The union let the ceo of ford take a $30million bonus? HA! I dont think the union has any control of company revenue besides pay and benefits.

Also, uaw wages and benefits are matched by japanese auto-makers, the problem with a big three is that they have a hoard of retirees going to retire soon, and most toyo/honda employees are younger workers.

__________________
TEAMSTERS LOCAL 200

I agree with most of your post - and take my comment on "working smart not hard" as a reference to career choice not work ethics.

there are a lot of misconceptions about how teamsters work - we are not at all like the UAW (which I worked for back in the 1990's for a brief time (and will agree it was silly).

The facts are pretty basic - as we all know trucking is one of the few industries that is 100% performance based

PERFORMANCE BASED - No Teamster gets a check at the end of the week for sitting on his butt....

do we have guys that are lazy - sure... just like the non union carriers - and just like the non union carriers they get reamed and fired eventually.

Another myth is that we never get fired. Hell, in my location we have had close to a dozen guys fired in the last year for things like "stealing time - which is when you claim it took you longer to do something than it actually did". and preventable accidents (we are not very forgiving).

lets see - we had a sexual harrassment case and I believe one guy was tossed for being too slow.. (took him 6 hours to return from louisiville etc etc).

None of us get a free ride here - We put in more miles on average than our non unioun counterparts - with the difference being we are not sitting away from home in a truckstop for 2 weeks at a time.


I also wanted to touch on a comment someone made about all the different jobs in Union trucking being "stupid and wasteful (not efficient)"

The way we operate allows many thousands of people to have high paying jobs in our industry and still be home every night. We also enable a lot of single parents to make a good wage and be with their family at night.

We have a lot of dock workers who for whatever reason cannot obtain their cdl's (diabetes / medical or something stupid they did in their younger days). They cut our freight and load our trucks... We have a lot of people driving city (pickup and delivery to customers) because they need to be home every night.. They have family needs or side biz's that require their attention daily. We have jobs for guys who like OTR (like me) and run the wheels off of the trucks - we stay within a few day radius of home and usually sleep in our own bed 3-4 nights a week...

We also have some fill in positions like switcher and yad men that spot trucks and string sets of doubles (they too are home every night).

So you see a Union shop has something to offer everyone -

A non union carrier - especially for someone new to the industry will shoot you inot an OTR path and tell you it is a "lifestyle" and "love it or leave it" unfortunatly a lot of guys do leave this industry prematurely without looking at all of their options.

As for Unions and work ethic - We are talking Teamsters here - not UAW... (remember trucking is performance based)

lazy is up to the individual and pace set by older workers in a lot of shops/docks.

I do not think it is fair that only union boys are labled "lazy"

I put in long weeks - I have to do the same paperwork as you - I have the same hassles in traffic and climbing hills that you do. I know that for ANY of us if you screw up or screw up you will loose your job.


I have been both sides of fence - I am conservative and find that the union does not contradict my personal beliefs or ethics.

I have always worked hard - but now I work hard under a protective contract that has kept me from

1. being forced or asked to run illegal
2.being gone from family weeks at a time
3.working hours and hours for free doing "other duties"

in addition and as a bonus I have found a great group of diverse coworkers (company staff too) that I can spend time with outside of work.


Unions in trucking have maintained a decent quality of life for me - that allows me to play with trucks - (which I love) - and at the same time have a life and time for hobbies.

a bit more background on me since last week it was insinuated that I was some liberal flim flammer -

I come from

very conservative immigrant parents who are proud to be americans

a rural upbringing - been on farms all my life

I am active in my community - and not anti-social (like some of you believe all union drivers are)

I seek out and chat with anyone in truckstops that have questions about what I do - and I have recruited many - not a one has gone back to non union trucking (wonder why?) because they have reached a level of respect from their contemporaries and management that you can never get hustling for JB or Swift...

The political leanings of the Teamsters is overstated - I work for an incredible company that treats me like a Human. I do my best for them and in return we keep everything proffesional and to the point.


when I started driving at WASCO and then on to Dick Simon years ago It took them a while to realize I was not going to play games - I have always been treated fairly well at non union jobs - but I feel that I am really rewarded now for all my years of "paying the dues" at lesser companies.


Unions are not for everyone - but look at it this way - some of you are stressed and grumpy and do not know why -

could it be your situation - most companies pay only enough to give you a taste of blood and to install a bit of greed... (the more miles = more money ideaology)... Most employers pay you only enough to keep you coming back for more... Unions help even this out and take some of the grief away...

some of you can Mutha F Unions all you want - but consider my case and the fact that I am friendly - willing to share my experiences and I do not look down on new guys or ones in dead end jobs... I enjoy my life - always have - and can do so more with the schedule my contract provides...


so cuss me all you want from your sleeper cabs # ( truckstop of the day )tonight - but go to bed knowing that I wish none of you harm or misery... I just want to extend my hand to those who may be interested in better pay/benifits/hometime/respect/brotherhood/and a more even schedule.


cyall tomorrow - I will be running out in the p.m.

it is bed time for me (in my own bed # home).

This is the paragraph that bothers me. Do you really believe in everything you stated? What happens if the freight is late because of a breakdown, accident, weather, available hours or problems at the shipper etc? We are all human and subject to mistakes. You love having that type of "danger" hanging over your head? Then again, you are considered a "right to work" employee. That simply means you can be terminated at any time, with or without cause. Do you really enjoy that? I mean, they can fire you for any reason. Who cares if the freight gets there on time if your dispatcher or supervisor fires you because they just don't like you anymore.


I don't know how some of you folks work under those conditions.

