Steve Jordan talks to the leaders of the IAM’s newest professional group. But what is a DAB, and why do they need special representation?
In the December issue of The Mover, we reported on a new group that had been created in the USA called the Domestic Asset-Based Mover Group (DAB). As the name suggests, the group’s aim is to represent domestic movers in the USA that have ‘boots on the ground’ – the people who actually do the work, own the trucks, meet the customers, and go the hard yards to get the job done every day. I wanted to know more, so I caught up with the DAB Chairman, Chris Lantz, Senior Vice President of Operations at Bekins Moving Solutions, and its Vice-Chairman, Lakelan Fennell, Vice President of Market Development for Nilson Van & Storage, to find out a little more.
The concept was born following the absorption of the AMSA (American Moving and Storage Association) into the much bigger ATA (American Truckers Association) back in August 2020. Some members felt that they wanted a more independent voice to focus on the issues that directly concerned them, and the DAB was born. “I think DAB has taken on a much larger role [than the AMSA]. It encompasses a wide spectrum of agents of all sizes,” said Chris.
Even this early in its development the DAB has around 110 members and continues to grow. Lakelan explained that there is the potential for the DAB to, eventually, represent thousands of movers in the USA and, in time, the intention is to expand the project to cover other countries as well. ...
Photo: Chris Lantz (top) and Lakelan Fennell.