on,
00:27:57
Speaker
And with this educational training challenge, the 100% campaign, led by the Attorney General, why do you think it's so important that, again, everyone, regardless of their background, get trained? Well, and I think you mentioned the 100% Club, which I think is a fantastic initiative, the Highway Heroes. What a great initiative that has already been discussed.
00:28:19
Speaker
I think oftentimes there's a feeling sometimes among people that we have these organizations that are already kind of created. So they'll do the heavy lifting. They'll do the work. And I understand the reasoning behind that. But let's let law enforcement do their thing. We'll do Florida Alliance kind of. And yet when it comes to these types of criminal activities, this really falls on the shoulders of 100% of us.
00:28:45
Speaker
There is a need for every single one of us, from those who work in industries that we've talked about, to those who are school teachers, to moms, to dads, to, you name it, aunts and uncles, those that are in the community, every single one of us.
00:29:04
Speaker
I hear it all the time, Aaron. People talk about how dark this crime is, and it certainly is. It's a dark crime. But if 100% of us commit to ending this crime, we can truly shed light on this darkness and drive it from our communities. And that should be the goal of 100% of us.
00:29:23
Speaker
Yeah, I couldn't have said it better. And again, it doesn't take it's not it's not a burdensome, overwhelming time commitment. There is a one hour training that was created with stakeholders like yourself and others that the Florida Alliance has, you know, it's online. And that's the training that, you know, folks who want to be part of the 100% club
00:29:47
Speaker
will complete and you think about what a difference it could make by one hour of your time. It's so vital to hopefully ending this horrific crime and exploitation in our state and globally. Thank you, Alan, for serving as co-host on this podcast. Again, Alan Wilkett, retired corporal with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office and board member of the Florida Alliance. This has been a podcast by the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking. Thank you for listening.
00:30:20
Speaker
you