Drive safe

This is one good discussion..Like I stated,the only union/teamster comany I would work for is yourga trucking.I just like the idea of a pension.I dont know what the economy will be like when i get older..I am 23,I dont know what I will have available to me at 53 lol.If union/teamster ltl carriers didnt pull wiggle worms,I would think about them a little later down the road lol..In the end we all just wanna take care of our families and live comfortable.Is a unuin job more secure?For the most part yes.But they do have layoffs and union/teamster shops do close just like any other regular place of bussiness.I know the union/teamsters talk about brotherhood.But if a place goes on strike and you cross the line so you can work and feed your family,your "brothers"turn against you..When lay off times come,the "senior" brothers dont take pay cuts so they can keep new guys on.I think it can be a double edged sword somtimes.and lets face it,there isnt a whole lot of union/teamster jobs out there in most towns.Everyone has bills to pay.Of course the union/teamster guys are gonna be happy,but not everyone can find a union/teamster job.Teamster/union or not,I think all hardworking men should be a brotherhood of guys who do what they need to do to provide for their family..

To each his own, but I'd rather get layed off and be the first in line to get work at another freight company (per contract), than be "kinda-sorta" full-time at a nonunion company and make $300/week all winter.

And, dont forget about the strike fund. It isn't big money but it helps to get by. Personally, I'd rather strike to get a good contract, than to shafted and act like I like it.

__________________
TEAMSTERS LOCAL 200

for a lot of guys it is not acting - it is that they do not know any better...


compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges and you will see the benefits of organized labor trucking.

pay = 20-45% more

hometime = twice as much AND your days off are at home not in a truckstop...

bennies = cant be beat by ANYONE

Coworkers = quality guys and gals who take their jobs seriously

Pension = not even a dream in the "private" sector

401K = incredible opps. with funds that have been closed to new investors for years...

ALL time involved = You get paid for everything... no freebies while sitting # dock or in traffic...


no non union company can come close...

Are you sure you dont work for a company that makes you wear hard hats that you never ever take off?No offense,but somthing just isnt getting through to you.Is it that hard for you to believe people like their jobs?That may be non-union?Not every union is good.There are plenty of people I talked to who had bad expiriences with unions and plenty of post on here about that as well.Again,not everyone can get a union job,and not everyone has and abundance of union jobs in their town.If the jobs are not there,how do you expect people to get them?Do you think every man should go homless and lose his family to starvation so he can wait on the oppportunity to get a union job?Your job dosnt make you any more important then anyone else's just cause you are union.Sorry but bragging about doin half the work for twice the pay probably turns alot of hard working people off.There are very few union otr companies.Ok we will try this again,some guys like drivig otr,and alot of guys like whatever other jobs they have.There are plenty of jobs that pay good that are non union.We understand fully for the 20th time that you sleep in your own bed at night.We understand the pension.We understand you get payed good and bragg like a little kid about sittin on your *** for good money and do nothin for it.Must you really sit there and think people are blind to unions and dont know any better then to get a union job?Sorry,I also dont think union guys make better co workers just cause they are union.You will have cool people and idiots anywhere you go..You think people are blind to unions and I think you are blind to whats outside unions as well.Sorry,you just sound like a jb hunt recruiter about unions lol..I think part of bein a man is takin care of your family by any means possible.If a mans non union job allows him to live comfortable and take care of his family,why should he change that?Just to say I am union?Probably not..

where do you get the idea that I work half as much as you?

I bust my ####### ##### out here -

compare apples to apples!

the thread is "is it better to work for a union" - it is not bragging when ALL I have stated is the facts - the raw data -

the raw data so that someone can make up their mind...


and yes - about 80% of the population is covered by union oppourtunities..

the only person "not getting it" seems to be you - if you have a job that you would like to compare - then post the details.

Thats funny,this whole thread you have been talkin about doin half as much work for more money.80% of jobs are union???OK...Show me where you get that from lol.Emergency services,lawyers,doctors,resturaunts,walmart/k mart,95% of transportation,banks,scientists,and the list goes on.I would be willing to go out on a limb here and say 80% are non union.As far as me not getting it,I do...It looks fine and dandy on paper.But I am not to blind to see ALL aspects of a job that make it good or bad.It all depends on the job.Like you said,not everyone will like the union.You said it yourself..so if they dont like bein union,they wont like the job.As far as my job,well it is not union.I want a year with the company I am at now before I think about my next move.The next company I would like to get with is TEAMSTERS.But I will not feel better then my fellow man because of that fact.And even though they are teamsters,they run regional flatbed and average pay is about $700 a week.So unlike your theory,not everyone gets huge pay checks cause they are union/teamsters.Now as far as what else I do,I am still enlisted in the Army Reserves.When I am mobolized I get free health,and free plane rides to other countries like Iraq...When I am just doin my one weekend a month,our healthcare is basically free,and we get payed pretty good.No union beats the military...Sorry..Unions may provide us with skyskrapers,10% of trucking transportation,and railroads.But we gaurd the nation..I am sure you will say your job is extremely more important,so go ahead and say it lol...But all the rest of us who can see all aspects of the working industry know better...Like I said,I think you are the one who dosnt get it..I think I prove that more and more everytime you type..

you dont even quote my post correctly - I said 80 of the population is in areas where union jobs are available

I never said anything about working half as hard - I said work smart "not hard"

you seem to think you could hire on with me and drag butt and get by - you would not last a week before you got fired thinking we "get paid for sitting around".


Your attitude leaves me to believe your best bet would be to avoid the teamsters - and go bust your butt for some scumbag outfit where you can take pride in your "working class hero" status...

go make someone else richer - and leave the more attractive jobs for those who appreciate their benefits.