Missoula’s Dudik Supports ‘Truckers against Trafficking’

Missoula legislator and Democratic Attorney General candidate Kimberly Dudik recently supported special training program for UPS drivers as part of the ‘Truckers against Trafficking’ campaign.

“UPS has started a program working with Truckers against Trafficking, an organization doing what they can as a private organization to help stop human trafficking,” said Dudik. “They’ve partnered with UPS, and when they’re done with their training, UPS drivers will be trained to recognize human trafficking. That means 130,000 UPS drivers nationwide, which is a great step forward.”

Dudik said because UPS drivers basically travel everywhere, they are in a unique position to watch out for signs of human trafficking.

“The way that human trafficking occurs is that it really goes on right in front of our noses and people don’t really know what they’re seeing,” she said. “They may see something odd, but then they just brush it off, however, organizations like Truckers against Trafficking have learned that truckers can be the eyes on the road, and so can the UPS drivers, as well as bus drivers on some of the major bus lines who also have training for their drivers. Now that they know how to report it, maybe we can stop some of this human trafficking.”

Dudik also provided an update on her run for the Democratic nomination for Montana Attorney General.

“This is my first time running state wide,” she said. “I’ve been working with people throughout the state for the last eight years passing some great policies that bring people together. So, now, I’m looking to do that statewide as the state’s chief legal advocate, I have a great track record, fighting human trafficking, stopping child abuse and reforming our criminal justice system so that we give people the chemical dependency treatment they need or other help they need to break the cycle of criminal justice system involvement.”

Dudik said she is more than an attorney and a legislator.

“I’m also a nurse,” she said. I was a nurse before I became an attorney and I have a really keen understanding of our healthcare system and what people’s needs are, so I really care that people are getting the healthcare and prescription medications that they need and are not being taken advantage of by pharmaceutical companies is really important to me.”

Dudik laid out her three main priorities in running tor Attorney General.

“They are protecting our rights, protecting consumers and then reforming our criminal justice system, as well as utilizing my position on the State Land Board to make sure that our public lands stay public for everyone and that they stay healthy.”